For moms of 2 year olds!

[kedss]

What do you love about being the mom of a 2-3 year old?

I love that he has learned to blow me kisses.
I love that he is trying to put on/take off his shoes(when its time to)
I love that he has finally learned to like cheeseburgers(makes eating out a bit easier)
I love that he likes to share.

(Yup, its been a tough few months, I just wanted to remind myself that there is a lot of good stuff to go with the 'behavior that makes us crazy'.

Please add your own!

[katerinasmom]

I love how she tries to comfort me when I bang my foot.
I love how I can see her mind working through her eyes - how she sort of smiles and gets this excited look in her eyes when she makes connections between things and how they work.
I love how she tries to help me - albeit not too effectively (vaccuuming with her pretend vaccuum, loading the dryer as I try to unload it, emptying the dishwasher as I am trying to load it).
I love how she says "I love you more!" when I tell her I love her and how she says "I love you more than Dora!" when I follow with "No I love you more".
Despite the tantrums, she does something new everyday that reminds me and my DH that she is the best thing that ever happened to us.

[kedss]

:) Chris tries to help 'wash' the windows, which consists of my spraying water on the windows and he rubs it with a paper towel, sort of, but the thing he loves about it is the spraying and they do get clean for a little while. He's also wild about sweeping.

[pampamz]

I love it when he mimics our behaviour when he doesn't know we're watching
I love it that he can say "no, I love YOU"
I love his sense of humour and that he can be silly and make me and DH crack up
I love how exciting it is for both of us when he learns something new (putting on his sandals or his own backpack, opening the straw and putting it in a juicebox)
I love watching him with younger kids and being helpful to them or showing them how to do something
I love how he is with his little sister and how he talks to her and makes her crack up

...This is a great post -- it does help to remind us to take time out of our busy lives and appreciate these little kiddies. Esp. with having a baby in the house to deal with, it reminds me of how great he is!

Thanks!

[kedss]

:) I needed to be reminded after taking over, uhm 3 hours to get my DS to sleep, at least it was in his own bed, and I figured I wasn't alone.

[hez]

I love that he surprises me every day with what he learns-- this morning he told me he wanted to help me put peanut butter on his toast with his *left* hand today. And then put the butterknife in his left hand.

I love that he gets so independent, but still loves to cuddle at night and at naps.

I love that he's sympathetic to other kiddos' crying, and wants to help.

I love that he's a little sponge, soaking up every experience :)

I love that he's starting to use a little logic, screwy as it may be!

It all balances those temper tantrums over the silliest (to me!) things!

[pampamz]

You're so right about them being sponges. It's like DS has a little file cabinet up there and will retrieve some tidbit of info about something we showed him or talked about last week or last month. Just out of no where.

He's a little Cliff Claven!

[kedss]

yup, I love 2 year old logic! LOL, most of the time it makes perfect sense to me. I wonder what that says about me??

[thomma]

Ds and dd turned 3 last month and, so far, I'm really liking this age.

I love the language explosion. Dd finally started to talk a week after her 3rd birthday.
I love when they laugh with and at each other. You know, that full blown belly laugh.
I totally agree with PP about them being sponges. The other day ds told me that elephants were pachyderms. Huh?
I LOVE that they share with each other.
I love that they ask me to play with them.


Purely selfish on my part:
I love that they willingly go to the doctors and don't freak out anymore. We went for their 3 year c/up and ds and dd acted like they were at the park. Dd kept saying "check ears?" :) It makes bringing them both by myself SO much easier!

Kim
t&e 5/03

[kedss]

Yeah, I can't wait til Chris doesn't scream the minute we go into the Dr's office because he remembererd the shots from 2 or 3 visits before! :)

eta word
etc spellin'

[saschalicks]

Oh this one is good:

I love...
...that he tells me "I love you mama". No matter how many times he says it he melts my heart

...that he's starting to tell me to change his diaper. Maybe potty training will be possible.

...that he wants to play with his baby brother, but unfortunately his baby brother can't play with him.

...that he loves to read books.

...that he is starting to recite lines from Good Night Moon because we read it so much. It's his favorite.

