23 Months...where did the time go?

Hayden definitely is growing into a little boy... no longer a baby. His personality is really starting to shine through. He is still my laid back little guy, but he is also trying to find his independence, which equals "temper tantrums". Jake and I are experimenting with how to handle it. We are starting to use the naughty step, which seems to be effective... sort of. Although some times, he thinks it is fun, just to sit on the step, even when we don't put him there. He has so many new quirks: He loves to dance...not so much the mambo anymore, just wiggling his little tush with his hands in the air. He still LOVES trains, trucks, and airplanes. He enjoys ketchup... so much so, that he will just eat that with his spoon. Hayden, and the cat, Fumbles, seem to get along very well. The minute we get home, he yells, "Ditty, Dat". Although he is still learning how to be gentle, he tries to lay his head on the cat and give kisses. Crafts, Crafts, Crafts... he can't get enough of finger painting, play-doh, stickers, coloring, and creating shapes. Hayden is so proud of his creations. He will walk around holding them, and show us what he has created. His new favorite words... "uts tat"... a.k.a. What's That. Now when we go to the grocery store, I hear that at least 50 times, especially in the produce department. We literally spend at least 20 minutes, touching and smelling the different types of fruits/veggies. My personal favorite is how much he mimics what we do. Hayden is quiet the observer. For example, when we come home, he will take off his coat, open the closet, put(throw) his coat in there, then shut the closet door. We never told him to do that, he must of just noticed that we do that every time we come home. His biggest accomplishment recently has been the stairs. He will now walk up/down a few stairs without holding onto our hands or the railing. The look on his face makes me smile... he is so proud of himself. The part of the day we enjoy the most is putting him to bed. Our newest ritual is playing on Mommy and Daddy's bed before bath time. He loves to climb on and off, throw the pillows, and do the log roll. Then right before he goes in his bed, while we are rocking him, he gets a huge burst of the giggles. Hayden's favorite thing is to try to tickle us behind our ears. He thinks that is hilarious. I also think he is learning the art of stalling. He will point to every part of our face, want to sing songs, talk, point out everything in his bedroom, etc. before he gets put in his bed. Needless to say, he is keeping us on our toes, and we are loving every minute of it!!!!