As Theo hurtles towards three, the age where he ceases to be a toddler and magically becomes a preschooler, I want to slow the clock, keep tabs, document, get it all down before this charming, nerve-frying, adorable, chaotic, mind-boggling period comes to a close.
He’s two years and ten months, which makes him to my mind: “almost three.” Here are some of the things I find charming.
Words: The somersault of words, the jumble of phrases and the slow buildup of comprehension is fascinating and hilarious. Theo rose from a nap one day with “Good morning everyone! How are you?” Enroute to pick something up, I told him that we were going “somewhere.” Him: “Reaaally? … somewhere? Oh! Somewhere!!!” From our balcony, he shouts”Goodbye sweetheart!” to our neighbour’s mother. He runs up to older girls greeting them with an exuberant: “Hello little boy!” Of course he’s obsessed with body parts and functions but still, I remain charmed.
Chai? This chai? I like chai!
Imaginative play: I’m used to the machine obsession now but recently, Theo’s discovered small characters such as monsters, transformers and superheroes. We inherited a bucket from our friend, and he’ll happily immerse himself in play. The same goes for stuffies. Just as I was about to toss them all out, he started naming, playing, and sleeping with a small menagerie. He just added a giraffe puppet to his entourage who he hangs out on the front balcony where Giraffe eats bugs and seeds or chats with the neighbours.
Immersed.
Hanging with friends: At a visit to his little friend Anna’s house, Theo was greeted by a small Shepard who asked if he’d like to “Come to her village.” Guaranteed Theo had no idea what Anna was talking about but he took her hand, grabbed a “staff” and followed her lead. He actively requests meeting up with other children even when the most recent visit was a disaster (thank God for short memories!).
Riding on the front walk.
Sociablility: Toddlers aren’t terribly concerned with public appearances. Theo launches headlong into most social situations with unbridled enthusiasm. He’s a full-blown participator and while he can go overboard (what you didn’t want to be knocked over?). He also has a way of entering a room. The other day, when met with a room full of adult strangers, he looked at everyone and roared at the top of his lungs once and then again for good measure causing everyone to burst into laughter.
Sense of compassion: Toddlers can sense sadness perhaps because they are so volatile themselves. Theo is quick to ask a small child what’s wrong, pat a crying child on the back, or comfort a, eh hem, parent, who looks beaten down. A kiss, a hug, a what’s wrong Mama? All in a day’s work for sympathetic toddlers!
Simple things: Structured activities are overrated at this age. It’s often the little things that enchant and delight like riding the bus for no reason at all, a visit to the duck pond, a pile of dirt; a hose and a lawn, a bike ride down the sidewalk, a bubbling water fountain, a caterpillar amid the pine trees; a run up the slide, a barefoot squish in the grass in the pouring rain.
The simple things
Toddler clothes: I enjoy deal-hunting for Theo. It fulfills my desire to poke around in interesting little stores. As a result, I have stacks of hand-me-downs, second-hand and fire sale items that are super fun and cheap. I have a lineup of next-size-up shoes and shorts galore. I often pick up steals at thrift stores for friends like little converse high tops for my friend’s son ($3).
What delights you about your toddler?
It is a great reminder of the simple things. Great post!
Loved this! Sprout’s really just entering this stage now that he’s been walking for a whole four months. Suddenly having to dash after him on a regular basis as he careens toward busy streets, dogs we don’t know or staircases is getting nerve-wracking, but it’s part of the deal, I know.
I’m enjoying the deal-hunting on Craigslist & at consignment stores too. Got the next two sizes up of shoes on sale, plus a play structure for the back yard & today a run bike!
I’m glad you post about being delighted by your toddler. I find mine absolutely delightful as well, but it seems there are so many mom bloggers who just bitch and whine about this stage. I love babyhood too, but the toddler stage is really a blast by comparison!
Ha. Well I certainly have my challenges but I enjoy the energy of this stage much more than the cute but incomprehensible baby stage.
Harriet Fancott harriet@karmavore.com
I love Jack’s voice. I swear it is like sunshine. The other day when Sarah was having a particularly awful meltdown he commented in his sunshine voice, “I sure don’t like all this whining Mommy.”
I also love how they parrot us.
Parroting is the best! I love when Theo say’s “That’s crazy.”
Harriet Fancott harriet@karmavore.com
ha ha, that roaring story is the best!! Whenever B senses I am upset in the least he says, Mommy, are you happy or sad? If you say happy, he says, “Make a smile” if you do a fake smile, he says, “no, a real smile”. If you say sad, he says, “I will make you happy” and gives a big kiss. “are you happy now?”.
Funny, the Precious does the same thing – Mummy, you happy? Coffee? Also, how many times can he say Mummy, get up? Oh, I don’t know about 250 times in a row? I think I work for him now.
Is Theo having nightmares? For some reason Meg is having them now. I think it’s because she is remembering everything clearly, and also because her sense of compassion (like Theo’s) is becoming fine tuned…
We are hurtling towards preschooler age right behind you (literally!) I love the language explosion “Mommy, you are making me crazy”…. She too love love loves dandelions and we spend hours on the trail near our home hunting and blowing them. I love watching her figure things out, her curiousity at everything and how she tries so hard to use logic to make sense on the world. She will happily announce to anyone who will listen that she is a big girl now because she doesnt have a soother anymore. She lives in dresses and will protest if I ask her to wear something that she is just not feeling that day. She informs me that she only likes pink and purple and yellow and that she wants a big girl bed for her third birthday with Hello Kitty sheets… She is a gentle soul and holds the hand of those younger and helps take care of them. She will share everything she has (except Elmo) and tells me she will be going to Kindergarten when she is three. Anything I eat she wants to try (she eats more kinds of food than I do) and the love of her life is still an older boy (he is already 3) who puts a smile on her face whenever he is mentioned. I swear she will be five in July not three!
It’s an enchanting age. I have flashbacks about my kids at that stage constantly. He sounds like a real charmer.