Monday was KJ’s second birthday, so I thought it would be a fun time to take a break from the normal food and fitness stuff for a KJ update!
So here is what life looks like for us at 2-years old. Dead sprints everywhere. He hardly walks or even jogs. Everything is a sprint everywhere. He has learned better boundaries with Nala, and they are still the best of friends. The cat, who loved KJ as a baby, now keeps her distance, probably for the foreseeable future.
KJ is in the 75th percentile for height and the 60th for weight, so he’s doing well. He’s super picky about food but recently started expanding his horizons a little bit. I try really hard to never stress about food. Sure, I keep mental tabs on sugar intake vs. real food, and if the balance starts to tip, I adjust without saying a word about it. I never force him or coherence him to eat things, but I do praise and say ” or “thank you for trying” when he braves something new. I 100% believe that the less big of a deal you make food, the less big a deal will be long term. I really love the kids.eat.in.color IG account for a helpful reminder on teaching toddlers and kids to eat intuitively.
As far as 2 years old go, Kal is smart, brave, and as kind, as I could have ever hoped. It seems his joy for life is infectious and never-ending. His love for his family and pets knows no ends. I can see the wheels turning in his head when he’s learning something new or experiencing something new, he’s intense, and he’s focused. He’s also a bit of a daredevil.
He loves to climb, jump, and trust fall. Of course, he’s always testing behavior limits, but I can see lessons sink in much more now than they used to. He’s growing up, yet, he still my baby. Toddler years were always my favorite to babysit, and despite its challenges, I love this stage as a parent as well!
Activities and Toys
New birthday present!
A few months ago, we signed up for Love Every (thanks to an Instagram Ad) but, I have to say all his favorite toys come from there. Mr. Hungry and I felt like we were spending about the same price as the subscription for Love Every (about $36 a month) on random Amazon toys anyway, so why not try it?
We usually give him one new thing a week out of the box, lasting about 10-12 weeks. He has loved about 90% of each box we’ve gotten (we’ve received two. They come every 3 months), and I have all wonderful things to say about them. Every toy has the purpose of helping them developmentally along in their exact age range. So, we have no plans to cancel any time soon, and I would highly recommend it!
Favorite toys and activities:
- Farm Animal Matching Game (Love Every 22-24 month box)
- Duplos (Amazon – he recently start stacking them again)
- Button matching game (Love Every 22-24 month box)
- He still loves his walker and runs with it all over the house.
- Drawing – he recently started to have a real interest in drawing.
- Throwing rocks at the wall outside
- Shooting his basketball
- Playing catch
- Watching Baby Bum or Dave and Ava (<30 minutes a day)* absolute favorite.
- “Go” ing anywhere
- Going on nature walks
- Helping his Grandmas garden or water the plants
- Feeding Nala
- Helping with Laundry
- “Swiftering” the floor
- Reading
- Loves to be chased
Dislikes:
- Diaper changes
- Sitting in his high chair.
Speech Update
KJ still struggles with speech. Although he’s picking things up little by little, we can tell he still struggles. At this point, he still only says maybe a dozen words total. Our doctor referred us to speech but encouraged us not to worry. There are absolutely no other signs of this being anything other than a speech delay, and he said an expressive speech delay, what KJ has, is the most common type of speech delay.
Given that he can understand everything we say and that there is a family history of a speech delay (Mr. Hungry didn’t talk much at all until 2 and a half and also had some speech therapy), he encouraged us not to worry about it, but be proactive to encourage KJ to start talking (with recognizable words, as he does babble frequently.) We will go to speech, get our eval, and go from there.
MSPI/ Food Sensitivity Update
For those of you who remember our MSPI struggles. KJ is eating cheese regularly without too much of a problem, so that’s huge because it’s significantly opened up a world of kid food he previously didn’t have. Cheese toast, quesadillas, pizza, and grilled cheese, to name a few! Plus, it’s a lot easier on Mama then having to cook something all the time. I haven’t tried cows milk or yogurt yet, because I’m kind of to the point where I don’t want to break what’s not broken. Also, I haven’t tried eggs, yet for that reason. He eats eggs in things all the time, but it’s probably time I start having him eat some hard-boiled or scrambled eggs. Again just haven’t got around to it.
That’s it for now, friends. Thanks for sharing this space with me. I’m so grateful I have this place to record our family’s milestones and share it with so many of you!
More KJ Posts:
- Dear Baby K – 4 months
- Dear Baby K – 5 Months
- Dear Baby K – 6 Months
- Dear Baby K — 7 Months
- Dear Baby K — 8 Months
- Dear Baby K — 9 Months
- Dear Baby K — 10 Months
- Deary Baby K — 11 Months
- Dear Baby K — 12 Months
- KJ – 18 Month Update
We have that same trampoline and both are boys love it. We let our youngest go on there for 15 minutes and a peaceful nap time usually follows!
That’s awesome! So great to hear!