2 years

2 years ago on this very day, talan cash skiver entered the world. he was a calm and quiet baby. and two years later, he is high energy and loud. and i wouldn't change a thing (today at least!).
two years goes by in a flash when you have a baby. yet on the other hand, it seems as though he's been with us forever.
this month talan is talking more then ever. he tries to say pretty much everything you say and you can almost always even understand it. well, at least i can.
as much as talan likes the show, yo gabba gabba, his most favorite show right now is probably the imagination movers. he just got a new video which has them just basically playing their songs and he can watch that all day long.
he is in love with going "outside" as we had several really nice days recently. but doesn't understand why we suddenly had to stop going outside because it started snowing again. one day he'll realize it's not like this in most other states, and then he'll wonder why his parents never picked up and left this crazy place. but anyway, he probably asks to go outside at least once a day....if not every time he passes by the side door.
the other week dave was outside talking to someone while hayden and talan were on the porch. from what i hear, dave says he starts hearing hayden yell "no talan! stop talan! stop!" and talan has very quickly gotten himself off of the porch, runs straight for the street and then starts running as fast as he can down the middle of the street. this is why the front yard will not be an option for a very long time.
now that our basement is back in order, talan is having a blast running around the big wide open area. he'll just run in circles yelling "running! running!" as much as hayden loved to run, i think talan might love it just a little bit more. and he is fast. very fast.
talan also loves to be a "helper." which usually comes in the form of handing you something you really don't want. especially cell phones. if he sees my cell phone laying around he'll pick it up and run over to me "mama. mama." until i take it, say thank you, and set it right back down where he picked it up from in the first place. but he's always so proud of himself for delivering the correct cell phone to it's rightful owner.
he also loves to point to an object and tell you what it is. but he will keep repeating that word until you say it back to him. it's ok some of the time, but when you're on the phone it's especially annoying. probably mostly to the person on the other end. they are suddenly interrupted by me saying "yes. blanket." "cup, yes." if you don't repeat it, he will literally say it over and over, louder and louder until you finally say it back to him. i believe i've tried simply saying "yes" and that doesn't work. you MUST say the word he is saying.
along with that, he also loves to walk around the house pointing at objects and telling you who they belong to. the other day, he was downstairs and pointed to the vacuum and said "mama" and then pointed to the carpet cleaner that dave borrowed from work and said "dada." some things are quite odd that he dubs a certain persons. like a lamp in the basement was "dada's" and a candle was "mama's." i guess that's because it's dave that usually turns that lamp on and me that lights the candle.
talan LOVES to give hugs. and real ones most of the time. not just the "lean my head onto you and call it a hug" hug (which hayden still does). he'll just run up to me many times during the day, arms wide open, and throw them around my legs and just give me a hug. he also loves to hug other kids. he'll go up to hayden all day long and give him hugs. he also doesn't mind giving kisses most of the time, but he's a lip kisser. hayden will always turn his head so that talan will just kiss his cheek, but talan will just circle around until he can finally reach hayden's lips to give him a kiss.
talan hasn't been the best eater lately. sometimes he'll only take a bite or two and then start saying "all done" and he'll say "all done" over and over, louder and louder, until you get him out of his chair. dinner's can be very annoying. when he's done eating dinner he'll also say "dada" because he loves to go sit in dave's lap...which is really just an excuse to get down, but it works most nites. he still loves tomatoes, cucumbers and....lettuce. yes, dry lettuce. he loves the stuff. he's usually really good about eating chicken (i did say USUALLY) but doesn't take to ground beef very well. probably his most favorite treat are suckers which are "huhers"
talan remains on the same schedule that he has been on for months now. up at around 7am, nap from about 1-3:30ish, bedtime between 7 and 8 depending on when he gets up from nap. he usually goes down pretty easily but has been waking up SOAKED through his diaper. i think i need to go up to a size 5...hopefully that will help. he doesn't eat much for breakfast and almost never sits for it. he pretty much wears a size 18-24 month pant and a 2t shirt, although he is starting to wear 24 month/2t pants as long as they have an adjustable waist.
he loves to sit at his easel and play with all of the letter magnets. he will many times sit there and start singing what is the abc's. he gets some of the letters in there at least. he continues to love bath time. he usually likes to get his nails clipped. he loves oatmeal and yogurt. he loves running. he loves going outside. he loves football. he still loves to make a mess, but he does clean up really well too. he loves music but is very picky about what songs he wants to hear. he loves to jump and dance. he loves to read books. he is starting to really enjoy puzzles and has become quite good at them. when told to do something, if he doesn't do it, we can actually count to 3 and then he'll do it. he loves elmo. he loves rubber ducks. he loves the letters i, m, w, x and l. he loves his new friend isaac and will say his name whenever we go to church or when he sees the extra booster chair we have in our house because isaac sat in it once. he loves to color, but usually he really just likes to take all of the crayons out of the box and then say all done once he's scribbled a few scribbles. he loves to say "hot" to things that actually are hot and to things that he just isn't supposed to touch. he can now open pretty much every door or cabinet in the house even if it has a childproof lock on it. he'll pick up a microphone and yell "ROCK" into it. when he wants to watch fireflight on tv he used to ask for justin...the other day he picked up his drumsticks and asked for phee. he is a rockstar.
he hates to sit. he still hates wipes. he hates sharing. he has become quite sassy when someone first comes to the house or when he sees the family at church. he won't look at them or talk to them and will run to his room and yell if talked to (this even happened with justin!). but other times he's more then happy to welcome a guest. he hates being put in and out of his car seat one too many times. how many is that? you'll know. he hates being told no but loves saying it himself. he is a rockstar.
talan has added so much to our family and we love him so much. he is such a funny kid with a great personality. when he's serious, he's very serious and focused and it's hard to get him to crack a smile....but he knows what funny is and laughs and makes others laugh often. these two years have gone by too quickly but i have tried to savor each moment with him. we'll just pray this year slows down a bit! with all of his energy and tantrums, he really is a VERY sweet little boy. i can see past the terrible two's and see that baby that we brought home from the hospital is still there.
we love you so much, baby talan. happy 2nd birthday!!!!