...when DH calls from his cell on speaker and in the background I can here DS(#1) saying "hi mama".

[mamicka]

I love that he says, "let's just cuddle a little bit" when it's time for bed.

I love that he's so anxious to learn new things.

I love that he enjoys cleaning-up, because we do it together.

I love that he's so affectionate to his little brother.

I love that he "reads" books to himself, trying to use the same silly voices that I do.

I love that he makes-up silly songs.

I love that he tries to make us all laugh by telling jokes.

Allison

[pampamz]

"I love that he tries to make us all laugh by telling jokes."

Our DS is in to that too right now...

Him: Knock Knock
Us: Who's there?
Him: Chair (or tree, or shovel, you get the drift)
Us: Chair who?
Him: hahahahahah, get it?
Us: hahahahahha, yeah...

[mudder17]

Great thread! (especially because she's crying now about something or other when she should be napping....)

I love her language explosion...it started around 18 months, and it has continued to grow. It's pretty amazing.

And yes, their minds are like sponges and it's amazing what she can remember, even after seeing it only once a week ago! It's nice that she can put on her own clothes and shoes, although it's funny when she's putting on multiple layers of dresses. She came to say good morning to me today wearing two dresses and underwear that she put on all by herself. Apparently, she was quiet for a little while, and then she ran up to DH (who was working) and said, "Kaya did it all by herself!"

(ooh! she's quiet now...2 minutes, that's not bad. :P)

I love that she's finally starting to be interested in the different foods we eat and will make requests for some of the oddest things (like she loves to lick mustard off her fingers).

I love that she can be self entertaining for short periods of time as long as she gets some direct attention from mommy or daddy throughout the day.

I love how she loves to help, especially w/babies, but even in the oddest things. Yesterday, I had to sew a button on her dress and she wanted to "help". So I let her see what I was doing, and then, with her sitting beside me, I let her push the needle into the right place and then carefully pull it through. She lost the thread a few times, but she did try to get the needle through, and then pull both pieces of thread so that it wouldn't keep falling out. It was pretty cool to watch her carefully manipulate the needle and try to push it into the right place. She loves anything that involves spray bottles, so yes, she helps me wash all the glass surfaces in the house.

I love that she's really learning to interact with her friends and even though it isn't always pretty, she's definitely learning to be more polite and careful and nice, etc. I love it that she loves sharing her food with all her friends (and they're more than happy to comply, lol!), and she also likes to take turns.

I love that she gives me hugs and kisses when I'm not feeling happy and she'll say, "All better!" afterwards. It could brighten anyone's day. :)

ETA: I love that she's started singing a lot and it's even a form of self entertainment (like from her rear facing car seat or if she wakes up in the morning). Her favorites are: Baa Baa Black Sheep, Jesus Loves Me (except she sings "You" because that's what I sang to her), ABC, Hush Little Baby Don't You Cry, Twinkle, Twinkle, and a variety of Signing Times songs.

Thanks for starting this, Kate!

Eileen

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/33734.gif 28 months...
http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_-6_Kaya+is.png
http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev317pp___.png
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/33732.gif for Leah

[kijip]

I love that he now knows how to give kisses.
I love that he is a chatterbox of crazy thoughts and ideas.

and most of all

I love that he can now do things for himself and that he is intent on learning how to do more. Even if that does mean his shirt is on backwards. :)

[kath68]

I love that he blows raspberries on our stomachs, and thinks it's hysterical.

I love that when he says he wants (fill in the blank), and you ask why? He says "mmmmmmm because.... I want (fill in the blank)." Totally circular logic, yet it makes perfect sense.

I love that he has made it his job in the morning to take DH's glasses off the dresser and bring them to him.

I love that he gets immersed in his toys (esp. trains), that I can go to the bathroom without worry.

I love that he tries to put on his shorts by himself, but inevitably ends up with both legs in the same hole.

I love that he loves running around naked. "I naked mommy!!!!!"

I love that he asks to see his grandparents every day (even though he can't see them more than every couple of weeks or so because they live over an hour away from us).

I love how he drops everything at daycare and runs to me when I come to pick him up.

