Two years old and Five years old!

Ok, goodness, it's been too long.  Life and the accessibility of Instagram have taken over my ability to choose the long-hand version of family historical record-keeping.  I am however, beginning to miss the gritty details of things not photogenic, so here they are!

First, the five year old.

• Since March 15th officially, though she has had the mental and emotional age of a five year old (or a thirteen year old) for much longer.
• She is evermore a fire-cracker, awesomely stubborn and sure of herself.  These traits, though they make me want to pull my own hair out, will undoubtedly be enviable one day and the beginnings of an amazing and captivating young lady.
• She is kind-hearted and able to laugh at herself.
• She's unbelievably outgoing and loves attention but is not keen on being on a stage in front of people.  She's much more comfortable off-the-cuff.
• She loves dresses and roller-skating, biking and jumping off my bed in them.
• She is still a fantastic eater though noticeably pickier in the last year.
• She has been wearing size 6 clothes for the last year and a half, though has grown around 4 inches (I think... I forget where I wrote that one down).
• Graduated her second year of preschool this month and cannot wait for full-day Kindergarten next year.
• Is starting to read, recognizes all of her sight words and can sound out many words with extreme excitement and pride.
• Is not napping anymore but could very easily.  I do my best to keep her up so that she will go to sleep with her brother at 7pm (she's a very early riser).
• Is very nurturing toward her brother and her friends.
• Is not very sensitive but is extremely perceptive about why her friends do and say what they do.
• Is a sporty girl at heart but loves coloring and drawing, making up stories, doing puzzles and acting out the whole spectrum of emotional scenarios via her dolls and stuffed animals.

And the two year old.

• He's basically the sweetest little human ever created.  No really.
• He is obsessed with music, namely CCV worship services, the music from Frozen, Praise Baby, and the occasional Chris Tomlin.
• He is in the 50th percentile for height and weight (ish) and the allergist ok'd switching from his Elecare medical formula and rice milk to only coconut milk.  We will know over time whether he is still gaining weight at a healthy rate and making up those calories elsewhere but so far he seems to be doing well.
• His diet otherwise is pretty straightforward and consists of chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, lots of fruit (except peaches), broccoli, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, Van's brand multigrain crackers, Van's Honey Nut Crunch cereal, rice chex, rice krispies, honey rice Puffins cereal, dried fruit, and just recently yogurt made from coconut milk.
• I've been able to include small amounts of soy in his diet without any significant consequences, but he reacted adversely to the reintroduction of milk, beef and wheat a couple of months ago.  So for now we are continuing the avoidance of corn, wheat, milk, large amounts of soy, shellfish, peaches, avocado, beef and nuts.
• He has a propensity for taking his diaper off both while awake and asleep and has peed on the potty numerous times.  Potty training is slated for tomorrow if I have the guts to follow through with it!
• He still sleeps with a pacifier and his blue and white striped fleecy "blankie".
• Loves to be read to but usually will only sit for books he already knows.  His favorites are I am a Bunny, Little Quack's Opposites, Busy Little People and anything with Dora or the Frozen characters.
• If he's not watching CCV services online he is playing one of his two guitars or other instruments, or giggling at whatever crazy thing Ava is doing.
• He's taking one nap now (the sweet spot) for about an hour and a half, and sleeping at night from around 7:30pm - 6am.
• He is the opposite of his sister, a little more shy and slow to warm up to new people or places, but put him on a stage and he's in his element.
• He's not only snuggly still, he is affectionate.  Always giving out hugs and kisses just because.
• He's like a monkey on our furniture.
• He has a newfound love of coloring!
• He's just started to stand up for himself in the form of arm-crossing and some hitting and tantrums, but is still generally much easier than Ava was at this age and is much more laid back and easy-going.
• He is also obsessed with technology, especially our iPhones, iPods and iPads but he has started doing much better with the boundaries I've set with the use of these very expensive toys.
• Loves playing hide and seek and regularly goes someplace and yells, "Find me!"
• Is speaking in two word sentences or fitting three or more words together with charade-type motions to get his point across but his comprehension is excellent.  He and Ava have a fun time giggling through his vocabulary as he'll say something like, "Oh-were" (over) and Ava might say, "What? Underwear? Hahahaha..." and they both start laughing!

I'm sure I'll add more to this when I wake up tomorrow and realize the hundreds of details I've forgotten to mention.

In short these kids are precious and I'm so blessed to have them.  Their relationship has begun to take root in the last year and their personalities really do complement each other well.  Ava is the leader but Grayson isn't a pushover.  They have similar senses of humor and make each other laugh.  Grayson wants to do everything Ava is doing or saying or eating, and for now Ava loves being admired and is a gentle teacher.  They both love to rough-house and jump from furniture to pillows to cushions to furniture and enjoy sharing such an active spirit.  Overall I am realizing how much of a blessing it is that they play so well together and pray that it continues for a long long time!