wonderfully made: beau andrew

I can't believe how much Beau has changed since my last post on him 6 months ago. Gone is the baby fat and chunkiness and suddenly there is a tall, bony boy in my house. His vocabulary has exploded and he is speaking in full sentences daily. The questions of 'where is it?' and 'what is that?' have arrived and I selfishly love them (for now). His love for puzzles was reignited (he loves the Melissa & Doug 4 pack of puzzles in the wooden box) and he silently works them all at the same time. Right now I have no less than 16 puzzles scattered around the playroom. He's obsessed! Also on his radar right now are all types of trucks. Construction trucks, tow trucks, car transport trucks. We talk about trucks for at least 2 hours a day. He has acquired quite the truck collection and turns anything that he can into a tow truck. I think that stemmed from learning who Tow Mater from Cars is, but it also could have come from watching Mighty Machines.

We FINALLY bit the bullet and said 'bye-bye' to pacifiers. I had wanted to do it at 18 months but when that didn't work out, I stopped thinking about it. I decided on the eve of his 'half' birthday that it was time. He had a hard time falling asleep and in the many trips in to console him I promised him he could pick out a new car toy the next day if he could sleep without his paci. Of course he remembered (that's another thing, he's got the memory of an elephant). He lucked out when Marshall's had a Lightning McQueen car and he chose that over the John Deere. Cars is the only movie he has watched all the way through and clearly, he's a fan. ;)

He's also starting to show interest in going potty. I don't think we are QUITE ready but we are planting the seed and he has a little potty that he likes. He can tell me when he's gone in his diaper and he's now gone on the toilet twice, at our insistence. I think I'll wait a little longer to see if he shows more interest and then maybe we'll take the plunge closer to his third birthday.

The next step in this whole charade will be moving him to a big-boy bed. We attempted to do that before Davis was born but Beau was only about 20 months old. Needless to say, it didn't work out. He's probably ready now but he doesn't seem to want to very badly and he's fine in his crib. He has climbed out twice, right when Davis was born, but then he stopped. I think he knows that he can but he is a rule follower first born and he knows that he isn't supposed to.

Rule-follower? Oh yes. He is slightly OCD in that he will tell me that certain toys belong in the playroom or his room. I don't have a preference either way but apparently he does! He's also quick to correct us when we call a group of his hot wheels 'cars'. "No, mama, not car. Truck". Mark says he gets that from me. I do like accuracy, so I can't blame him! His bossy tendencies extend to his baby brother and I'm thinking they will be a struggle as Davis grows. Before, we would have told Beau that Davis can't have certain toys or foods but now that he's getting bigger, eating more, and crawling, of course those things change! Beau hasn't quite grasped that yet. That change, along with Beau's unwillingness to share his toys (typical 2 year old), means I hear "NO, bubba!!!" at least 15 times per day. Otherwise, Beau is generally sweet with Davis. He's had a few issues where he likes to push Davis over now that he is sitting. He is always happy to see him after nap and in the morning. He'll ask me "where'd bubba go?" if they're ever not in the same room together. I can already tell they are going to be fast friends once Davis can keep up with Beau!

Beau is just the light of my life and as much as I loved the squishy baby version, I'm enjoying this version so much. He's so smart, so loving, and almost always happy. He is overly cautious around animals and loud things but makes an exception for thrill rides at Six Flags with his aunt Gigi. He is a helper and his tool box is always close by. He loves his people, like Memaw and Pawpaw (my mom's parents), his grandparents, his cousins, his friends, and of course us. I CAN wait to see who he will become, but I know he will be a wonderful person. I just love him so much!

Get ready for a photo DUMP! 6 months is a long time!