Walter is 2

Walter is obsessed with the Peppa Pig TV show.  No one in the family is allowed to utter the word and is instead referred to as the "P word" so Walter doesn't break out into his "Peppa, Peppa!  PEPPA!" chant.  He also enjoys dancing, especially to Trolls songs - yelling "Poppy!"  He dances by spreading his legs out wide, shaking his elbow in the air, and shuffling around.  Walter's new favorite hobby is spraying his family (and himself most often) with water.  It started with a couple of squirt guns, includes the spray bottle we use for brushing hair, and doesn't have to actually involve any water at all - as long as we pretend he is getting us and run away screaming.

Walter would watch TV all day everyday if we let him (Peppa and Mickey mostly).  When we do pull him away, he likes to do whatever his sister is doing.  They tend to jump on beds and couches more than play with toys.  He likes pushing around things like his lawn mower or shopping cart, is good at throwing balls, and will hang on to daddy's teddy bear or his baby doll..  Walter uses the big kid swing when he does swing, which isn't for long and prefers climbing and sliding. although he needs to work on paying attention to what he is doing and not scaring mom and dad (we catch him most of the time).  When we turn his attention to books, he doesn't want just one or two, you are in it for the long haul.  He enjoys many of the same books Johanna did at his age including Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, Blue Hat Green Hat, and Moo Baa La La La.

Walter enjoys his comfort items.  His binkie and night-nights are a constant must have at home.  He does fine at school and other places without them but seems to be counting the minutes until he can have them at home once again and demands them as soon as we walk in.  He also likes his routines and gives directions as to who should be doing what.  Only Daddy is allowed to put him to bed but only Mommy is allowed to get him out of bed.

Milk, milk and more milk!  He drinks probably a little too much. His eating is a little inconsistent.  He will always eat goldfish and chips.  Grapes, cheese sticks, and noodles are also pretty solid go-to's.  Pesto noodles is something the whole family enjoys.  He will smash berries but not eat them.  His once favorite green beans now gets a "Yuck!" which is a word being spoken more often these days.  And no matter what his food is, most of it ends up on the floor.

Walter is doing a good job with his words but would probably be doing better without his binkie.  We sometimes need to ask him to remove his binkie so we can understand him.  Johanna is "Hannah".  He just started saying Melissa which sounds like a cross between Missa, and Marcia (and sometimes sounds like Michelle).  He also says Mommy, Daddy, Papa, Gama but won't say his own name.  His most common word is probably "NO!" and has started to accompany it with a good slap or kicking fit.  He doesn't say much for sentences yet is getting there.

Walter's hair tends to be very long or awkwardly cut because he hates haircuts and when Walter doesn't like something, he puts up a very strong fight.  We apparently need to get more monkey and Mickey shirts because that is always what he is fighting for when getting changed.  Walter's most endearing qualities are his generous smile, great crinkled nose laugh, and the warmest of hugs.