how far we've come

it is so sad to me that i have not been able to blog these past weeks...it has just been one thing that has had to be sacrificed in the few short hours of a given day. yet so many blogs are written in my mind...when will they come up with a method for downloading them instantaneously?

Since last blogging, toby ...
- had his first and second haircuts at walmart (the second one with NO crying! "mommy haircut!" "toby haircut!")
- has gone from  "boby" to "toby" (kinda sad ;-p)
- was dedicated at church
- progressed to taking 90 minute naps IN his crib (yaayyyyyyyyy!!! could i be any happier about that?)
- progressed to sleeping through the night, rarely ever waking up anymore - yay!
- settled in at a very regular 9 p.m. to bed and 6:45 awake; it's almost like clockwork - uncanny!
- counts to 9, regularly skipping 2 and 6 (so cute!)
- sings the ABC song through to G, an then sometimes joins back in at "LMNOP"...hey, it's progress ;-p
- spent a week with Papa and Grandma here in Goshen!
- regular requests that we pray for "Edna" and "Amanda" - his two best friends! (babysitter and the friend who traveled with us to bring him back)
- learned to say "please" and "thank you!" ...well, at least, some of the time, and we keep working on it!
- learned 100s of new words, more words EVERY day
- become more comfortable, more social and interactive each time we've been to the library; now he is trying to do all the actions with us on the songs - SO different from the first couple times!
- learned about "taking turns" from watching other kids - yay! somethings are better caught than taught, i guess!
- pulls a chair up to every counter/dresser/etc. and tries to get into everything; drives me nuts! but it's so cute to see him trying to be near me at all times and to see him discovering things and how proud he is when he accomplishes things!
- made his debut down in Berne at the GD banquet - so much fun introducing our sweet, lively little boy to my friends there!
- learned to blow kisses and kiss owies :-)
- learned to jump down stairs
- lost ALL of his Kazakh - although he still responds when i say things in Kazakh. I guess it's good, and normal too - but it is sad!
- says three-, four-, even five-word phrases at times. we're amazed! "speech delay" MY FOOT!
- recognizes a couple letters, like Y!

Since then, I or we have...
- gone back to work two days and a couple hours for Global, and i love it! --but i am always SO READY to see my little boy at the end of the day. :-)
- had some days where i feel like a very old mom :-(
- talked a lot about disipline, pulled our hair out about disipline, read some about discipline, tried some different things related to discipline and toddler sleep, and learned a lot by trial and error. and we're happy to report that we're finally settling into some patterns and our own style of parenting, and we're all doing better! :-D
- decided --to my utter surprise--that i actually LOVE this age of 2...it's true! there has been NOTHING more rewarding for me than watching him learn, hearing him say new things, try new things, and the surprise that comes with his new discoveries; it is one of the best things in the world! the joy of it has really surprised AND blessed me. i am no longer waiting for this age to pass; what many have said is true - it's a GREAT age. not easy, but so rewarding.

Some of the cute ways Toby pronounces thing...so we don't forget them:
- ham-i-gu-ber
- po-PAY-o (for both potato and tomato) even though he is perfectly able to pronounce them perfectly when we urge him)
- o-KU-yo...his variant of "squirrel" (i love that one!)
(i will have to add more as the words come to me...can't think of any more funny ones just now!)
i would have so much more to say, but i will stop now and be content just to have posted something. :-) too many entries have gone unwritten b/c i knew i woudn't have time to write ALL that was in my heart and mind. :-) suffice it tsay, i am feeling happy, and oh so grateful for my little boy and the huge joy of mothering him.