2.5

I stopped doing monthly updates for H after he turned 2 but I now that he's officially 2 1/2 (as of June 30th) I wanted to do a small update on what he's been up to lately so that I don't forget years from now.

Hunter has really turned into Mr. Personality, he's such a little ham and he is fortunately growing out of his stranger danger phase. He now very happily talks to cashiers when checking out at the store, saying hi to everyone he passes and trying to have full on conversations with random people we come into contact with. He knows how to turn on the charm with the ladies and whenever he's around older boys or my husbands friends he just wants to rough house and run around and do whatever he can to impress them.

He is still very much a mama's boy and one of his favorite phrases that he uses almost daily is "mommy's pretty". I think he does this in part because he knows I will basically give him whatever he wants when he says it. He will also comment on what I'm wearing and say things like "pretty dress", one time I put on a long maxi style dress and he said "mama go on wedding show?" Yes I still watch wedding shows and Hunter is not a fan of them in fact everytime I have the remote he says "I don't like wedding shows". For the record I don't always watch wedding shows.

Hunter is now about 90% potty trained. He only wears diapers for nap time and bedtime. Otherwise he's in underwear and very rarely has an accident. He's very good about telling us when he needs to go and is able to hold it for quite a while if we're out running errands. He also now prefers to stand up when he pees so that he "can be like daddy".

Hunter has gotten much better with independent play and we've noticed him using his imagination a lot more while playing. He has an "imaginary friend" who he has named Fallax and will give us details about what he looks like and the things he does when asked. Apparently Fallax has blue hair, blue eyes and is 9 years old. Right now he's obsessed with monster trucks and matchbox cars. Those are his favorite but he also still enjoys playing with buses, construction trucks, legos and his wooden train set. He still loves to ride his glider bike outside and will go the entire length of the sidewalk without putting his feet on the ground. His favorite shows are Super Why (this is is #1), Mickey Mouse, Little Einsteins and Chuggington.

He is still sleeping in his crib. He still hasn't tried to climb out (which amazes me) and sleeps so well in it that we figure why mess with a good thing. We will convert it to a toddler bed by the time he's 3 unless there is reason to do it sooner, such as night time potty training. He still take one 2-3 hour nap a day and sleep from around 8pm - 6:30am.

Hunter is talking really well. He speaks in complete sentences and can hold a conversation with someone. He also has an amazing memory and will mention things that happened weeks/months ago. He is really into the repeating phase and will constantly say the same words and phrases that we say often. For instance the cat was meowing at the door wanting to go outside and Hunter yells "Halpert, maybe you can go outside later". He also like to correct us if we are playing with something wrong or doing something incorrectly. He will say "no mama, like this". He also always wants to know what we are doing or where we are and the other day when Kristian and I were in the kitchen he yelled "whatchu guys doing in there?" He is also quite bossy and demanding right now, he will tell me "mama sit on couch now" or when I'm trying to play with one of his toys
he will say "no mama, not like that, like this".

The tantrums have picked up a bit as he tries to become more independent but overall he's really well behaved and seems to do best when we sit calmly and explain to him why he can't have something or why he is in timeout. He is very inquisitive and always wants to know 'why'.

He is still just such a joy and we are so blessed he's ours.