2 years + 9 months

It seems like Lincoln has done a lot of growing up this month.  The most noticeable difference is in his speech.  He has much longer and more complex sentences.  He has started narrating a lot of what he sees, thinks and feels.  It's fascinating to actually hear the thoughts that have been swirling around in his head!  He also often breaks out into song.  Some of the more popular selections are "Happy Birthday," "ABC's," "Old McDonald," "Peas Porridge Hot," and the most recent addition courtesy of Sunday school, "the rains came down and the floods came up..." complete with all the hand actions.  It's no secret that Emily is a prolific talker/singer, so now we have constant competition for air time.

I had fleeting hope at the beginning of the month when Lincoln became very interested in sitting on the potty.  He even had one teeny, tiny little deposit once, but that was it, and the novelty soon wore off.  I am encouraged, though, that he has just recently occasionally started telling me when his diaper is wet/dirty and he wants it changed.  That's a positive step in the right direction.  However, he still consistently makes a dirty diaper 15-20 min. AFTER being put down for a nap and/or to bed at night.  When that happens he doesn't complain, he just doesn't fall asleep. 

In addition to jumping on and off everything, Lincoln has entered a throwing stage.  Lots of things get chucked around the house.  Also, now whenever he falls down or bumps something, he immediately jumps up and says, "I 'kay!" (I'm okay)

Lincoln as also become much more opinionated about his wardrobe.  He has a favorite orange shirt (not the one pictured) that he requests all the time, "How 'bout my ownsge schirt?"  Unfortunately, that particular shirt is really getting too small and was the one he wore when we were touching up trim paint in the living room, so there are permanent streaks of latex paint on the back and sleeves.  I also recently bought two pairs of Thomas the Tank Engine pajamas, and he pretty much wants to wear them 24/7.  The one he prefers most is actually already too small, so his belly sticks out with high-water pants.

Lastly, Lincoln can now recognize the difference between letters and numbers.  He can count to 10 and sing the ABC's, but he doesn't recognize individual letters and numbers.  We are also still working on colors and shapes.