A few days ago: 23 months

Joshua recently turned 23 months!

Family: The biggest news is that in the last month he switched allegiances.  Ben used to be the preferred parent, but now I am.  This has lessened a bit in the last week, but still hasn't changed back to Ben.  He and Isaac have also started interacting a lot more.  I won't say that they're playing together, but they're playing next to each other and laughing at each other.  Joshua keeps pretty close tabs on Isaac.  He's started to recognize extended family and be excited to see them.

Sleeping: We just got him an ok-to-wake alarm clock.  He was waking up a little bit early, and he really needs that last half hour of sleep.  I'm not sure it's helped a ton yet, but he does seem to not be so loud when it is time to wake up.  He's more or less sleeping 8pm-7am with at least a 1.5 hour nap, sometimes up to 2.5 hours.

Playing: he's been enjoying fiddling with stuff...the circuts, legos, duplos, etc.  He loves to read books and enjoys drawing.  He makes sure that he gets his allotted Ipad time every day.  He also really enjoyed this photo shoot, so there were lots of good pictures.  He's also started doing some games that he makes up.  It might take me a while to figure out the rules, but there is a pattern to them.

Eating: ug.  He'll eat carbs and some dairy.  And applesauce.  I haven't been able to get him to touch the veggie pouches or any fruits lately.  (But I keep putting them on his plate!)  Cheese and yogurt work sometimes.

Attitude: I feel like I always write these on days that weren't great.  I'd say overall things are getting a little bit better...and it's not as though they were that bad even at the worst.  There are a few small tantrums here and there.  But he still listens well and that's half the battle.

Speaking: he has many words/phrases.  It's still the odd stage that he can understand pretty much everything you say, even if he can't respond well.  Many of the phrases aren't very understandable, but since I've heard them in context so often I get them.  He knows to repeat the last word of phrases when we're praying and does a good job trying words he doesn't really know.

Overall, he's a very fun kid.