I skipped an official two year update and I skipped a 25 month update. Now that we’re nearing 26 months I need to record a few things so I don’t forget.
He now plays imaginatively. Instead of just pushing trains up a hill, down a hill and through a tunnel (narrating the entire time, of course), he puts his trains in dangerous situations like “falling offa track” and has other trains save them.
He also offers us and his trains food, both real and pretend. The other night he was holding the empty camera case and offering us pretend cranberries. It took me a lot of effort to teach him how to pretend to eat play food rather than just putting fake food from the play places we visit in his mouth. His pretend eating involves bobbing his head up and down and saying “yum yum yum.” When he pretends his trains are eating they too bob up and down and say, “yum yum yum.”
As for toddler negativity there’s no shortage of it. He’s in full on assert independence mode and knows what he wants screaming no pretty regularly. He’s also in tune to our habits and knows that before we leave a place we usually have a snack and change his diaper. If he’s having fun, once I bust out the snack suggestion he gets quietly upset and will shake his head and say, “Uh uh leave the _______. Stay. Play with _______.” Of course the quiet quickly turns to loud, but he usually doesn’t make too much of a scene once the food comes out and his public tantrums never last for more than a minute or two.
He continues to order us around, telling us to “stop talking!” or “stop singing!” He’s very specific about which particular bite of food he wants (that one bite!) or if we’re reading quickly enough (”mama turn the page!) When prompted he will change his tones and very sweetly add a “peese” to his angry dictatorial demands. He also apologizes when necessary.
He hits and bites- just me and Boyfiend so far- and knows it’s a bad habit. He doesn’t do it out of anger, it’s just a way to play or test boundaries or something. Sometimes he’ll raise his hands as though he’s going to hit me, look me straight in the eye mischievously, and lower his hands and gently stroke the side of my face instead. Such a punk.
Despite his unsavory behaviors he’s still pretty positive most of the time and quite polite. Parents often compliment me on how sweet he is. No dummy, when he has two or more trains or vehicles he’ll hand over the toy he’s least interested in to another kid before I make him share, making him look like he’s generous all by himself. And sometimes he is just generous by himself, handing over something he likes for another kid to play with.
He’s mostly good about saying thank you unprompted and has begun saying “FANKS!” quite loudly when he gets something he’s asked for or is complimented. He does usually respond by saying, “I love you too, mama,” when I tell him I love him, but the “FANKS!” response is just as nice to hear.
The toddler memory is getting better and better. He often surprises me by remembering the names of kids we don’t usually see on the playground and calling them by name when he says hello or goodbye. He also remembers who has what toys. A few weeks ago my dad was babysitting and took the Fiendling to the playground. When they returned the Fiendling’s sunglasses were missing but he had two motorcycles he had not left the house with. I asked him whose motorcycles they were and he promptly responded that they were Spencer’s. We didn’t see Spencer for a few days but we kept the motorcycles handy and the Fiendling returned them when we saw him next.
Ask him where something is and he usually remembers where he stashed it. Ask where Murdoch the train is and he’ll respond, “Dada move the bed,” and sure enough, there’s Murdoch stuck between the bed and the wall. Ask where his fire engine pajamas are and he’ll say, “In da dryer. Mama doin’ laundry.”
He picks out his clothes in the morning and insists upon doing the following the things by himself: putting on his shoes, opening the front gate, opening the front door, picking out a diaper, getting into his car seat. He also likes to unlock the front door but I don’t play that game- Boyfiend does.
He likes to sing and sings to himself in the car and when he’s going to sleep. He remembers the words to dozens of songs and corrects me when I get them wrong or sing the verses out of order.
His sentence structure and ability to communicate amazes me. Not everyone can understand his speech but he’s able to hold actual conversations with people. Over dinner he tells his dad what we did that particular day, who he played with, what he played with, whether he napped or not and whether or not he had fun.
The Fiendling is just such a good kid. He’s sweet and likable and well-behaved for everyone but me and his dad. He plays well by himself and he plays well with others. Boyfiend and I often talk about how lucky we are to have him.