Terrific Twos (with a hint of sarcasm!)
Let's talk Terrific Twos.
My baby boy is two weeks away from the glorious celebration, and in the last three weeks he has shown me that he's changing from a sweet little innocent boy to an independent yet dependent and stubborn, but cute, toddler boy.
While I want to fight and defy all the changes he is going through, I know it will just be easier if I accept them, deal with them, and move on.
Since we returned from a great two week vacation at the cottage, things have just been out of whack for E. While I feel we've gotten our household back into a regular routine, that regular routine for E has been filled with tears, stubbornness, NOs, and more tears.
He returned to daycare on the day the girls were heading back to school. Not only were the three girls in school, all day everyday, his best buddy Riley, was also starting kindergarten and no longer was at daycare. In addition to those changes, he has a new buddy at a daycare, a younger boy who isn't quite as active (yet) as Riley was, and it all seems to be a little overwhelming for him.
For the first time in a year of dropping him off, I received a measuring cup full of tears, with the arms out, and the sobbing 'Momma' as I leave him there for the day and head off to work. Talk about break my (pregnant) heart (although I am getting over it now that we are on day 14 of this routine!).
He goes from crying and sobbing in the mornings, to the complete opposite display of 'I don't want to come home' when we pick him up at night. Its frustrating, yet par for the course, I know.
At home... we've gone from an independent boy who is fine to play on his own, to the 'Mom, Mom, MOM' until you can give your full attention to him. It's the 'you gotta see this' type beckoning that he is into, but when you provide your attention, all you get is a smile and the batting of the 'I'm so cute, I love you' eyes. Its the same when Daddy's in the room too.
The terrific twos also include the 'want what I want ... and NOW' display of emotion. If you tell him NO for any reason - like 'No E, we don't have ice cream cones for breakfast or lunch, its a treat, not a meal'. A mountain of tears ensue, and you swear he was just sentenced to life in prison without parole. You have to spend the next 10 minutes of your time either listening to him get over it, or talking to him about a completely different subject that you know makes him happy, but that doesn't remind him that he wanted a 'cone'.
Listening is also part of the terrific twos, as in, 'I only hear you Mom when you are offering me something I want or allowing me access that I can't otherwise obtain by myself'. The 'stop right there', 'don't do that', and 'your gonna hurt yourself' all receive the same type of 'I can't hear you' looks.
Let's see, what else is so terrific about turning two...?!
I am sure there are many parents out there who have experienced what I am talking about - and probably worse. I also recognize that its probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the daily battles of raising a two-year old, but I guess the biggest thing I am trying to get over is that my once sweet little boy is now beginning his decent from babyhood to toddlerhood. And with all the tears and NOs that this transition entails, its just hard to believe this all happened right under my nose.
Where has the time gone?!
My baby boy is two weeks away from the glorious celebration, and in the last three weeks he has shown me that he's changing from a sweet little innocent boy to an independent yet dependent and stubborn, but cute, toddler boy.
While I want to fight and defy all the changes he is going through, I know it will just be easier if I accept them, deal with them, and move on.
Since we returned from a great two week vacation at the cottage, things have just been out of whack for E. While I feel we've gotten our household back into a regular routine, that regular routine for E has been filled with tears, stubbornness, NOs, and more tears.
He returned to daycare on the day the girls were heading back to school. Not only were the three girls in school, all day everyday, his best buddy Riley, was also starting kindergarten and no longer was at daycare. In addition to those changes, he has a new buddy at a daycare, a younger boy who isn't quite as active (yet) as Riley was, and it all seems to be a little overwhelming for him.
For the first time in a year of dropping him off, I received a measuring cup full of tears, with the arms out, and the sobbing 'Momma' as I leave him there for the day and head off to work. Talk about break my (pregnant) heart (although I am getting over it now that we are on day 14 of this routine!).
He goes from crying and sobbing in the mornings, to the complete opposite display of 'I don't want to come home' when we pick him up at night. Its frustrating, yet par for the course, I know.
At home... we've gone from an independent boy who is fine to play on his own, to the 'Mom, Mom, MOM' until you can give your full attention to him. It's the 'you gotta see this' type beckoning that he is into, but when you provide your attention, all you get is a smile and the batting of the 'I'm so cute, I love you' eyes. Its the same when Daddy's in the room too.
The terrific twos also include the 'want what I want ... and NOW' display of emotion. If you tell him NO for any reason - like 'No E, we don't have ice cream cones for breakfast or lunch, its a treat, not a meal'. A mountain of tears ensue, and you swear he was just sentenced to life in prison without parole. You have to spend the next 10 minutes of your time either listening to him get over it, or talking to him about a completely different subject that you know makes him happy, but that doesn't remind him that he wanted a 'cone'.
Listening is also part of the terrific twos, as in, 'I only hear you Mom when you are offering me something I want or allowing me access that I can't otherwise obtain by myself'. The 'stop right there', 'don't do that', and 'your gonna hurt yourself' all receive the same type of 'I can't hear you' looks.
Let's see, what else is so terrific about turning two...?!
I am sure there are many parents out there who have experienced what I am talking about - and probably worse. I also recognize that its probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the daily battles of raising a two-year old, but I guess the biggest thing I am trying to get over is that my once sweet little boy is now beginning his decent from babyhood to toddlerhood. And with all the tears and NOs that this transition entails, its just hard to believe this all happened right under my nose.
Where has the time gone?!
Labels: parenting, tales from new mommy school
posted by SC at 10:14 PM
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