For simplicity, we didn’t bring any presents for Kaelem to open at his party at the park. Instead, we waited until his actual birthday to give him the two presents (because he’s two) we gave him and some others from family. We gave Kaelem his first game, “Don’t Spill the Beans” and a bicycle just for him! It was so cute to hear him “oooooo” over every thing he received and say “bink you” (when prompted). I guess it’s a sign of getting older, but I’m liking his birthdays now more than my own.

We were more than a bit disappointed when Jed discovered a broken piece on the bike. So, we rushed out to exchange it at the store. They were out of the boxed bike at Toys R Us and only had the assembled bikes available that included an extra fee. The clerk eventually ended up giving us the assembled bike without the fee, so we Kaelem was able to “ride” it out of the store. He has some practice to do on pedaling…hopefully today will turn out to be a nice one that we can take him to the park to try it out.

Another fun toy is the t-ball set from his Uncle David and Aunt Jenna. It’s been too wet and chilly to go outside with it, so I let him try it out in the house. As you’ll see from the video, he was more than careful with the bat in the house! David started t-ball when he was 4 and played baseball until mid-way through high school. I don’t know to what extent we’ll be involved in the sports realm, but it’d be nice if Kaelem can have some team playing experience at some point in the future.

I already took him to the doctor for his 2-year check-up and shots (and actually combined the visit with my own 30 week appointment). He did great with the poking and prodding and liked listening to the baby’s heartbeat. He lost it at shots time though, just for a bit. He settled down after I told him he’d get to see my blood. I had to get a blood test and that was just one of the things that popped out of my mouth to try to console him! He won’t need more shots until time for kindergarten. His growth stats are: 28 pounds, 35 inches tall, which is in the 50 percentile for weight and 65 percentile for height.

By the way, I found out yesterday that, excluding immunizations, I can legally only have access to Kaelem’s medical chart until he is 13 unless he grants me permission to view it. Age 18 I can understand, 13? NO WAY! The doctor said the theory is that kids will be more honest to health practitioners if parents aren’t around. This is just wrong on so many levels. Anyway, now is the time to work on submission to us as parents, so we’ll just focus on that for the time being.

Kaelem’s Current Skills:

• Says many words, pretty much repeats anything we say, up to three words together.
• Calls himself “Dahdo”
• Eats with utensils, but doesn’t like to all the time.
• Likes organizing. He’ll pull out the kitchen utensils and line them up on the piano bench. Or yesterday, took all of his diapers from his room and lined them neatly in my room.
• Loves sweets! Especially M&M’s right now.
• Still likes going to church, exploring the building, and pretty much thinks it’s another place for him to play.
• Always says “Papa bicycle” every time he sees a motorcycle.
• Hauls big items up and down the stairs at home.
• Showing independence by taking off his jacket and shoes.
• Learning to clean up his messes.

From two weeks to 2 years!

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