Toddlerhood: A Different Ball Game

Isaac is almost 18 months, and I can't believe how much he's changed just in the last few weeks. He's finally transitioned to one nap a day (usually from noon to two-ish), which frees up a lot more time--time that needs to be filled. Hanging out at home is not his activity of choice. If that happens, I get tortured. :-)  In fact, every day around 9:00 am, he says, "Bye, bye? Bye, bye?" or goes up to the front door and cries. He wants out.

And for a good reason: this kid is filled with energy. He's had running mastered for a few months, so of course he's on to developing the next skill. Unfortunately, that means climbing. Now, all dining room table chairs must be pushed in at all times. And I know it's a matter of weeks until he figures out how to pull them out and climb up anyway. He stomps, he runs, he jumps, he dances, he attacks things. And he now tries to snatch my glasses off my face and has almost broken them. A big no-no.

But the biggest no-no of all is that, yesterday, he hung on the door to the oven (while I was cooking a pizza) and put his feet up, as if to climb up spiderman style. And his weight opened the door to the oven. AHH!!! Luckily, I was standing right there, and it only opened a few inches before I slammed it shut. I gave him a very firm, "No, no," and took him out of the kitchen, but a minute later (when I was not right next to the oven) he did it again. I don't think I've ever heard myself scream, "No!" like that. It was scary. Thankfully, it startled him and he jumped off before the oven fully opened. But that was the end of that. We bought a baby gate that very night. He is no longer allowed in the kitchen whenever the oven is on.

Yesterday he was also quite a terror at the library story time. He threw crayons everywhere and screamed during the quiet coloring time before it began and wouldn't sit still for one minute during the story time part. Instead, he ran around the room laughing and squealing. Even though there was general mayhem during the reading portion, we left half-way through because he was being so disruptive. I guess he's not ready for it. And I'm definitely not.

Never a dull moment with a toddler. And today was no exception: he got his first goose-egg-- right smack in the middle of his forehead right at his hairline. He ran full speed into a corner. I didn't see it happen, but my friend who was visiting did, and her reaction was pretty intense. So, after she left we watched "Bob the Builder" while I fought to get ice on his head for three seconds at a time.

And today we couldn't find any of his pacifiers. His paci has been one of his most treasured possessions since about 6 months old. I've limited its use during the day, but he knows he can have it when he sleeps, and he asks for it. He also asks for it when he wakes up, and I let him have it for the first few minutes to get through that waking-up grogginess. But I couldn't find it when he was crying after hitting his head. And I still couldn't find it at nap time. How they disappear, I know not. We had three just two weeks ago. But I'm sick of buying more, so I reluctantly decided that this would have to be it.

Luckily, he went down fine anyway. It helps that he's just as attached to his Teddy as his paci. But when he woke up, he said, "Paci? Paci?" with a sad, anxious face. And when I said it was, "All gone," he made the sign for "All done," (which he thinks is the same as all done) and wailed, "Ga-gone? Ga- gone?" And when I said yes, he cried really hard. Poor little baby.

He asked for it a few times this afternoon, but tonight--miracle of miracles-- he didn't ask for it. It took him over a half hour to fall asleep, but he didn't cry! He just talked happily until he drifted off. Of course this is just day one, but this is all going much better than I expected! Hallelujah! Now, I hope we don't find it.

To end on a happy note, I must say it is so fun to see him learning. His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds! Just this week, he began calling his books by name: "Go" for Oh, the Places You'll Go, "Doggie" for Go, Dogs! Go!, and  "Vroom, vroom!" for his book, Trucks. He has also been labeling things a lot more: shoe, hat, key, meow (for a cat), ball, teddy, and of course his paci that is no more.

As much as he wears me out, I wouldn't trade him. He's my treasure.