Motorcycles and Bikes

Trey and Holden still ride around the neighborhood most weekends on the Honda Trail 70 motorcycle. Holden absolutely LOVES it - he's already a total motorhead. Trey has taught him to turn on the key, turn the gas on, and the most exciting part put his hands on the throttle and gas while they drive. (I know it sounds scary but it's really not.) Trey and Holden both have their hands on the handlebars and Holden is basically in charge of the gas. Trey tells him when to slow down and when to "give it more". Holden talks about things he's done after the fact, so sometimes I hear him saying "slow down when go around 'da corner". His dad loves it. Holden's absolute favorite errand to run with Trey is when he has to go to the motorcylce shop for parts for The Bay. We went the other day and he cried when we left. He kept saying, "I want one. I want one home with me, Daddy." All the guys in the place got a kick out of that.

A couple of weeks ago, Trey decided to take the training wheels off of Holden's bike to see how he'd do. He did pretty good, but didn't last long. After about two minutes, he asked for his training wheels to go back on.

I have pictures of the bike riding, but not of the motorcycle riding. I'll have to capture those next time they ride.

2 year 4 month update

We decided to keep Holden enrolled in daycare/preschool this summer two days a week. He finally started in the toddler room (don't get me started on this one - he should have been in there months ago), and is in absolute hog heaven. He desperately needed the activities and structure that room provides. When I asked him if he liked his new class after his first day, he said, "I love my classroom. I love my kids." Just what we wanted to hear! He has used the potty each day that he's been there. The first day was just #1, which he does all the time, but we were proud none the less. The next time he was there, he did #2. It was his first time ever, I was surprised and proud. His teacher accidentally flushed for him which resulted in a major crying fit; for him, it's the best part of going. He continually sings the songs he's learned at school, and he's finally at the point where he'll finish the whole song. I'm learning some fun new tunes. He takes about 1 hour naps at school, which is little compared to his 3 to 5 hour naps at home. The teachers have commented that they've never seen a child sleep so little and have so much energy. But, you know, from birth that's our Holden! He gets along well with his friends and is a happy child. We couldn't be happier with his progress.

He's becoming quite independent and wants to do everything "by self", which is wonderful, but it also means everything takes quite a while longer. He's also becoming quite the storyteller. He loves telling long stories using "and then" to separate the events, which are usually in chronological order but not connected in any way. "I drove in Daddy's truck (morning), and then I ate chicken (dinner) , and then I read books (bedtime)." And now instead of counting to three before doing things, like throwing a ball or jumping into the pool, he counts to ten plus some. It goes one through ten in order and then 11, 14, 16, 18! Eighteen is always enthusiastically loud. He's ventured out slightly in his eating, but not by much. He will only eat three meats - chicken nuggets, salami, and bacon - not the picture of health. He does love fruits though, and will sometimes eat veggies. Like his dad, the kid would live on cheese alone if he could. I've purchased the book The Sneaky Chef to try sneaking some healthy veggies and grains in kid friendly food. We'll see if he can be tricked.

He has all of his teeth in and will make his first trip to the dentist this summer. He's recently gone through a growth spurt. I bought shoes for him not long ago, and he outgrew them within a month or so. I had to return them and get one size larger, a size 9. He's wearing 2T shorts, but can still fit into a lot his 18-24 months from last summer, and 3T shirts. I just bought him his first set of training pants and he looks so cute in them, like such a big boy!

Holden's happy and rambunctious and everything a little boy should be. He's a keeper.

Because I haven't been taking many pictures lately, here are a few more from his Target 2 year photo shoot.

Sweet!

Loading Holden into the car after our visit to the mall took it's not uncommon turn of events. I asked him to climb into his seat; and he bounced up to the front seat, sat on the driver's side, and squealed with delight. I went around to the driver's side to fetch him, he jumped to the front passenger seat. I returned to the back door, and bribed that I would give him a special treat if he got into his car seat (I know - great parenting - bribery!). Of course, he climbed right in. Now, I knew the whole time I didn't have any sweet treats in the car. I thought to myself, what a perfect time to teach him that treats don't always come in the form of sweet food. I handed him a keychain that opens up to see a picture inside. He was buckled in and satisfied well enough. While we were driving home, he explained, "This is not a special treat, Mom." I told him yes it was! It had a picture in it!

After a few more rounds of going back and forth - No, it's not. Yes, it is. - he started whining, "Candy, candy, candy, candy...."

Trying to make this a teachable moment, I said, "Holden candy is not good for our teeth or our growing body."

Hoping I'll get it, "It's good for my mouth!"