Alexander is just past two-and-a-half years old now, and continues to be growing at a fast and furious pace, both physically and mentally (and, presumably, emotionally).

When he was first born, I posted photos and essays all of the time about how things were going. This was largely because 1) we have lots of family and friends who don't live in the area but who wanted to know all about him, and 2) he was just so *interesting*; having him was such a fresh experience.

Having him around these days is no less of a fresh experience, even after two and a half years. Every week, there's something new about him and how he interacts with the world. Every week, I learn something new about myself because of him.

But I also have a growing suspicion that not everything that I find interesting about having him around would be as interesting to everyone else, especially after two and a half years. For example: it seems like every day these days, people ask me how the new house is coming along. Hence I post updates regarding our house-in-progress on a frequent basis. But fewer people ask for daily updates on how Alex is doing.

And those questions aside, much of what is going on these days with Alex is nowhere near as... romantic? idyllic? cute?

There's a song by a Canadian band called The Arrogant Worms entitled "Baby Poo" in which the singer despairs: "I used to talk about politics, capitalism, socialism, I used to talk about all those -isms, but now I'm a dad and all I talk about is baby poo...." It's funny because it's TRUE. When new parents get together to talk, they not only talk about what their little tike is learning and doing, but also about the frequency and consistency of their children's bowel movements.

Dogs and new parents know something that most of the rest of the world doesn't: there's a great deal of information that is conveyed in bowel movements.

But egestion habits are not the topic of polite conversation, and so much of that kind of talk should be left out of one's updates on "How is the little one doing?" At two-and-a-half years old, however, Alexander's big events surround 1) sleeping (or, rather, resisting sleeping) in a "big boy bed", and 2) potty training.

Oh, sure, he's also learning how to speak in more complete sentences, and he's playing with his toys in more sophisticated ways. He's more emotive with each passing week, and is actually singing along more with his music. He has formed definite ideas of how he wants Mommy and Daddy to play with him or to leave him alone, and he is learning to handle cooperative play with his friends as well as possessiveness.

And it's always fascinating to see what Paulette and I obsess over and what we don't even give a second thought with regard to Alex and his growing abilities. I have taught Alex that he can use his step stool to turn on and off light switches, for example, but he has extended this knowledge to figure out how to get up on the kitchen counter and play with our set of knives. Clever kid, and not unexpected, but it just happened *sooner* than expected. With everything he learns, we learn that there are many more consequences that we have to deal with.

And even when we anticipate those consequences, it's not like we're not going to teach him how to solve problems.

But at the age of two-and-a-half, Alexander's big news tends to center around the same two things as when he was newborn: sleep and poop. He is teething again (back molars), which combined with being removed from the crib and given a bed, has made sleeping a bit of an issue lately. And, we've begun potty training.

Potty training is really not as much of an ordeal as the non-parent might think. But that doesn't make it fascinating dinner conversation for non-parents, either. Which is why I didn't post on New Year's Day: "Well, today marks quite a milestone. Today Alexander peed in the potty, all of his own volition." And why I didn't post on subsequent days when he tried and missed, or didn't try at all, or managed to poop in the potty, etc. It's the kind of thing that parents of similarly-aged kids will compare notes on, because they want to make sure they're managing the whole potty training thing correctly, but they are the kinds of updates that not everybody necessarily would be interested in.

Potty training and sleep issues aside, Alex remains remarkably happy and healthy. As is common with two-year-olds, he tends to resist his parents' will at the most awkward of times, but he's nonetheless just a treat to be around. He's so much joy, in fact, that we may eventually consider having another. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Bwahahahaha.