Growing up too Fast!

I recently had to face the facts:  I have a toddler.  I've given in and accepted that I now need to shop in the toddler section.  24 month clothes just aren't cutting it for Frankie anymore.  He's also becoming more and more independent.  For example, last week I found him sitting on the kitchen floor eating a box of crackers.  Roasted Garlic crackers.  He's also discovered that he likes my Black Olive and Feta Pita Crackers.  What kid likes that kind of stuff?  He nows goes right into the pantry, pulls down the box of his choice and digs in. 

 

Frankie is still all about Daddy.  As soon as he sees Daddy's car pull up, he's all "Da-Da!  Da-Da!"  The other day Frankie even tried walking in Daddy's shoes.   

 

*I think he's teething again, hence the massive drool on his shirt

Every now and then I'll get a "Ma" and sometimes even a "Ma-Ma" if I'm lucky.  His vocabulary is definitely starting to expand and he makes an effort to repeat what you say, so we've got to start being cognizant of the words we use around him!  Some of his new words that he says and actually understands:  up, down, keys, car, jump, more, help, nose, and...the dreaded "no".  He's done a good job learning his body parts and knows where his nose, teeth, mouth, eyes, ears, head, hair, feet, toes, belly, hands and fingers are.  And he really understands what you say to him.  He listens when he wants.  And he throws.  I mean, this boy has an arm on him.  We're really working to teach him that you don't throw your food, cup, plate, spoon or fork while you're eating.  He hasn't quite grasped the concept yet.  We do make him help clean up when he's done, but he actually seems to enjoy picking up his spoon, for example, and bringing it to the sink. 

 

Frankie is a strong little guy, too.  Just yesterday we went to Costco and he insisted on not riding in the cart.  Instead he wanted to push the cart.  Those things are BIG.  And once you start throwing Costco-sized things in there, they get heavy.  But, he insisted.  And he could do it!  People couldn't believe it and we kept hearing "Wow, he's strong."  We, of course, helped navigate, but he had a blast helping us. 

 

He also loves to dance.  I haven't taken him to his music class but according to Maria, he loves it.  We listen to the same songs at home and in the car and he knows the words and movements to them.  Although, I'm pretty confident this dance did not come from class:

 

(It looks suspiciously similiar to some of Frank's moves at our wedding.)

 

We tried Play-doh about a month ago, which he thought was a meal.  This morning after he discovered that he could climb into the dining room chair on his own, I decided to break it out again. We were much more successful today and he only ended up taste-testing a few times.   

 

He was really cheesing for the camera!

Frankie certainly keeps us on our toes.  This is an awesome age - watching him learn and being able to interact with him is so much fun!