Yay! Glad it worked out.

It's better to use appropriate needles for the yarn, then do a smaller size of the pattern. Knit the increase rows/rounds until the body stitches are about the chest measurement you want, then CO a few stitches at the underarm. I'm presuming this is a top down yoke. Knit the lengths for the body and sleeves for the 24 mo size so he can wear it longer.

Sure, you can make it larger, just use measurements. Here's a chart with actual body measurements for children - http://www.craftyarncouncil.com/childsize.html - you probably want to do a size 4. Add 2" to the chest measurement, which will be the number of rows. The number of stitches CO at the body will determine the length, and you need the sleeve circumference for the cast on at the wrist. If you can measure something he wears that's not small for him, just use those measurements for sizing. Sleeves knit a little longer and rolled up, and length a bit longer mean he may be able to wear it for 2 years, so larger isn't always bad. Once they reach the toddler sizes, kids grow taller faster than wider.

I think your stitches are twisted, which can cause it to bias, and would make the k2tog lean to the left. Knit the sts in the leg closest to the tip of the needle, and for the decs, you would probably have to do ssk instead of k2tog.

Ravelry has a forum called Excuse Me that helps in translating patterns into other languages. If you can find a pattern page for it, there could be a link to a translation too.

I think knitty.com now has small pictures in their archives.

The boxes in a chart represent an action, they're not a stitch until you're done with a row. So a box for a yo shows that you make it, but it doesn't use a stitch. The decreases take 2 stitches but result in one - the box tells you to dec, but doesn't show 2 boxes. On the chart you linked there's a symbol for the yarn that says you make it, then the next one is for the decrease. The yo is just a wrap around the needle and doesn't include a stitch, working the decrease is what anchors it, or the next stitch that's shown in a pattern.

You would have to start with the right number of stitches for the repeats. Then, if you add sts like with pfb that's going to throw off the repeat.

So in the even rows 2-6 you could - *p1, yo, k2tog; rep from *. to make the ribs 3 sts wide instead of 2. On even rows 8-12 it would be - sl1, k1, psso,  p1, yo; rep from *. Or you could have the purls at the end of the sequence. Then the alternate rows would be p1, k2, or k2 p1.

It still looks great, probably using the heavier yarn makes it 'stiffer' and not as slouchy. But it's a great looking hat anyway.

The whole thing is knit in k2 p2 ribbing, the different number of rows is for the increase placement, not the total rows of ribbing. If you read ahead, you continue the rib pattern and increase every so many rows. So just follow the pattern as written.