2 1/2 Too Soon

I can't believe that Hayden is just about 2 1/2 years old. He is becoming more and more a little boy each day, and less the baby I keep thinking him to be. He surprises me daily with the things he comes up with and thinks about.

He is really getting into imaginative play. It is so fun! We sat on the stairs and imagined for a full 20 minutes that we were in Sacrament meeting (using scriptures as hymn books to sing songs) and our reverence was only interrupted by me saying it was lunch time. He wanted to keep singing more church songs and pretend that he was sitting by his friend Addie. Too precious. His all time FAVORITE imaginative play activity-fighting dragons with swords. He does sounds effects and everything.

He recently discovered a new love...painting. We made caterpillars out of egg cartons and he surprised me by staying focused for 30 minutes and wanting to paint a second one, for daddy. Whenever he sees me on the computer he asks to watch a Mickey Mouse (think 1940s cartoons that are about 7 minutes long). He is into cars, swings, balls, puzzles, books, and chewing gum.

Bar none, his favorite activity is still playing outside, and he NEEDS it to get some energy out. I don't know what do with all that pent up energy when we don't get out. The other day we got to take the kite out that the Hales' gave us and he loved it. I took him outside for an hour(he basically ran the entire time) and he came in and ate lunch and then said, "I'm ready for a nap." He went right down and closed his eyes. If he doesn't go outside it is a long emotional process to put him down. Did I mention I read about child personalities and for Hayden's the advice was to get them outside as much as possible? It turns him into a completely different child.

I have pictures, I'll come back and edit this post when I actually put them on my computer.

Recent parenting to ponder:

In lieu of physical reprimand or time outs that I can't immediately enforce while nursing I make a sad face and explain to Hayden that I feel sad when he does something that isn't nice. Hayden's new thing after I say this is to become really sad and say, "Love you mommy." Finally the other day we had been through this scenario and he said he loved me and I immediately said, "If you love me..." and phrase finished in my head, "keep my commandments." I ended up saying, "then you do what I ask and try to do good things." I had to smile to myself, thinking that Heavenly Father probably got a good kick out of this situation, because I'm sure he says the same thing to us when we come to him over and over again when we have made mistakes. I am grateful that just like I always forgive Hayden and love him and help him try to do better that Heavenly Father does the same for us as we come to him. Then it struck me just how similar parenting our children really is to Heavenly Father parenting us (if done in His way of course). We really are here to prepare in every way to become like God is.