Peanut made it through his 2-year checkup with flying colors! Hubby had the honor of taking him and they had a great time. Peanut graduated to the big scale and measuring device – no more freakouts on the baby scale and lying-on-his-back length measurer. He sat still for the stethoscope and otoscope exams. His only crying spell happened when the nurse brought in his flu shot...he knows exactly what the plastic tray means. He and Hubby went out for lunch and Peanut zonked during the car ride back to daycare. We expected a rough afternoon, but he was energetic as usual after his nap.

The checkup spurred Peanut’s interest in the toy vet kit he got for his birthday. He pulled out the bright yellow plastic otoscope, held it to his ear and announced “ear”. He insisted on checking Mommy and Daddy’s ears several times as well. We showed him how to use the toy stethoscope, and now at least once a day, he demands “belly”, to which we lift our shirts and let him listen to our tummies.

Thanksgiving turned out very pleasantly. Hubby and Peanut picked Mom up the evening before so she could spend the night. Once they arrived at her house, Peanut exclaimed “Gramma!” and ran inside (very much like his last visit.) Mom was feeling pretty good and only caused some minor annoyances. We had a nice time hanging out together. We all, Peanut included, stuffed ourselves silly. I took Mom home shortly after dinner and Peanut cried for her as we left. He continued asking for her over the weekend.

We hung out and relaxed over the long weekend. The boys took a couple trips to the rc field to fly and watch the planes. We put the Christmas decorations up over the span of the weekend and I even squeezed in some shopping on Sunday. Most stores still had sales and were fairly empty. We still need to get gifts for some family members, but I checked several people off our list.

Peanut has become very interested in helping around the house. I was putting groceries away as Hubby carried them in from the car. In order to keep Peanut out of the garage, Hubby asked him to help me. Peanut reached into the bags and handed items to me. When he grabbed the juice, I opened the fridge door and he put it in its regular place. I'm continually amazed at what a little knowledge sponge he is. He doesn't miss a thing.

The big news is that we finally weaned him off the bottle! The last one was Tuesday, the 21st. I had been priming him, telling him babas are for little babies and he’s a big boy now, so the baba would be going bye-bye soon. Tuesday night I gave him the usual and told him it was his last one. Wednesday night he inevitably asked for one. We held firm and told him no more baby babas, but he could have a big boy baba. He refused it and threw and hour-long tantrum. With some cuddling and soft talking he eventually settled down and accepted his new baba. So far each night he’s asked for big baba, aka hot milk. If it’s not heated to specifications, he hands it back and announces “Mommy, hot milk.”

Night-long sleeping in his own bed went out the window. He got a little croupy Thanksgiving night, so we decided not to be too hard core about it. We have been making an effort to put him into his bed sleepy, but awake. Most nights we can get him to fall asleep in his own bed. We’ve had a few full nights in his own bed and several stretching until 4 or 5 am. Even if he gets out of bed, I can generally put him back in and he’ll fall asleep. The night before last I woke up to him in the hall outside our bedroom. I didn’t have the heart to take him back to his bed after making the trek across the house.