Dylan at 2 Years 4 Months

-We are getting rid of the pool that takes up our entire yard. The guy came last night to dismantle it. Dylan saw him, and ran to grab his construction hat, saying, "I help!"


-One day last week, I was looking through old pictures, and Dylan saw one of us from last summer at the lake. He announced, "Mommy, when Daddy home today, we go to the beach!" "Uh, it's 40 degrees out, kid, but way to dream"!

-His obsession with letters continues. He has started writing C, E, F, I, L, M, O, and V. He can also spell his name, Mommy, Daddy, and Up. He says the sounds of all the consonants, ( "B says Buh!"), thanks to the Leap Frog refrigerator magnet toy.

-I've mentioned before that dinner time at my house is difficult. There's the whole human vacuum thing, but it's more than that. On the rare occasion that I can hold Dylan off until Jim gets home, we eat together as a family. Jim and I try desperately to talk, and Dylan tries desperately to interrupt. Lately, I've been trying to get him involved in an appropriate, polite way. I coach, "Dylan, ask Daddy, "How was your day?"". Other times, "Dylan, ask Daddy, "What did you do today?"" He's catching on. The other day, after not seeing his beloved stuffed animal, "Puppy", for a while, he picked him up, asking, "Puppy, how you do today?"
-He is hilarious at music class. He is a very enthusiastic participant! One little problem - he doesn't stay with me! He's over, right next to the teacher, imitating her every move, and grinning at her! I'm sure the other kids are saying, "Hey! Teacher's pet! We're not being graded on this stuff!"

-The "Pope Mobile" has been retired. I knew my parents were taking Dylan to the mall, but one day I asked, "Does he stay with you when you go?" They replied, "Well, sometimes we have to put him in the Pope Mobile". "Uh, the what?!" Up until that point, I had no idea they were taking the old backpack stroller to the mall, and having my kid imitate the Pope.