23 Months Old

PJ is 23 months today and its our 5 year wedding anniversary.  Two big milestones in our life today!
I am not sure which milestone is harder to believe...

     Being married
     -not always as easy as just being in love
or
     Being parents
     -not something we were even sure we were going to be 5 years ago

Both marriage and parenting is so much more rewarding, challenging, and harder than we had ever imagined.  Some day soon I want to blog about marriage and what we have learned over the past 5 years, but today we celebrate PJ's 23 months.
PJ is so verbal and doing the baby whining thing all at the same time.  Jealousy of MJ has set PJ back a little but I am sure its only temporary.  PJ had been walking into school all on his own, he minded his momma with little issue, and really hadn't throw a true tantrum.  This past month, really past week we saw all of this and its been quite a test on Momma.  I have heard "No Momma" way more times than I care to remember.  I have really been tested in the patience department this month, but I will say that towards the end of this month I have also seen progress.  PJ knows Momma and Daddy mean business and although playing us against each other may be worth trying, he is quickly learning that we are actually on the same page.  He has also learned this month that collapsing and screaming will get him immediately removed from a room, restaurant or store VERY quickly.  While we are here at the G-Rents place (and will be implemented at home), we have created a crying chair in his room.  Way better than timeout!  We told him PJ could cry as long as he wanted but he couldn't join the family until he was happy.  We made it clear a happy face was required to be anywhere else in the house.  After two or three days of this plan we can really tell that this reasoning is working with PJ and there are less breakdowns.  I am sure we will see more tantrums but hopefully they will be less and far between as long as we stay consistent.
In other news PJ said his first 4 syllable word this month - helicopter!  He is also starting to put two and three words together.  Nothing to groundbreaking but progress in the verbal department.
PJ has also mastered his colors and shapes.  He had been practicing them for awhile, but there is no doubt he knows them now.  Before we would ask what a color was and then he would answer about half correct and the rest of the time a standard answer of yellow.  Now he knows all his colors except for orange.  I think PJ does actually know orange, but can't say the word because he doesn't ever give a response if something is orange.
PJ is also learning the effects of a joke.  He loves to make people laugh.  The Knock Knock Joke is going strong in our house. He has been adding to his list of who is at the door and when its someone he hasn't said in awhile or is someone new he laughs even harder.  He also loves when he says something that is funny, then he will say it over and over.  My favorite is when he remembers several days later that he got a laugh from a word and tries it again.  I can't wait for more, hearing his laugh is infectious!
The other developmental update is ANOTHER ear infection.  We are on our third in less than 4 months.  I am hoping that this is the last and if not that we do something different than amoxacilin.  That stuff does not seem to do anything for PJ.  He is on another round right now and all it seems to do is lessen the symptoms, not really clear anything up.