All Growed Up

It's crazy. It's like Iain turned two and decided he was big. In the last few weeks, I'm astounded at the number of things he's done, tried and eaten without protest, fuss or complaint. Things that he'd previously decided he didn't want to do, was scared to try or wouldn't eat. He's back on the potty wagon, for one. (Although I'm not holding my breath on that one lasting!) Don't know what the difference is, except that we pulled out the green potty last night instead of the red one! Now don't get me wrong, he's still a two-year-old in any and all senses of the word! It has not been an "easy-breezy" few weeks! But I'm loving this cooperative, adventurous, up-for-anything side of him!

For instance: our fun neighbors (Thanks Candace and Michael!) participated in "Bike to Work Week" and got Iain this snazzy bike helmet. (They actually thought it would come in handy for his extreme-golf games!) But Iain refused to put it on! On Wednesday though, when we brought out his tricycle and I told him frankly that when we ride bikes we need to wear helmets, and he put it on without a fuss! He hopped on that trike and pedaled away to his heart's content! (Don't mind the grouchy face! He was concentrating! And don't mind the messy shirt...he'd just eaten a chocolate chip cookie in the 90 degree heat!)

And the eating! Oh the eating! Ever since I instituted "Operation Smoothie" about a week ago, he's been eagerly slugging one (or two or three!) back a day. We've had strawberry-blueberry, strawberry-banana, mango-blueberry, banana-mango and every flavor combination in between, and he loves them all! We've even been adding spinach for the last few days, and it hasn't made a dent in his enthusiasm. In addition, in the last week he's tried (and liked) watermelon, strawberries (minus the liked part on the strawberries!), quinoa, steak, mushrooms, bratwurst, salami, fruit popsicles, herbal tea, flax seed cakes, Laughing Cow cheese and a host of other things. I say "Try this Iain!" and he does. It's amazing! He even asks for (and eats!) carrots and apples with his lunch! I'm so happy that he's eating such a wide variety of food and getting so many good (and different!) nutrients! However, as you can see below, chocolate is still a food of choice for this boy!


And the little one? He's having a hard time with his teeth lately. He's been up in the night a couple of times, which is unusual for him, and he gnaws wet spots the size of basketballs on any fabric he can get his hands (gums!) on! It makes me so sad to see him fussy. I can tell that he's in a lot of pain, as he's generally never cranky. He's still a cutie little chubster though, and as we know from Iain, "this too shall pass"! As for being "all growed up"? Well, all of a sudden, he seems to think he's big enough to hold his own bottle!