2 Year Blog!!

WE HAVE A TWO-YEAR-OLD!?!?! How did this happen?!!

Yes, Everett Rulin is two!

What was I doing two years ago? 

I don't remember much. Just finished with a too-long labor. But we got to meet our prize for the effort!

All puffy and big at 9 pounds 4 ounces. We had no idea what we were in for. Except for that furrowed brow. He kept that for a few months.

What were we doing one year ago?

Celebrating Everett at the Atascadero Lake Park, on his actual birthday!

He seemed so old then, but he was really such a baby! Now he's a big boy!

We're celebrating Everett this year on the 19th, so I'll post all about the party after it happens. But I wanted to update about all the developmental stuff, since I won't be doing that with the party post.

Once again, it's all about language. He's talking so much. I was thinking, when the doctor asks how many words he says, I'll say all of them. Is that an answer?

We started going to a "Parent and Me" program at Playtime Discoveries here in Atascadero. All these people have been doing this together for months, but we just started at the last month, so we're new to everyone. We were in the smallest room (sort of the book room) with a couple other mothers and kids. Everett was looking at a book saying, "That's a big turkey. That's a little cow. That's a red truck. Etc." The other mothers were FLOORED. "He talks so much!" they said. Yup. He's my little chatterbox. And he's especially into labeling right now.

He's excellent with his colors. Red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple, pink, brown, white. He still has a problem with black and calls it brown or blue. He's working on grey. Don't worry, we're not pushing him! We have no need for him to know his colors. He's just learned them by playing and talking with us.

Also at Playtime Discoveries, he was doing a shape puzzle, and told me circle, triangle, and square. This was without the puzzle telling him that (he has a puzzle at his grandparents' house that says the shapes).

I swear, this child will know his ABC's by the time he's 2.5! We're not pushing him. He's just interested in learning, and especially singing. (;

talking on the phone and making me eggs

He's been changing pronouns a lot, and forming gerunds. Me: Do you want to go outside? Everett: Yes, I'm going outside.

He's been making such long sentences. This morning he said, "you're right, daddy, that's a mole!"

Just now (like, I'm almost done with this post), he saw a picture of himself and said, "cutest baby in the world!" Haha.

There's a bittersweet element to his language growth. Some of his baby words are going away.

When something was stinky, he used to say, "stinky pee woo!" Now he says "PU."

For many months, he's said "diga down" when he wants down. Lately we decided he could probably be encouraged to say the whole sentence. So now (when he thinks of it), he'll say, "I . . . want . . . diga down."

Some of his words have gotten really "Southern." Instead of "yeah," he says, "ye-yuh." Instead of "red," he says "rey-ed." It's pretty funny.


I think occasional, thoughtfully chosen TV and movies can enrich a child who is able to understand what's going on (in simple terms). He's seen Bambi a few times recently. In the movie, Thumper says, "that's not a bird, it's a butterfly." Now Everett uses that phrase when he mixes up a word or a name, "that's not Gramma Gion, that's Gramma Kathie!" It's a helpful verbal tool for him (that I never would have thought to teach). 


We've gotten really into Pixar lately. He loves Toy Story (astronaut/cowboy), Finding Nemo (fishy movie), and Monsters Inc. (monster movie). We all think they're pretty great. They're entertaining, and he also learns new words and ideas from them.


But sometimes he comes out with phrases I don't recognize. He started saying "I have good news and bad news" (from Toy Story 2), and "Wow! New toys! Cool. Thanks Mom," although at first he would say "thanks Bob" (this is also from Toy Story 2).   


One of my favorite things he's said recently was before a Disney movie. "ABCDs and a building! . . . ABCDs and a castle!" He was talking about the Disney castle and the words above it. Cute! 

We've been trying to teach him his name. Sometimes he comes out with "Everett Cisneros." So cute. Other times he says "Everett Christina," then adds "Daddy Cisneros." He's workin' on it. 


One day he left with his Gramma Gion, and he said, "bye bye Stina!" Oh man was that a shock! He's done it a few times since. 


He spends a lot of time outside. Our new grass is growing well, and he likes to play on it. 

He also likes to help his daddy with projects, when they're safe. 

We've had to baby proof more lately than ever before. He's been getting into drawers and eating and drinking things that are not food. We actually called poison control because he opened the baby Tylenol and drank some. We knew he was probably ok, but in that situation, you call. Turns out, he could have consumed he whole bottle and not needed medical attention. But we've put baby lock things on all the drawers. He used to open the drawers and mess with stuff, but he just now started really messing around in a dangerous way. We left the top bathroom drawer open so he isn't completely frustrated. And we leave things in there he can put in his mouth, like his toothbrush. 

We've been sleeping better. I think we had a rough week in this month somewhere. But overall it's getting better all the time. 


Events: 

The biggest news of the last month for us is that my cousin Roger (my mother's cousin) passed away on April 19th.  He'd been fighting lymphoma for 4 years. 

And I know a death from cancer is always worse when it's a loved one, and I know it's always awful when it's a person who could have had a long life ahead of him. But it's just SO UNFAIR that Roger died. He was THE BEST cancer patient. His diet was impeccable, he exercised, he meditated. He had dreams for the future. He was studying to be a Spanish interpreter. He wanted to have a family someday. He loved kids, and he loved Everett. 


We didn't live close, and we didn't see each other often. But Roger was a wonderful friend and a great conversationalist (also an awesome chef). And I will miss him. There's a memorial for him on the 20th. I think it will bring a lot of closure to my angry mind. 


In happier events. 


Gretchen and Mark (Brian's Aunt and Uncle) came to visit. This is us in Morro Bay. 

We went to the Santa Barbara Zoo with our favorite friends, The Hunters. We went to celebrate Rachel's birthday. It was a blast, of course.

special occasion forward facing!

two cool dudes

great friends

And on Mother's Day, we surprised my mom in Parkfield. My parents were up there for a bluegrass music festival. It was fun. Everett got to eat a cheese burger sitting on a saddle.

See you after the birthday party!