Saturday February 24th was Nolan’s Second birthday. Where the heck does the time go?? He is quickly maturing into what my friend Laurie likes to call a ‘Professional Two year old’. All the little ways that children figure out how to push your buttons are being taught to him by a whole community of young girls, especially his big sister. Nobody knows manipulation like a little girl, I’m sorry but it’s true. A close second is a little brother of a little girl.
The kids were up with their dad on Saturday and I slept in a little. After awhile I could hear a brawl coming my way via the stairwell. Nolan was the first to burst through my bedroom door, climb onto the bed and exclaim, "I had it first!". He was so careful to enunciate each word all I could do was burst out laughing. Saturday was his birthday (the 24th) and all I could think was "Terrible twos start now!".
I think it’s been slowly creeping up on me but I haven’t picked up on it until recently.
For instance, Nolan was having trouble falling to sleep at night without me laying down with him. One night I put him down and he told me he wanted to pee in the potty. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to toilet train a willing participant, I whisked him out of bed and into the bathroom. As soon as his diaper was off I lifted him onto the toilet to a fury of kicking legs and screams. He had no intention of going on the pot, he just wanted to get out of his bed. Clever. Very clever and very two. Perhaps that is even at a three year old level, but that’s just me thinking optimistically and pessimistically at the same time.
The new words are coming like a tsunami. Some of the cuter words are ‘Supamans’ for Vitamins, even though I know that he knows how to say vitamin, he just chooses not to. He calls Chocolate, ‘Collette’. One day he kept asking for ‘Cake’ and for the life of me I didn’t know what he was asking for (we NEVER have a cake just laying around the place) and finally it dawned on me. He wanted strawberry syrup in his milk (like his big sis) and he only knew of ‘Strawberry Shortcake‘ which he shortened to Cake. Obviously the only reason I figured out that thought process is because he Shares my genes (and genius). Who else would be able to figure this stuff out?? Now I’ve taught him to call it ‘Berry’ so he can ask other people for it without confusing the crap out of them.
He is also full of good manners and always says Thank you (that sounds more like ‘Hank You’), even if there is nothing to be thanked for. He will keep saying it to you until you say ‘You are Welcome!’. He also says Please a lot but not as much as the Thank yous. It’s so dang cute and everyone loves a kid with manners. Especially the old ladies at the grocery store that pick up his bottle after he flings it across the aisle. They are always so Shocked at first and then gushing with smiles after he says ‘Hank Yoou!!’ in his sing songy voice. It’s moments like that when I’m most proud to be his mom. I must be doing something right cause he’s a pretty good kid, even if he is a two year old.
Have I mentioned How much I love my little Boy?? Well, that description of Love (for both my kids) would take an entire blog on it’s own to recount in the detail it so rightly deserves. But I’m sure you can glean it from between the lines.
Much love,
~jen
