I really should have done an update between Jasper's 18 months old mark and his 2 year old mark because he has changed so much since Decemeber it is hard to remember everything.
Off the top of my head, I would say that his speech is the area that has changed the most remarkably. A perfect example would be his pronounciation of his brother's name. He started calling him "Ham" in January, which turned into "Tham" and is now a crystal clear "Sam", which I am sure all the neighbours have heard because Jasp loves to know where Sam is every single second of the day and will call out for him in his loudest voice. Jasp is like a little parrot and can mimic any word you ask him to (well, whenever he feels like it is more of an accurate description) Combined with his ability to absorb things and his memory, this little kid can be pretty impressive. I have taught him to count from 1-10 in English, French and Cantonese, state his age, birth date, full name and we are currently working on where he lives. Though I know it is all memorization, it is pretty cute to hear him counting to 10 in Cantonese with no prompting while he is playing. At his 2 year appointment, the doctor asked if he had a vocabulary of 50 words and I was so proud to say that my munchkin is beyond that capacity. He always surprises me with words I didn't know he knew and is starting to string 2 or 3 words together as well. It makes a huge difference when your child can communicate verbally, less frustration from the child and parent. One time, Jasper said to Daddy, "Tummy hurt" and two seconds later, he threw up on Daddy. Not funny for Daddy at the time, but to be fair Jasp did warned Daddy.
Jasper was not cooperative at the doctor's office for his two year check up but we did manage to weigh him (29 lbs) and measure him (35 inches). I get a lot of comments about how Jasp looks big for his age but I think he is pretty average. He eats well, (more than well if it is something he likes), is not too picky (will sometimes say he doesn't want to eat something but if I leave it in front of him, he'll eat it on his own accord), but is very physical so he burns off a lot of energy. Don't let the messy pictures of him fool you. He may know how to make a mess but he does not like to be messy. He insists on having a cloth to clean himself while eating or he goes and washes his hands (and occasionally feet too) multiple times during a meal. His most current thing is not liking his shirt wet from his drooling. I try to distract him after he notices his wet shirt because if I changed him everytime he drooled, he would definitely go through his closet everyday.
Daddy and Mommy still have to keep a close eye on our little climber (couch, counters, tables, anything) but he does take caution sometimes like if he is on the road or in a parking lot, he knows to watch and listen for cars. But he gets goofy ideas like hiding under the bed (or just hiding his head and he thinks he is hiding!) or reading under the laundry basket so we never know what to expect from this little guy. It has already been a month or two that Jasp has decided that he wants to walk up and down our staircase (which consists of about 15 steps) and he has also just discovered how to climb out of his crib. Mommy has had a couple of panic attacks waking up in the morning to the sounds of her 2 year old downstairs with the tv on and playing with his lego.
Jasper has quite a sense of humor and is also funny just being himself. I recently posted a clip of Jasp on Facebook eating some watermelon. He had decided to drink the juice from the watermelon so he tipped the whole tupperware up to his face. I asked him what he was drinking and he said, "Soup". I thought this was adorable so then I took out the camera hoping for a repeat performance. With the camera rolling this time, I asked again, "What are you drinking?" And this time he answered with a mischievous smile, "Coffee". What a ham! The other morning, I was clipping Sammy's finger and toenails, a task that involves a lot of "owwws" and whining which baffles me because he is normally so easy going and it doesn't even hurt! Well, Jasper then offers up his fingers and toes happily after Sam is done even though they are not that long because it is something that he enjoys and asks me and Will to do often. As I start clipping one of his fingernails, he says, "Owww!" in a humorous voice and looks up at me with a gigantic grin. I am sure if he knew to say, "Just kidding!", he would have said it right then and there.
His expressions and sound effects just crack me up. Lots of "oohs", "aahs", "oh oh", "ding ding", "boinga boinga", "ta da" and so many more I cannot remember them all. Daddy and my favorite is "No!" or "Nope!" (not really) Once he was saying "No" to everything so I asked if his favorite word is "No" and he said an affirmative "Uh-huh". Little Trickster. Just yesterday I saw an old clip of Sammy when he was 2 1/2 and he and Jasper sound quite similar at this stage in life. Opposites in nature but similar still!
Jasper is quite independent. He prefers to do everything by himself, from putting on his own shoes (loves getting new shoes and clothes by the way), to climbing into the car and buckling his own seatbelt, to feeding himself, to washing his hands, to brushing his teeth, to dressing himself (still practicing!), to almost anything. It was a bit confusing at first because he would say, "Help" and we thought that he was asking for help, but in fact he meant that he wanted to help himself. He is not normally afraid to try out something he is interested in. Sam is not too fond of Jasper's newfound interest in the iPad. How crazy was it to see an almost 2 year old navigating through pictures and games on an iPad?!?
His love/hate relationship with water remains constant. Loves playing with his water table, loves playing in the bath, loves playing at the sink but hates the ocean, hates when splashed in the face by someone else when playing with water outside (like when Mommy sprayed him in the face with a water gun, oopsies!), and hates getting his hair washed. I didn't sign him up for any swimming lessons this year but I do hope this is something he grows out of, we do live in Bermuda afterall. And even though water may be Jasp's kryptonite, he is otherwise quite a rough and tumble kid. I don't know if it is clumsiness or what but he falls down quite a bit and bumps into many a things, but 9 out of 10 times, he will just get up and keep on truckin'. The other time when it does "hurt" (which he says with the cutest disconcerted look), a kiss will heal the wound right away.
I always tell people that Jasper is my "spirited" child and more "challenging" and though he is more outspoken than Sam, I am also realizing that it is a bit unfair for Jasper because I think having two children is what is more challenging in general. Very tiring, but of course very rewarding and when they are both asleep, all I think of is all the funny and loving things they did throughout the day.
