TheLittleGuy is 2! And I have so many half-written blog entries for various month-birthdays littering hard drives around the house. But 2 seems like a milestone we should mark, so let’s see if I can get this posted before he’s, say, 2 and a half!
TLG is doing well. Jabbering away (at least when it’s just the 3 of us; he tends to clam up around just about anyone else). His most recent favorite thing is puzzles.
TLG working on Bear Puzzle
We have several for him of varying types and difficulties. Personally, I hope this is an interest that persists. Puzzles can be arbitrarily challenging and complex, so he’s got a lot of work cut out for him. I don’t care for puzzles, myself. But TLG’s dad likes puzzles and my mom likes puzzles, so he comes by this interest naturally. Other favorite things include balls and sticker books. We have mostly successfully avoided much mass market character indoctrination (Thomas, Dora, Elmo, etc.) though I suspect the next 12 months are when the rubber will hit the road for that sort of thing. He is also a huge fan of the iPhone/iPodTouch and we have found several toddler apps that are great. He also enjoys using several grown-up apps like the photo album and Doodle Buddy. It’s pretty much the only dreaded “screen time” he gets (we still don’t have a tv as far as he knows), so we only feel sliiightly guilty and we try not to use as a pacification device (very often).
TLG with iPod on his Second Birthday
He’s doing well at his new (been there a couple months now) school – they get a lot of outside time, which I like. We still do what we can to limit the number of hours he’s in care, but given all the outdoor playtime, we’ve been rethinking that a little bit. Beats being cooped up in our little house on nice days.
My major worry for him (apart from the whole destruction of the planet thing we seem to be working on) is still his allergies – I feel like we still haven’t got all that sorted out yet. And his patterns of dramatic congestion and ear infections means we’re likely heading toward ear tubes this summer. Sigh. Still, he’s generally a happy-seeming kid, albeit reserved and watchful in new situations.
TLG on Riding Toy (Camera+ filter applied)
Splish-Splash
From my perspective, year 2 was marginally easier than year 1 and I don’t feel quite as relieved to get to the 24-month mark as I did when he turned 1. He is clearly related to both me and TheGuy and in that sense it’s been relatively easy to integrate him as we continue the transition from a 2- to a 3-person household. I mean in the sense of integrating another person with his own unique personality, not the infant- and toddler-care aspects (which are for the most part temporary logistical challenges.) There was no guarantee of that, of course. We might have had an extroverted fashionista! We find him charming and funny. I constantly find myself in the classic parenting paradox of really looking forward to the ‘break’ after the weekend or when he goes to sleep at night so I can, uhhh, work and maybe sleep, but also missing him terribly when he’s not around.
Goofing with Dad
TLG is a huge fan of his Dad’s and they are very well-attached. For Father’s Day this year I commissioned a custom board book from a friend of mine who makes custom board books and fabric books–Hullabaloo Stories. It came out nicely – the pages can be seen here.
Back Cover of TheGuy's Father's Day book
Awesome update!!!