How did we get here?

Ryan is Two and a Half years old today...Wow, how did we get here?? It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital! I haven't posted in a couple of weeks, but this milestone deserves a post! What is Ryan up to, you might wonder??

***TV - He still LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but has also expanded his TV watching to Little Einsteins and Special Agent Oso. For movies he absolutely loves the Curious George movie, and has watched it in its entirety several times. He is starting to also get into the movie Cars....And the silly big purple dinosaur still lingers but we have managed to reserve him for special occasions - car rides to Grandma and Papa's in NY, visits at Nana and Grandpa's house, or sick days. We used to listen to the Barney CD on the way to school - every.single.day. But we somehow phased that out as well - yay! In general, his interest in TV has declined from the days when I was convinced he was addicted to television because his first word when he woke up everyday was "Ehgo! (Elmo)" as he pointed downstairs to the TV! Whoever told me everything is a phase could not have been more right! Now, he usually watches one episode in the morning before we leave for work/school, and that is it.
***He continues to talk non stop - Comments and questions galore. And he picks up on everything we say or do. Last week another driver was driving like an idiot and I was ranting and raving and saying things like "Seriously?" Ryan asked what was wrong and I told him the other car was driving crazy. Yesterday we had a similar experience and after I said "seriously? are you serious?" Ryan said to me "Mommy, that car is driving crazy!" And that is just one example of what he says and mimics, retains and remembers.
***Over the past few weeks he has basically almost completely potty trained himself, it is pretty amazing and has required minimal work from us, and no rewards/treats. This weekend we attempt underwear - wish us luck!
***He has made several little friends that he enjoys getting together with to play on weekends - his favorite is our neighbor Ava. I am so glad we met the Karpewiczs because Ryan and Ava are the best of friends and Erin/Eric are great people to hang out with. It really is just so cute seeing Ryan have little friends of his own! And he absolutely adores his cousins. They may live far away, but they are never far from his thoughts!
***Other things he likes to do - play with his sand/water table, play doh, read books, books and more books...go to the playground and take walks on weekends...paint with watercolors, color, and pretend to clean with his own cleaning kit. He is also starting to get into cars and trains, especially Thomas.

I know I am going to sound like "that obnoxious parent" right now but he really is just an all around great kid. Sure, he has his moments - what 2 1/2 year old doesn't? But in general he listens to us, says please/thank you/excuse me, cleans up, does what we ask him to, goes to bed with no arguing or complaining ever and has a very minimal amount of tantrums/meltdowns! We joke that his answer to everything is "ok!" My mom says that he has the best parts of me and Tim and I think that is true. We are beyond blessed to have him as our little guy. It really makes me scared to ever have another kid because I don't think we will get this lucky twice :) Tonight to celebrate his 2 1/2 year milestone, we will be getting together with our friends Mike, Kim and their newborn son Andrew at a local watering hole to sit outside and enjoy the sunny weather and a few drinks. I will try to snap a few pictures and post them this weekend!