let me introduce you to my little friend

toddlers are curious creatures. they ask a lot of questions. they like to poke and prod.

now for toddler boys, around the age of 3, they become particularly intrigued with body functions. probably because of the whole potty training process and the parts involved.

so of course, aidan has suddenly become very aware of his penis.

we try to use the anatomically correct term and try to refrain from using euphemisms like "peepee" or "weewee" and such. he pronounces it "pe-nus."

for the past several weeks aidan has been putting his hand down the front or back of his pants. i like to ask him," what are you doing, aidan? is your penis still there? good, now take your hands out of your pants." in the shower, sometimes he slaps at it. now, i thought that was a sensitive area, guys! i mean, what's with all the drama when some dude is dealt a blow in the 'nads? it looks like it hurts to high heaven!

paul says when it's your own penis, it doesn't hurt. really?

aidan has offered up a couple of great lines regarding the ol' "pe-nus:"

[after a bath] aidan says, "look mama! my penus is big! like daddy's! "

(no comment. this is a family blog after all.)

[in the morning] aidan has said, "look mama! my penus is up. because it slept all night!"

sorry seems to be the hardest word

for the longest time, aidan has never been able to say "sorry." the funny thing is that he knows when you say it and why-- he just refused to say it. when prompted by me or paul for him to apologize, he'd instantly cover his eyes with his hands or arms as if to shield himself from the shame. it was his version of a wordless "sorry."

it has just been in the last week or so that he will now say, "sorry!" but, as the elton john song-inspired post title implies, it is still hard for him to say. the other day, aidan pinched me when i didn't pick him up. (you wouldn't think such little fingers would hurt, but he's a little crab, i tell ya!.) so i prompted him, "say sorry, mama." to which he replied:

"sorry daddy!" (paul got a laugh out of that)

prompted again, he then said:

"sorry, mickey!"

prompted again, he then said:

"sorry mower!" (that would be his plastic toy mower in our kitchen)

finally, he said "sorry mama" and then went on his merry way.

at least he now says "bless you" whenever you cough, sneeze or blow your nose. so there's hope yet of raising a well-mannered little boy!

taking turns and other new things

this was a banner week for a 'what's aidan learned to do/say' lately.

taking turns. aidan is big on taking turns. aidan's turn, daddy's turn, mama's turn. for the first time, aidan exercised the freedom of choice and decided that it was mama's turn to read him a story before bedtime. "are you sure? don't you want daddy to read to you" i would ask him. "no, mama's turn,' he insisted. i have to admit it felt good to be the chosen one. it used to be that paul and i had a separation of duties-- i help him brush his teeth and paul changes his diaper, puts his pjs on and takes him upstairs for a bedtime story and 'night night.' there are drawbacks, like having it be mama's turn 2-3 nights in a row. even when i was out with girlfriends for dinner the other night, it was "mama's turn." sorry, paul.

birthday! aidan turned two on the 12th of march. we had a small get-together for him last weekend with family. there were a couple of presents from me and paul that he hadn't opened a day or two afterwards. after dinner on tuesday, i asked aidan if he wanted to unwrap the presents. he said, 'birthday! birthday presents!" that surprised me because at the actual gift opening at his party, he was a little cranky and wasn't totally into the opening presents thing.

easter eggs! we picked up aidan from school today and apparently they colored easter eggs as an art project because he had pink dots on his face, arms and a blue-green hand. obviously, more than eggs got dyed-- we have a human easter egg. we tried washing it off at home, but the dye is stubborn and we managed to only make it fade a few shades.

daaaddy! maaama! it used to be that aidan would wake up in the middle of the night or would be less than enthusiastic about going to sleep so he would cry it out a bit and then finally go to sleep. since then, his cries have turned into plaintive cries and screams of 'daaaddy!' and 'maaama!" the first time, it just melts your heart. it still pulls at the heart strings, but somehow your own exhaustion helps temper the guilt and you're able to let him cry it out (after about a minute or two, he finally goes to sleep) or you quickly go to his room, assure him it's okay, and rub his back for a bit to soothe him to sleep.

and then he was TWO

that's right. my baby is now two. 

