Sonny at 2.5 years

Today, my baby is exactly two and a half.

Quite how that is possible, I'm not sure.

While I can't imagine our lives without him, two and a half seems such a large number for my little boy.

He is growing up far too quickly and I don't want to forget a thing.

One of Sonny's favourite things to do at the moment is to pretend to be "Alex the lion" from Madagascar.  He frequently chases us all round the house whilst roaring loudly.

He still loves trains and asks, daily, for his box of Thomas engines and track.  He is able to set up tracks himself and will quite happily spend a long time scooting his trains along them.

He really loves to be read to, which I am so happy about, and his favourite stories are definitely those by Julia Donaldson, particularly Room on the Broom.  He can recite large chunks of this book, word for word, as well as portions of the Gruffalo and Tabby McTat.  Listening to him do this makes me very proud.

Sonny is a big fan of jigsaw puzzles and is getting very good at them; he can put together puzzles of 12 and 16 pieces unaided and incredibly quickly.  Larger puzzles require some assistance, though he is often reluctant to accept the help!

He can count up to 20 fairly competently, though he does sometimes struggle around the fifteen, sixteen, seventeen mark.  He has just started taking an interest in the alphabet.

Sonny loves to be outdoors - he loves the beach, particularly, as well as the park and the woods.  He is beginning to be an excellent climber and has, very recently, started to walk with me rather than being confined to his pushchair.  This is a huge development in my eyes.

He can speak incredibly well; I am constantly impressed by his vocabulary.  I think that having such a bright and talkative big sister has helped him a lot in this area.

He loves nothing more than to be allowed to paint.  In fact, he loves crafts and messy play in general and we have a lot of fun with these.

Sonny dislikes having his hair brushed, washed or cut, which has led him to look a bit like a tiny long-haired pony at times.  Thankfully, his hair does not require large amounts of brushing, and I am forever trying to come up with solutions to the other two problems.

He has just started at nursery, one day a week, for ten hours.  This is the first time that he has been left with anyone other than family and he struggles with the initial separation (as do I, if I'm honest) but largely enjoys himself.

Sonny loves cake but dislikes 95% of other foods.  He will not even try them and currently exists on cereal, toast, cheese sandwiches, fruit and yogurts.  Oh, and cake, of course.

He is taking an interest in potty training and progress is being made, slowly.  I know that by this age, Jasmine was dry both day and night, but she has always, always seemed so much more mature than her brother so I am not surprised that he is taking more time to master the skill.  It does not bother me as I realise that he is going at his own pace and will get there when he is ready.  For now, I am enjoying witnessing the small changes - he seems easier to keep up with that Jasmine.

Sonny loves his friends and family, his trains, his sister and his Daddy.  But I think I'm right in saying that, most of all, he loves his Mummy.

And I love my Sonny.

Happy half birthday, Son.