When he wakes up, he lays there and sings or talks until the sounds of his little voice hail me from the deepness of my sleep. Yesterday he awoke practicing intonations of "No" (Nononononono No! No. No!) and his newest opposites (open/closed and on/off).
He's a fantastic mimic! Today when he went down for a nap he said "Dad fix it fan!" Right now he is standing at the window saying "Nena (dog) whay ahyou?" (where are you). When I say "You know what?" he answers "I uhview" (I love you) and when I tell him he's my best boy, he says "buddy" and I say "that's right, you're my buddy".
He is 21 months now (!) and still loves to be worn. I recently bought an Ergo and wear it at the grocery store and sometimes while making dinner. He snuggles up next to me and squeezes me and just plain loves to be loved.
He loves jeeps and cars and buses and lights and shoes. He LOVES stools but we've had to take them away and hide them in the laundry room. He loves to be surprised and I often jump out from behind things to oblige him. He giggles at the funniest things and I am pretty sure his laughter is the best sound in the universe.
Most of the time he is very well-behaved and doesn't do much that a little redirection and a request to "go play with your toys" won't handle. He listens well to requests (most of the time) and I think we're doing pretty well in the discipline department, but I still read the books.
Every time I read a book that talks about extinguishment of a behavior by letting my kid cry (or scream) for hours on end, I get a bad taste in my mouth and have real trouble taking anything after that point seriously. The most recent book I read talked about bedtime routines in the second chapter and how a child will probably scream for 3-4 hours the first night. . . how on earth do I even go on to chapter three after a comment like that?
Especially when what I am mostly trying to avoid is the place of panic my heart retreats to when he is being particularly challenging, like yesterday when we were at a mall bookstore and he was straining against his stroller straps saying "Out!" and it was nearing bedtime and he was just done. I told him he was not getting out and then tried to readjust him in his stroller. While doing so, I hurt his leg and he starting crying in earnest. Instant heart panic rose up (was I going to have to go back on my word?), but in the end, we struck a compromise that allowed me to stick to my guns and him to be happy for another 10 minutes.
Being smothered is a delicate balance between trusting yourself and being open to learning new ways to handle things. But mostly, it's just awesome!
~Nichole
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