Last Thursday we celebrated Preston's 2nd birthday. It is amazing to me that he is already 2 years old. From the time Preston was in utero, the most frequent parenting advice I heard was, "Enjoy every minute!" Luckily, I discovered
this article early on, and came to terms with the fact that that adage is an impossibility. But I do try my hardest to keep everything in perspective, and just enjoy watching Preston become the person he is going to be. (Hopefully with just the right balance of guidance and autonomy so that he doesn't become a total bum, and also so that he doesn't become a carbon copy of me. I'm not sure which would be worse...) That being said, it is impossible not to get lost in the day-to-day life of human existence, so when certain milestones arrive, like a 2nd birthday, it is a bit daunting to realize that it has already been 2 whole years since he was born. I am beginning to appreciate that I will be handing over the car keys before I know it. But, before we get there, I'd like to pause at this moment time, and reflect on what Preston is doing, and likes to do, and doesn't like to do, now that he is officially 2 years old.
1. Still LOVES cats.
2. Wears 3t-4t clothes and a size 9 shoe. (2-yr doctor appt coming up, will try to get a picture of growth chart.) And has feet that are so wide his toes are starting to grow crooked from being smooshed together, even though we have him in extra-wide shoes.
3. Says 2-3 word sentences, and will pretty much repeat anything you say. (Which is proving dangerous.) I believe his 1st three-word sentence was New Year's Eve with Oompa & Gigi. He said "I want cake," when he spotted dessert. He also said his 1st three-syllable word the other day- "Di-no-saur." Perfect annunciation too, it was pretty awesome. Of course I stopped and yelled, "Oh my god!! That was three syllables!!! YAY!!" I guess there are some things that just seem truly remarkable the first time they happen.
4. Wakes up every morning (before me), and entertains himself in his crib for up to half-an-hour, before starting to call, "Mumm!!....Mommy!!.....MOM!!
5. Still sleeps in his crib, and hasn't tried climbing out yet. Which still shocks and amazes me, because I'm pretty certain he is physically capable. But the longer I can keep him confined, the better. Someone asked me recently how long I planned to keep him in the crib. Ummm, 16 years??
6. Says "cheese" for pictures with such a big lisp his tongue sticks out.
7. Just started saying the dogs name, but he uses the short version- Bails. As in, "C'mon Bails." Pretty cute.
8. Favorite instruction- "That way." First thing out of bed every morning, "That way," pointing towards the hallway, in effort to avoid the inevitable diaper change.
9. Still hates diaper changes. Although he is less physically combative, which is nice. But usually still a lot of crying involved.
10. LOVES the television. Usually the second request of the morning. "T.V.?...please??" In the sweetest and most endearing voice you've ever heard. At the moment, we are hooked on Finding Nemo. Think we watched it 3 times today, trying to get him to take a nap. And he's getting quite manipulative with this. He pretends he is really tired and just wants to lay on the sofa and fall asleep watching Nemo, and it's naptime, so I allow it. And then he stays up for the whole thing! And then of course he's too tired and cranky to do anything afterwards, so he just wants to sit there and watch it again.
11. Being very disagreeable with the afternoon nap. At daycare, it is clockwork. He goes down between 12-12:30, and sleeps for 2-3 hours. And, as the teachers tell me, lays down in his bed by himself and falls asleep on his own. At home: not so much. REFUSES to be put in his crib at naptime, and will only fall asleep now in front of the TV or in the car. Usually I am able to move him into his crib once he's asleep, but he is becoming increasingly aware of this transition now and will wake up out of a dead sleep and protest.
12. Goes to sleep at bedtime like an angel. Has a bottle of milk, sometimes needs a little convincing, but usually is quite agreeable to being put right in his crib, gets kissed goodnight, and lets me walk out and close the door, and puts himself to sleep. Ah-mazing.
13. Sleeps through the night. (I am knocking on wood.) With the exception of a
very rare middle-of-the-night awakening (and he usually will put himself back to sleep), he has been sleeping through the night for pretty much the past year. I am more grateful for this than anything else in my life.
14. Can count to 10, and knows most of the letters in his name. Ex: if I start writing it out on paper and saying it out loud, he will jump ahead and say R, E, S, & T. But not always in that order.
15. Loves to read. Thank God. This makes me feel less guilty about all the TV-watching. "Atleast he still likes to read!!"- my inner dialogue. And I'm hoping this will counteract any propensity he has to developing ADHD from all the TV watching. Guess we'll find out. He even said the words "More books?" the other day while we were doing our bedtime reading. Could there be any better words to come out of your child's mouth??
I will stop here for the night...to be continued....
