Mom Remembers

Carl can: * count to 12 * recite the alphabet * recognize most of the colors * recognize the letters from his name * identify body parts * identify animals * recite 4 scriptures * sing dozens of songs * remember the text from his favorite books

Fine Motor Skills Carl can: * scribble with crayons * do an age-appropriate puzzle * build with legos (and mega-blocks) * stack blocks * squeeze play-dough * turn the pages in a book * use a spoon * drink from an open cup * open cabinets and drawers * wash his own body Gross Motor Skills Carl can: * walk * run * dance * stand on one foot * carry stuff * climb up into his booster seat * help put his arms and legs into clothing * throw a ball * walk upstairs using a handrail * go downstairs on his hands and knees * balance on an open swing * push himself down a slide

When Soren was two years old, I published a list including every word he could say by that age. I always intended to do something similar for Carl but keeping up with his incredible vocabulary was a Herculean task. He used some complete sentences by 15 months and could talk about everything in his experience by the time he was 18. It would probably be more appropriate for me to chart his grammatical development in the past few months but I don't know how. I also never noticed him making grammatical mistakes, not even the traditional "I/you" trouble. His speech certainly has become more complicated, with conjunctions, modifiers, and multiple clauses but I don't know how to document that. Let's just say: this boy can talk.

Dear Heavenly Father, we are so grateful for the crayons. We are so grateful for the playdough. Please bless Soren that he will play with the Legos. Please bless Daddy to come home. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I can't believe how time has flown. My little Carl is two years old! This is what we did to celebrate: 1. We pretty much had cake for breakfast. As soon as Soren woke up, he said "It's Carl's birthday!" and Carl started asking for the cake. I made cereal for the boys to eat but they didn't really touch them, what with the chanting for cake. So we made cupcakes right then and there; when they came out of the oven, I served them right away. Carl had picked out the kind the day before at the grocery store: funfetti cake with chocolate frosting. 2. Carl opened some of his birthday presents. Soren opened the rest. From Grandma and Grandpa, Carl got a table and chairs with little dishes for his play kitchen. From Nan and Poppy he got book money. There were also clothes (but he didn't think much of those). He was most excited about his cards, which he opened and closed and asked us to read over and over again. 3. Among the gifts was a really co...