Eli is 2 1/2

Here's an update on our favorite 2 year old. 

I hope I don't forget any of the cute things this boy does, but here we go!

• Joey just about left the Paw Patrol train for sea creatures, but Eli is still going strong. As much as I don't like Paw Patrol, it's probably a good thing with how much Paw Patrol things we accrued in such a short amount of time. He loves dogs!
• He isn't the clearest talker, but he has a decent vocabulary. He seems to understand us pretty well and I get most of what he tries to tell me (I think). He has started repeating after us during family prayers and it is just soo cute!
• Eli is still attached to his binky, but I decided to wait to tackle that until after the baby is born. I have a feeling he will have a hard time since he is such a mama's boy and still loves cuddling with me (and only me). He will need familiar comfort!
• We thought about potty training and think he could be ready, but like the reason above, we'll wait until after the baby is born to not make too many changes for him.
• He is a major dare devil and always has bumps, scrapes and bruises. We learned to always have his floaties on him as soon as we are in the pool vicinity. We had a near drowning when I was distracted with the floaties in my hand!
• His favorite things to do includes reading books, playing with all his toys, watching Super Wings and Paw Patrol, and wrestling with his brother. Sometimes the last one is more fighting when they are both annoyed with each other. He tends to be the rough kid wherever we go and it's hard to teach him to be gentle (pray for our baby!)
• Eli is a big helper. He might not be obedient all the time, but when it comes to picking up or completing a task, he is my more motivated child. He doesn't need a lot of incentive to help out. Joey is a different story, but this post is about Eli, haha.
• He is a lot pickier than Joey was at this age. He is picky about clothes, what dishes we use, and food. Luckily the tantrums are dying down a little bit, but maybe it's because I've given up and pick and choose my battles. Paw Patrol slippers at church doesn't hurt anyone. Cereal for dinner? Whatever. 
• Eli recognizes a lot of letters, even some sounds, and can sometimes count to ten. He probably is interested in those things because Joey is learning them.
• Sometimes he naps, but I don't expect him to take one anymore. When he does it's because we were in the car and he slept through our taking him out and putting him on his bed. That's the only time he naps!
• He can be really sweet. He calls things cute, comes up to me and tells me "I love you, mommy", says thanks when we do something for him a lot of the time, is the best little cuddler, and is so forgiving of his parents and brother.

That's all I can think of now, but we love Eli! We'll see what he's up to by his third birthday.