[kedss]

:) It's nice to read all this good stuff, because these days I have to remind myself really quickly of all the sweet, lovely stuff he does when he does his 'I'm 2 years old routine.'

I can't wait until Chris really starts singing, he started to a little last night, in his own language of course. LOL :)

[kedss]

i esp can't wait til Chris wants me to change his diaper!! only occasionally when he's really heavy will he tell me. sigh....and I do love that he talks to me on the phone the one day of the week when i'm out of the house on my own, and almost has a conversation with me.:)

and i love that he is asleep on my lap right now so I can type!!

[kedss]

:) Kisses are great aren't they?

[kedss]

yUp, i know Chris is really awake when he goes to get my glasses! :)

[saschalicks]

>
>ETA: I love that she's started singing a lot and it's even a
>form of self entertainment (like from her rear facing car seat
>or if she wakes up in the morning). Her favorites are: Baa
>Baa Black Sheep, Jesus Loves Me (except she sings "You"
>because that's what I sang to her), ABC, Hush Little Baby
>Don't You Cry, Twinkle, Twinkle, and a variety of Signing
>Times songs.
>

I love love love that DS sings to himself too! Thanks for making me remember that one. It's so GREAT!!! DS sings: Baa Baa Black Sheep, ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Row Row Row Your Boat, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Signing Time songs. Isn't the best when they do it in the back seat? I love that self entertainment.

[thomma]

"I love how he drops everything at daycare and runs to me when I come to pick him up."

Yeah...that is pretty cool! :)

[Raidra]

I love that Colwyn now says, "I love you so much, Mommy."

I love that when I took him to the movies for the first time, he was totally uninterested in watching it (took me a few minutes to realize that I should be glad, and not frustrated at wasting $20).

I love that he's into rescuing things/people, and will run up to me and say, "Me rescue Mommy!" and give me a huge hug.

I love that he has absolute confidence in himself. The other day, my husband's train was late and the kids were getting bored. So I told Colwyn that if he wiggled his fingers at the gate when I told him to, it would make them go down. So when I first saw the lights flash, I told him to wiggle his fingers, and he was so proud of himself for making the gates go down. He's absolutely convinced that he has the power to make the train appear.

I love that he's a good climber, but has enough sense now not to be reckless.

I love listening to him list all the people he loves, then all the people who love him.

I love the language development he's gone through in the last 6 months. He's gone from having about 20 verbal words at 2 to.. gosh.. who knows now. And I love that he's still really interested in signing.

I love that he really wants to teach Lachlann things. He would help me say "Ma ma ma ma" over and over and over again, and when Lachlann finally started saying "Ma ma" back (while I was cleaning him up from a spectacular vomiting episode two days ago, btw), Colwyn was so proud of himself and of Lachlann.

Luckily we've avoided a lot of the major two-years-old problems so far. I always feel really out of place with the moms in my playgroup who have a toddler and a new baby, because they all talk about how horribly their toddlers are behaving. For us, it was the exact opposite.. Colwyn was (always has been) a doll, and Lachlann was the majorly grumpy one. But it's still nice to actually write down what I appreciate about Colwyn.. it's easy to get caught up in the day to day stuff and forget to pay attention to the little things.

[lmintzer]

Joshua is turning into such a little spirited one, just like big brother. But right now, he's that beautiful mix of baby face, big baby eyes, soft baby head, and big boy attitude. It's so endearing! I love how he KNOWS that he can make me smile. His favorite ways are to just call out my name loudly, "MAMA" or to say "Cute Mama," and for me to answer, "Cute Baby," or "Cute Joshua". I don't think he knows what "cute" means, but he knows it's something I say to him lovingly.

He is cracking me up with his singing. He sings really well for a kiddo who uses telegraphic speech. He literally sings whole songs, filling in the words he doesn't know with anything from fluent babble to close approximations of the right words. He sings pop songs, baby songs. His favorite song right now is "Clap Your Hands," on one of the "They Might be Giants" kids' albums. He asks for this everyday in the car and then just goes nuts back there smiling and clapping and kicking.

