Height - 38.5 inches (75th percentile) although I think they measured him a little shorter than he is
Looking back, Bailey's two year old year has held a lot of challenges for us and for him. He has had more ear infections than I can count and has had tubes put in his ears and has had his adenoids removed. Later in the year he had another surgery to remove an enlarged lymph node in his neck that we had been monitoring. He restarted speech therapy, started and graduated occupational therapy, and then upped his speech therapy. Whew! But this year has also held many accomplishments and joys. Bailey became the sweetest big brother. He has discovered a love of superheros and all things blue. And he has been promoted to big boy undies (and keeps them dry and clean most of the time)! Undoubtedly this year has been a difficult one but it has also been such a huge one for Bailey and I am incredibly proud of how much he has grown.
For the most part Bailey is full of playful, loving energy. He is the sweetest with Caroline and if he finds any of her things or even anything small (like a small rock or stick) he cocks his head to the side, almost resting it on his shoulder and says, "ahhh, baby" in an endearing way. He is friendly and outgoing with adults and as long as I have made an indication that they are safe, he will often go up to them and take their hands or try to chat. He is not as social as Ainsley was/is but he is definitely not shy either. That said, he is much more reserved around peers and either ignores them or acts timid, wanting to sit on my lap and can be hesitant to interact. I have a feeling that this might stem from his speech delay because often kids ignore him or treat him younger than he is because he can't communicate on their level, while adults tend to try harder to understand what he is saying. In speech therapy they are working on helping him practice introducing himself so that he can overcome some of this shyness. At home, we have restarted music class and I have been trying to have more playdates with boys his age as an attempt to increase his confidence in social situations. Aside from this, Bailey's personality is a unique combination of being physically rough and tough and emotionally sensitive. It is difficult to strike a balance with him at times because its hard to know how he is going to react. When things don't go his way, he either melts into a puddle of tears on the floor or he gets mad and throws things and storms off. We definitely see flashes of a temper.
Bailey is still in speech therapy which we increased up to sessions twice a week back in January. (He has had at least weekly speech sessions for over a year now but we have been able to put his occupational therapy sessions on hold for now because of his progress.) His expressive speech (what he can say) is quite delayed for his age but his receptive speech (what he understands) is right on pare or a little above. He has continued to make progress with his speech and I'm thankful for the resources we have available to help him but it's hard. He gets frustrated easily when we are unable to understand him which often leads to fits. And I worry about him socially because while he has a friendly spirit, he has difficulty communicate that he wants to play or defend himself with words. I worry that he gets left out or bullied with peers and we have had to switch his school situation because of some of these concerns. In my heart I know that with patience and support he will "catch up" but some days I have to fight hard not to really worry about him.
That said, we have seen big leaps in his speech over the past month or so. He is making short sentences regularly and most of his words are more understandable. I am thankful for his hard work and can see how proud he is when he is able to communicate his ideas and feelings. Last week he had a huge accomplishment and said his name for the first time! I have been waiting for this moment for quite a while and it was incredible to hear him say his name and to see the pride and sense of accomplishment on his face. It was a sweet moment and proof that often the things that don't come easy, bring the most joy.
On a typical day Bailey wakes up between 6-7am, naps from 1/1:30-3pm and goes to bed around 8/8:30. He stays up later than either George or I would like but he is still falling asleep so hard at naptime and is quite difficult to wake up at 3 some days, so we hate to make it any shorter. Plus, with everything else, I really need the naptime break in the day, so I'm trying to accept him staying up later. In the morning, he takes after George and can either be super grumpy or wide-eyed and happy. Especially after naps, you never know which Bailey you are going to get. He is still in his crib although he asks to sleep in his big bed all the time and so I imagine we will be transitioning there soon. He likes to have a thousand things in his crib with him while he's sleeping. He doesn't seem to have one favorite comfort item but likes to sleep with his blue blanket ("my blue") that my mom knitted draped over him and with his bunny loveys "hop hops" under his arm. And he will often fall asleep cradling books tractors or a bag full of random items. He likes to have a lot of "my stuff" around him when he sleeps.
Bailey continues to be very coordinated and talented physically with both gross and fine motor skills. He enjoys being active and for that reason and a some dissatisfaction with the program, we took him out of the school he was going to two mornings a week and enrolled him in an additional morning of the gymnastic preschool he was already attending. We made this switch a few months ago and it gives him more time at home and at speech and gives him more of the active gymnastic play that his little body craves.
He definitely has favorite foods and isn't as adventurous with trying new things as Ainsley but he is not as a picky of an eater has he has been in the past. He tends to prefer meats, cheese, and fruit during meals and carbs at snack... we have to work hard to get him to eat any veggies other than green beans from a can (yuck!) and carrots. Because he is so active it is hard to keep weight on him, so our pedritian would like to recheck him at three and a half to make sure he is gaining weight and continuing to make progress with his speech.
We love our tender-hearted little man. The best is when he runs up to us with squeezes so tight saying things like 'Me hug you. Me love you.' The other morning after George woke him up for the day, he kept hugging him saying 'Me love you so much. Me love you so much.' It is just the best to be loved so completely by this boy. That said, he also requests to hug the mail man and the cleaning ladies. But I like to think he reserves a unique affection for us. ;) We love you Bailey! You are an incredible blessing and joy!!
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