Dedicated to my sweet boy: Alex

Alex sure is growing up. He surprised me a week ago by counting to ten with me while we were playing hide and seek. He knows all the numbers. Then he started asking to pee on the potty. He only asks at night, but it's a start. And he actually goes. He also sometimes tells me when he pees in his diaper, and usually tells me when he poops, though whether or not he lets me change him right away depends on what he is doing.
He still has ridiculously sensitive skin. His contact dermatitis hasn't healed all the way since our Phoenix trip in January. It's mostly gone, but despite frequent and generous applications of cream, you can still see a red outline where it was. He also has had really dry skin this winter in general. Alann was teasing me the other day about how he needs lotion in one of the most humid states there is. I can't help it if he got my delicate skin.
He has also started pouting when he doesn't get what he wants. He just makes a pouty face and looks down to try to get what he wants. If that doesn't work, he goes into full-on tantrum. He throws himself on the floor and usually cries up a storm. If I leave him, he follows me, and throws himself down and screams some more. It's been frustrating trying to deal with it. I know I need to ignore it so he doesn't learn that it's an acceptable way to get what he wants. I'm trying to teach him other things instead. He has learned that he needs to say please if he wants to be picked up. He also has a really annoying habit of grabbing things off the counter. It started with bananas when he was hungry. That was okay, until he started just taking a bite or two and then throwing the rest away. Now it's everything he wants. He grabs constantly. Especially when he is hungry. If I am cooking dinner, nothing is safe. I used to be able to redirect Claire into setting the table or something for those last few minutes before dinner is ready, but he isn't fooled quite so easily. Sometimes he will just sit at the table and pound the dishes until I put food down.
He is talking quite a bit. His vocabulary really surprises me because he didn't start with small words. He started where Claire was. So he says granola bar and yogurt and other random harder words. He still calls the cats "naos" and cows are "moos". We were driving today and came over a hill and he saw a cow and called out so excitedly "MOOOO!!!" Like he had never seen one before. It was hilarious. He also LOVES construction equipment and trucks and cars. He still gets so excited to see the "doze" at the construction site near town. He also loves to point out the "wead" (library). Driving down the freeway, he points to everything he sees and talks about everything- construction equipment, buses, trucks, airplanes. He has really started to be quite the chatterbox. Claire finally has someone to talk over. He does call me Mama or Mom and Alann is Da. Claire is usually Dee (sissy). It's sweet how much they love each other. He is always looking for her if she isn't around. It's a lot like Nicki and Tanner actually. Claire and Tanner can function on their own, but Nicki and Alex don't know what to do by themselves.
We had our first big thunderstorm of the year. Alex woke up in the middle of the night and was scared. We talked a little bit and then I put him back to bed. The next morning it was still storming but was farther off and not nearly as loud or scary. Claire used to say that the "cows" were clapping and that made the "thumbder" (indicated by holding her thumb up). She has since learned to speak more clearly. After explaining again to Alex what the thunder was (clouds clapping) and the rain (water), I let the two of them go out on the porch for a minute. Alex came back in, insisted it was loud and that there were dinosaurs outside making the noise. He made the same Rawr noise and held up his hands in front of him that he usually makes when he sees dinosaurs on his shirts or his toys. So cute.
He is such an active boy. He loves to dance and move. But he also knows how to sit and be still, which is nice. He has decided that when he first wakes up from nap or bedtime, he needs to watch TV (thanks for teaching him that Daddy!). He loves to play by himself or with Claire, but also interacts well with Alann and me too. He is not into sweets. He will often take just a few bites of ice cream and then be done. Claire will eat ice cream until she throws up (if given the opportunity of course). I think he is going to be more of a salty snacker than a sweet guy. That's one of the few things that Alann and I cannot trace. Both of us love sweets. But he would rather have french fries or chips.
He is a sweet heart. He is very much still a mama's boy and often insists that I come sit with him for pre-bedtime activities. He loves to snuggle, so I won't argue with that. He does have a serious infatuation with my belly though. He wants to see it, often,  and will either blow raspberries on it or give kisses to the baby. Or try to lick it (which is really weird and I don't allow). Lately he's been comparing his belly to mine. I'm not sure if he really understands that there is a baby there or he just is starting to notice differences and has realized that mama's getting fat.
 I'm so glad he's here and I can't believe he will be two in May. Time sure flies. I'm not sure how to handle saying "I have a two year old and a three year old." Just having a two year old was hard enough. And soon enough we will have a third to add to the mix.