My son is officially 15 months and 2 weeks old today and more active than ever! Usually, all you hear about the toddler years are the fighting, yelling, and the naughtiness of a toddler, but I wanted to write a little short blog on the joys of toddlerhood. source
Every morning when I go in to pick up my son from his crib, he has such excitement on his face. I would like to think that the joy is to see me (and some might be), but I think the majority of his excitement if for all the new things he knows he will learn that day. It’s amazing to think that a short 15 months ago he was just a little baby that would barely move.
Each morning we wake up, take out the dog, make our hike down the stairs to put food in the dog bowl, and make the great climb back up the stairs to begin the day. (I like to think the climb up the stairs is his little version of Mt. Everest.) He makes me coffee (well I set it all up, he pushes the button) and I usually make him oatmeal. With spoon in hand, in about 30 minutes, he has managed to eat half of the oatmeal and use the rest for a nice moistrizing facial mask.
After breakfast, the day goes pretty much on a schedule. We play, he naps, eat lunch, play again, nap, play, dinner, and bedtime…you get the idea. Our days are somewhat of a routine but the moments when we play are the best and they change daily. He has almost mastered the names of all the animals in his books. (Well, he can’t say them, but I can ask him and he will point at the picture.) I can ask ‘what sound does a snake make’ and he will boastfully respond “sssssss” or ‘what sound does a piggy make’ and he will give me the biggest snort you have ever heard from a little boy. We are still working on the sound a duck makes, but all he can muster is a “duck duck” instead of a “quack quack”, I am sure those “q’s” are a hard one to learn.
He loves to watch the birds on our bird feeders and giggles each time a new one flies over (counted 11 the other day!) We walk up and down our driveway, which is almost a quarter of a mile each time. He has mastered the log roll, working on the somersault, and hopefully we can start the cartwheel soon. He’s a tough kid who falls down on his face several times a day and makes little sound if any. He carries his monkey everywhere he goes and says “hot” at anything that is Mom’s food. We read about 30 books a day and he makes engine noises while playing with his trucks. He points at everthing, claps for himself when he does something he is proud of, and runs around the house like a little maniac. source
I still look forward to when he learns to use his imagination, which he has not quite grasped the concept yet. (I made him some x-ray glasses out of Duplo blocks yesterday and he was not impressed.) There are moments of the beginning temper tantrums, him shaking his head “no”, whining, and picky eating which I am sure will get worse before they get better. I have responded calmly and cooly and hope to keep that up.
Despite the bad moments, all the fun moments of watching him learn, explore, and experiment are worth every penny. I hope this posts makes you look forward to your little one reaching this fun toddler stage or makes you remember when your child was his age. I understand these years are some of the best you will remember and I hope to relish in the moment while I have it.
“For infants and toddlers learning and living are the same thing. If they feel secure, treasured, loved, their own energy and curiosity will bring them new understanding and new skills.” – Amy Laura Dombro
I leave you with this video of him I find hilaroious. We took him to theChildren’s Science Museum and he learned that if he jumps on the scale he can make the needle move. We had quite the laugh watching him.
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