++Two and a half++

How is it that my little baby is now a full-blown big boy? Just ask him. He's not a big brother, he's not even Wyatt Pacyna...he's Wyatt Big Boy.

Here is a little about life with him at two-and-a-half.

++Most days he is a super happy kid. He wakes up with a smile and doesn't stop all day.

++He has his moments. He likes to push us, especially at dressing time. His latest gig is to decide he hates whatever shirt we pick. Or refuse both of two options. He then decides at bedtime he doesn't want his pajama shirt, he wants to keep wearing the same shirt he threw a tantrum over in the morning.

++He is a showman. He loves to get a laugh of of us and most days will perform on command. He does "tricks" (which look a lot like yoga) and tells us "watch this".

++His talking has taken off dramatically over the last couple of months. He now speaks in complete sentences and attempts to match the appropriate tenses of his verbs with his nouns. Sometimes he gets it wrong. Most recently we were getting "me are!" all the time. He recently has been telling me things like "Someday I would like to ride a motorcycle" and "When I am big I want to drive a dump truck".

++He enjoys art projects. I bought him some watercolors and he will literally sit and paint for half an hour. This is big for a two-year-old. He also loves his stamps. Thank goodness for washable stamp pads!

++He repeats everything he hears. He also asks "What is that" or "what is (insert word he hears here)." When Nana was here he caught me telling her something was "so dumb" so he pipes up in the back seat "so dumb? what's so dumb?" Oh dear. I am sure that it's only a matter of time before he is saying some less-than-pleasant words. I am trying to eliminate my prolific use of the word "crap" from my vocabulary--it's tough!

++He is still totally Daddy obsessed. I think that has helped with the baby transition as it is mommy who ends up spending most of the time with the baby.

++His favorite toys are not toys. They include couch cushions, brooms, anything Claire related and anything mom and dad happen to be using. He loves to play outside, especially catch and chase with dad. He also loves to "help" whether it is with bathing his sister or pulling weeds.

++He has been known to watch a little (too much) television. It is my goal to wean him once life with Claire gets a little easier. As of today his favorite show is Dora. He does a great Swiper imitation: "Oh Man!"

++His parents think he is pretty great and are really proud of how well he is adapting to his new role as big brother.