it's amazing how fast the 2nd year goes. when your baby is born, it is such a monumental effort to get to that 1-year mark. every week is a milestone. you get through hundreds of diaper changes, feeding sessions, pumping sessions,  worry that he's going to roll over on his stomach when he sleeps, go to doctor's visits every three months, hoping to get past that official milestone where your baby is safe from the dangers of SIDS. you take lots of pictures of every smile and smirk-- real or 'just gas.' the first word, the first crawl, the first piece of solid food, the first steps, the first of many plastic outlet covers that will inevitable break your manicured nail.

you get the picture.

in year two, you're no longer worried about keeping your precious child alive-- you're trying to keep up with them! aidan is a talking, walking, running, jumping, climbing bundle of energy. every day he surprises us with a newly picked-up phrase of facial expression. he is learning free will and choice-- and he's starting to exercise it. it's an amazing and sometimes trying time, but i wouldn't miss it for the world.

i was out of town for work and got back in time to give aidan special birthday hugs, snuggles and bedtime story time. at daycare, they posted his birthday sign on the door and had cookies with the other kids. his lola and lolo picked him up from daycare and had lunch with him and daddy. before picking me up at the airport, dinner was had with nana and papa for more birthday grandparent celebrating. by the time he saw me, you could tell he was a little tired from the day's festivities, but within minutes, he smiled and screamed 'mamaaaaaa!' as if he finally realized i was really home and here to stay! 

we'll be celebrating his birthday this sunday with family. the theme; mickey mouse clubhouse. stay tuned for pictures1

it really should be called the Sucky Six

i'm reading "the happiest toddler on the block" right now because i was such a fan of "the happiest baby on the block" and the swaddling techniques we learned. learning to swaddle aidan helped to calm aidan and helped us keep our sanity in those first three months of parenthood.

the funny thing about the toddler on the block book is that dr. karp, the author, compares toddlers to chimps. mainly, because human babies and baby chimps follow the same development up until 18 months and then human babies start to out-develop the chimps with their language skills and whatnot. 

every time i read these kinds of books, i'm struck by how aidan is a textbook example of whatever i'm reading. for instance, dr. karp talks about how there really isn't a "terrible twos." really, the tantrums and behavior associated with the "TT's" begin six months earlier, at age 18 months. (thus the title of this post.) at 18 months, aidan would fall to the floor and cry, go the the stairs and rest his head on a stair to cry, or run off a corner of the house howling and then, as quickly as it blew up, the tantrum disappeared and he was sweet ol' aidan again. 

of course, dr. karp says that while tantrums may taper off, they will rear their ugly heads again, though not nearly as much.

tonight was a good example. we had a late start for dinner because we had to pick up paul's car from the dealership for some routine maintenance. aidan was grumpy. he wasn't hungry. he wanted mickey. NOW. (we watch the mickey mouse clubhouse before he goes to bed.) even after paul walked him over to the couch to get the recording started, aidan was still upset. "yes, i want to watch mickey. wah-wah-wah." complete with tears and sobs. he was getting what he wanted, but he was tired. it was a meltdown, a little one, but a meltdown all the same.

i haven't gotten to the tactics yet of how to "deal" with toddlers and their tantrums yet. i was tempted to skip the beginning pages where dr. karp attempts to explain his theories behind his methods, but i keep thinking i'm going to miss something if i do that.

i'll be sure to post what i've read and whether it's worked. stay tuned!

 

Moved by music

When I was about 4-5 months pregnant with Aidan, I was driving home from work and changing the radio stations in the car. Marvin Gaye's song, "Let's Get It On" was playing. Less than a minute later, Aidan moved in my belly. It was his first dance move.

Fast forward to Aidan's baptism. He was five months old. During the service, he sat in awe as he watched the musicians sing. He didn't move a muscle until they stopped singing.

I love that Aidan likes music so much, from the playtunes that come out of his toys to the jingles on t.v. He loves the Kia commercial where the salespeople on the floor sing "So Long, Farewell" from the Sound of Music. No matter what he is doing-- playing, crawling, tossing his shoes, drinking from his bottle-- he will stop and watch this commerical. Sometimes we will sing the song to him, but he doesn't give us the same attention as he does the professionals on t.v.

Lately, Aidan will sing while he plays. You can't make out any words, but he definitely hits high and low pitches, oohs and ahhs-, ba-ba-bas, da-da-das, ma-ma-mas-- and a raspberry or two thrown in for good measure. Sometimes, he will dance and bounce in place. Or, wave his hand and turn his head from side to side in time with his music.

Is this a hint of musicianship to come or just a phase? Only time will tell.