My Big Boy Rex

So I came to write this extremely overdue blog on Laynie because we had her 18 month (she's actually 19.5 months...we were a little overdue!) check up today. Then I went back to see the last thing I updated on Rex and it was his 2nd birthday!! HE'S 4!!!!! That was a terrible mom feeling, realizing that!! So...Laynie is on hold for at least a little bit...time to brag on my Rex!

Gosh, where do I begin?? I'll just let it flow...(warning...this might be long!)

My Rex is such an amazing little kid. I'm certain that all parents say that about their kids and he may be amazing only to me, Corey and our parents but, that is just fine with me! I call him my "Mr. Responsible" because for being the age he is, he takes charge and responsibility on so many things. Maybe it's an oldest child thing. For example, this evening as we were getting ready to go to bed, he says "Oh, mom! Did we shut the garage door and bring all the toys in?" It had been hours since we had been outside!! For the record, we had not yet done either of those things! Over the weekend, we were at Corey's parents and at the end of the evening, he started cleaning stuff up, without us having to tell him! Now, he does not do this all the time. I've noticed he's kind of like me in that he will start cleaning to avoid doing what he needs to be doing, which typically is either getting ready for bed, or going to bed! It's still pretty neat to watch. I've always wondered if my kids would be neater than I am because if you know my well, you know I'm pretty stinkin messy! Time will tell...I haven't quite figured that out yet.

He is such a great big brother to Laynie. He takes good care of her and shows genuine concern for her (most of the time!). Little Ms. Laynie can be quite the pest. She definitely knows how to annoy her brother already and she seems to enjoy it! He does get frustrated with her and whines but he knows not to get aggressive with her. He has hit her a handful of times since she's gotten bigger and in his way more. The times he has done that, though, he has gotten quite the discipline from either me or Corey so I think he quickly learned his lesson and it has stuck with him. I've even gotten him on video when he's frustrated with her and he looks like he's about to hit her but you literally see him hold it back. They play really really well together and I absolutely love it! They play really really well together and I absolutely love it! They play so well together that it has made me question whether or not to bring baby #3 into the picture...my philosophy on having children has always been that I have them so they have each other. Growing up a sort-of only child plays a huge part in me wanting more kids because I want to make sure they have each other. I would never get into a situation of having more kids than I can afford but if it's within reason, I place more importance on having a larger family and us having each other than having a couple of kids and being able to give them more material things. But when I see how well these two play together and how much they love each other, I can't help but wonder so many things. Will #3 blend with them? Will they embrace him/her as much as they do each other? Will #3 throw off this great balance they have right now? I'm sure I'm worrying too much. I remember being so worried about how Rex would feel about Laynie and look at them! I just have to pray they all will share that awesome bond. (btw, God willing, we will be trying for #3 sometime in the next year!)

He is definitely my sweet one between him and Laynie. Anytime I ask Laynie for hugs or kisses, she almost always says no. When Rex hears this, he will say "I will give you hugs and kisses Mommy!" and will run over and give them! Only then will Laynie go head with hugs and kisses! He's a snuggler and loves to be next to me. They definitely fight for attention but I try to keep it even as much as possible. He's always been one to be concerned with how you're feeling. When he was a baby, all you had to do was "cry" and he would do whatever you wanted! I hope he always has that sensitiveness to him. It will make him a good husband one day :) He is so eager to help with whatever he can whether it be cleaning, cooking, helping Daddy build something, whatever!

He's at that stage where he asks 5 million questions. This is a tough stage for mommy's because you know it is perfectly age appropriate and normal but my goodness does it drive you nuts sometimes! He HAS to know where we are going and where we are going next and next and next! He would ask over and over and over and get the same answer each time! So I've gotten to where I will go over the series of upcoming events, have him repeat it, then tell him he can't ask anymore. Surprisingly, it has worked! I'm trying to do the same with him asking obvious questions like "Mom, are we home yet?" When we clearly are not home! I don't feel bad about shutting down questions like that and I'm hoping I'm building a little bit of autonomy by getting him to try to answer his own questions. I try really hard not to shut down the "why" questions but I'll be honest, sometimes I just have to tell him no more questions for the next 30 minutes! :)

A few "Rexisms" off the top of my head:

• He loves to say "orale" when something happens! i.e. when I drop something on the floor, he says "orale Mommy!" Hillarious! 
• He still loves to sing! He's singing quite a few nursery rhymes right now. 
• He loves to be silly, but only when he wants to. This has always been Rex, though! If I ask him to be silly, he usually will not but if he's in the mood, he is quite the silly kid! 
• He currently is in size 3T for the most part. Since age 2, he has been about a year behind on clothing. When he was 3, he wore 2T. When he turned 4, he was wearing mostly 3T. 
• As of today, he weighed 31.6 lbs. He's in about the 5th percentile for weight and height, I believe
• He is still a VERY picky eater. He will eat macaroni (his favorite), taco meat, rice, ranch style beans, chicken nuggets, spaghetti, pancakes, cheerios, bananas, strawbaberries (as he says!), blue berries, watermelon, apples, and other various snacks. Macaroni has to be elbow macaroni or he won't touch it. It's pretty ridiculous! We've tried forcing him to try other foods but he will literally gag and cough and go all crazy when we do that so we've stopped for the most part. It's frustrating for sure. I'm worried about what he's going to eat when he starts school! Hopefully we make some progress by then but for now, it is what it is. 
• He knows all of his colors in English and Spanish. 
• He can count a little higher than 10 in Spanish and definitely higher in English. 
• He knows the majority of his letters and is working on their sounds. 
• He can write his name 
• He has not yet shown a dominance for handedness. I'm thinking he will be a lefty but I'm not sure
• He played his first season of Soccer in the spring of 2014 and his first season of tball in the summer of 2014. We took a break this season and will pick back up either in summer or fall
• He's adjusted well to our new home. For awhile he claimed he was scared and still does every now and then. For the most part, he does great. We got him a radio with a CD player and play a classical music CD that plays while he goes to sleep and is asleep. He usually will wake up in the middle of the night to turn it back on when it stops and will go right back to bed. We also keep a lamp on in his room as well as the bathroom light. He will not go to sleep without either of those on!
• Every night Corey and I take turns taking him to bed, reading him a book and saying prayers. I love it! 
• He likes to invite anyone and everyone over to his "new big house." It's funny! 
• 3rd birthday theme was Mickey Mouse and was at The Little Gym
• 4th birthday theme was Toy Story and was at Jump-n-jungle
• His favorite color is green and has been for as long as he's expressed a favorite color! If he could wear it every day, he probably would! We will be painting a green accent wall soon in his room! 
• Favorite movies are Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Frozen
• He loves to dance with me when we have dance offs in the kitchen! One of my favorite things to do with the kids! 
• He absolutely loves playing with his best friends and cousins! He is so blessed to have so many playmates! 
• He loves fishing with his Daddy! He talks about going hunting and can't wait to go! 
• He is currently obsessed with his Woody boots that Lacey and Casey got him for his birthday! He wears them almost daily! 

Rex Adrian is such a joy in our lives! I just don't know where we would be without him! I hope I summed up 2 years as well as possible. I just might have to come back and add more in!