28.5

I haven't done a "milestone" update on Owen in awhile, so here is what he's up to at 28 1/2 months...

• loves anything with letters and numbers! He can now say all 26 letters correctly (he struggled with W for awhile.) He is counting to 20 independently w/o our help and he will count to 10 in Spanish.
• knows more animals and their sounds than I can name. It's crazy how much he picks up from books and TV.
• know colors red, orange, blue, pink, yellow, brown,white, black, gray and green
• can say and recognize the following shapes: triangle, diamond, square, pentagon, oval, heart and flower
• says please, thank you, you're welcome, and excuse me (more like cuse me.)
  
• knows left and right and will tell you which way to go at a stop light.
• knows that red means STOP and green means GO.
• Has most his books memorized. He is really into Mercer Mayer's Little Critter books, How do Dinosaurs ... books and The Curious George Treasury book (you know, the red one with all the stories in it. He loves the one where George has a surprise party. I think because George makes a mess and there is cake and party hats!
• is speaking in complete sentences , but three-four word sentences tend to still take place most of the time. He responds correctly when you ask him a question. Danny and I really enjoy this!
• He says mommy at the beginning of EVERYTHING! I am considering teaching him this is a BAD word and that he should only say daddy from now on.
  
• Recognizes places (he's gotten to where he'll say something he remembers from each place when we drive by or when we go there. )
• LOVES to dance and sing! He dances anytime there is music on TV, in the car or when we're out. He and Julie always dance at MOE's on Monday's. His favorite songs to sing are: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Row Row Row Your Boat, Kookaburra, and several other songs from CD's we got from Kindermusik.
• Likes almost any show that comes on Noggin. I try and limit his TV, but there are days he watches A LOT more than I would like!
• Is really into dinosaurs, dragons, bears, caves, castles, volcanoes and we still have to build multiple draw bridges and towers every day.
• Is into pretend play. He had a Little People School Bus and Little People Animal set that he plays with a good bit.
• We also play a little travel game at night where we pull the covers over our head and pretend like we're going on a trip. We'll go to space, the beach, the forest, the swamp, the dessert, etc and talk about what animals we see there, we'll talk about stars, and planets, the temperature, etc. he usually makes some reference to Dora and Boots or The wonder Pets, but hey, at least he gets it!
  
• He also LOVES his MR. Potato Head
• He would sit and do puzzles ALL day if you let him. He has a Melissa and Doug farm scene puzzle that he really likes, a Brio dog puzzle, and a dinosaur puzzle that we do daily!
• He tries really hard to help! He wants to help me clean, cook, and take care of the babies.
• Loves to play chase and Hide -and-seek
• Loves to be tickled
  
• He loves Ben and plays really well with him. He shares for the most part, but he has recently learned the word "MY." He uses this in the context of "MINE." Boy do I hate that word.
• He has also started saying NO a lot more. I hate this word too!
• about a month ago he started jumping. Not just that little bounce where his feet are still firmly planted anymore.
  
• he is a pretty good eater. He went through a little spell where he wouldn't eat hardly anything, but we're now back to really well balanced meals!
• loves sweets (like his mama.) I try to limit these, but with a birthday party every weekend, it's really hard!
  
• LOVES to be outside. He has gotten really good at kicking and throwing balls! He love to draw with sidewalk chalk and blow bubbles!
• Molly and Sam won't have much to do with him, so he really likes it when our neighbors dog, Chili, comes over, They play chase in the backyard.
• He is a little clown and knows when he says something funny or does something silly.
• some of my Owen favorites are: "Owen's a hot mess," "Big giant poop," "Amazing," "Tasty," "Yum, delicious." When I was getting him out of the bath last night, he said, "Mama, jammas, diaper, wipes, butter paste, comb hair" and then smiled. When I ask him what the baby eats, he'll say, "Mommy's Milk." What does Owen eat? "Cows milk." What does mommy eat? "Soy milk." What does Daddy eat? "Peanuts." And baby Ella? "Baby Ella Cute! (with a smile.)
  

I really really love this kid! I am so glad he didn't sell on ebay and that Brad and Angelina didn't take me up on my offer. He's a keeper and I am glad he's mine!!!