Yikes, our baby boy turned two
years old a couple weekends ago. Words cannot express the love we have for our
little munchkin. He is such a funny little character & we tend to sit and
laugh (internally or externally) at almost everything he does. It’s safe to say
that we are in awe of our little man and his shenanigans. Being two comes with
some big attitude and we’re definitely there with Lennon. He wants to do
everything on his own and will either say “I try it” or “Lennons turn” to voice
his demands. His coping mechanism is to throw anything within reach if he’s
upset. He also has been hitting Dave and me during heated moments. Toddlerness
at its finest. He surprises us daily with his knowledge & has been talking
up a storm lately. Sometimes it’s very clear what he is saying and it’s fun to
be able to communicate with him. Other times we have no idea what he’s saying
and he repeats it over and over again and starts to get frustrated. Some of my
favorite moments as a mom are when he says a new word, phrase or sings a new
song. Basically parenting a toddler is one big game. We spend lots of time
literally playing games, but also lots of time negotiating and trying to stay
one step ahead of what we know could be a melt-down if not executed properly.
Favorite toys: His “gurrrl”
(blonde trapeze artist from his circus set), his baby doll Eric (mine as a
kid), his toy stand mixer, firefighter set from grandma mary jo jo and grandpa
Wyon, play-dough and his doctor kit.
Other favorites: His grandmothers,
mom, being outside, vacuums, the park, treats. Lennon has a major sweet tooth.
Offer him cookies or pancakes any time, any place and he’ll house them. Snacks
in general-cheddar bunnies, fruit bars from Trader Joe’s…the list could go on.
His new thing is calling everything “big”. He wants to use the “big” vacuum and
eat a “big” orange. Ratatouille is his all-time favorite movie and he likes his
“Larry the Lawnmower” book these days.
Negotiating-Lennon will almost always try to throw in a deal in order to
make things more pleasant for himself. Ex. Getting a nuk while he gets his
diaper changed or getting a fruit bar to get into his car seat.
Dislikes: Eating breakfast at a
reasonably quick pace, leaving the park, getting dressed, getting his diaper
changed, vegetables-dinner can be a struggle, getting into the bath-once he’s
in there we’re good to go, but we have to coerce him in with extra bubbles. Getting
out of the tub once he’s in. Going to bed. No matter how tired he is he will
run around the house in circles and procrastinate like none-other. He picks the
longest books to read and will ask questions and point everything out when he
knows it’s bed time. I chase him around like an idiot trying to “calm” him in
the evenings. The good thing is once he’s down he’s usually good to go. Most
nights he sleeps from 7:30-6:00 with the occasional midnight wake-up call and
request to watch a movie. Not happening little dude.
He has transitioned to the Older
Toddler Room at daycare and I had the realization that he has been in daycare
for almost 2 years now! I can’t believe that. It has gotten so much easier to
drop him off, but we still miss him so much during the day & Monday
mornings are always difficult. While the toddler attitude can be challenging, I
love that we can somewhat rationalize with him now. By rationalize I basically
mean blackmail, ha. He’s starting to get concepts like… “no cookie if you don’t
finish your peas” or “if you get out of the bathtub we’ll let you watch
Ratatouille”. It’s so fun to see the different stages these kiddos go through.
Happy 2nd birthday to
our little man. Still can’t believe you are no longer a baby! Tear.
Mom