Joshua was late learning to jump, but now he's got it. He squats down in "froggy" position and jumps up, still crouched over. It's quite a feat for him to land without falling and looks absolutely hillarious.

He's gotten into the "fondu phase" of eating in which everything has to be dipped. Ketchup works well, and since we're trying to get more fat into his diet, we've recently tried guacamole which has been met with success. Today, he was asking for "Green Dippy" at the top of his lungs and singing our little silly song that we made up when a food tastes good.

I feel like I'm not doing it justice, but this kid is totally cracking me up and completely melting my heart (when he's not throwing a tantrum, that is). I've never been so in love!

[jbowman]

I love when Ellie sings (I especially love when she sings "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and says, "BUP above the world so high...").

I love how she hugs baby Alice and says, "I love my sister so much!"

I love how she told one of her friends today, "no hitting. Hitting is not nice!" LOL.

I love how she dances and twirls around.

I love seeing her run and climb.

[jbowman]

>ETA: I love that she's started singing a lot and it's even a
>form of self entertainment (like from her rear facing car seat
>or if she wakes up in the morning). Her favorites are: Baa
>Baa Black Sheep, Jesus Loves Me (except she sings "You"
>because that's what I sang to her), ABC, Hush Little Baby
>Don't You Cry, Twinkle, Twinkle, and a variety of Signing
>Times songs.


Ellie sings many of these songs, too, Eileen, and I love them (and ofen sings in her car seat)! She also sings a fabulous version of "Back Home Again in Indiana." Love it!

[Mommy_Again]

thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this. with preschool out for the summer I have really been struggling with DS, so I needed a reminder of how precious they are despite the 2 year old tantrums.

I love that out of the blue he will say "I wuv you, mom."

That when DH or I are play rough-housing with him, he'll say "no pushing, mom" or "no hitting, mom"

That he still needs me to kiss all his boo boos.

That he loves talking to DH and grandparents on the cell phone, but loves to flip it closed after 5 seconds even more.

That whenever he is doing something with his body - kicking his legs, attempting a split, "flying" on top of a bar stool - he'll say "What am I doing, mom?"

That he is obsessed with money (coins) and keeps telling people that he "needs some more money"

I love catching him counting, saying ABCs or singing when he thinks he is all alone.

[kedss]

:) you're welcome! I keep saying to my self, "he's only 2 once!" over and over, but I know I will miss it when he gets older. :)
Hang in there, the summer will be over before you know it! Hugs

[kedss]

I love "BUP" LOL! :)

[kedss]

I'm planning on hiding all joke books when he is able to read! LOL, when my sister got old enough she carried around this old book, 1001 jokes! It took what seems like years to lose it, and I'm afraid its in my attic waiting to rear its head! LOL :)

[aliceinwonderland]

I love his completely pragmatic approach to life: He speaks in two languages now, but only to the minimum extent he needs to to communicate his needs :) I love (not so much) that he says "Please" in the cutest way ever, but won't say "Thank you", even though he knows the word well.

I love his sense of humor--We ask him if he needs help most times when he's doing something, and now, he asks us: I carry him up the stairs "Need help??", DH is peeing "Need help??"

Most recently, I love that he is really really close to his paternal grandfather despite the fact that he only sees him every few months. And started calling him "paw paw" a while back even though we never tought him the word. This sort of baffles me, but in a good way.

He gives random, unsolicited hugs to people too, accompanied by the sound effect of "Awwww" and pats on the back :) :)

[kedss]

:) I love the 'Need help?' LOL! Yup, Chris is a hugger too, and loves to say 'Hi' to random people when we go shopping. :)

[Mommy_Again]

>I love his sense of humor--We ask him if he needs help most
>times when he's doing something, and now, he asks us: I carry
>him up the stairs "Need help??", DH is peeing "Need help??"

Along those same lines, DS says to me, when I am doing the most mundane of tasks, "Good job, mom." I pour him a glasss of milk: "Good job, mom." I read him a story: "Good job, mom." I guess we've got the positive reinforcement covered at this house.

[kedss]

LOl!! My kiddo's usual response if he has one is 'Goway' or 'Noway' at least we have two syllable phrases now! :)