Thursday, April 4, 2013

Two and a half

Levi is just 4 days away from being 2.5 years old! 

He is such a character.  He loves to make us laugh. 

He loves to serve.

"I make cookies for you, Daddy!" 

"I help set the table!"

"I get a diaper and wipe for you, Mommy!" 

He is also very two and we've had our battles of the will (and more to come, I'm sure).  From who fills up the water jug to what cd he listens to at night...anything and everything is grounds for a meltdown.  But we're dealing with it in the best way we can and the tantrums seem to go in stages which says to me that he's testing the waters, seeing what it means to be more independent and trying to make decisions for himself (though not quite knowing how to communicate when something doesn't go the way he thinks it should). 

Children aren't born knowing how to communicate.  It is our job as parents to help them understand how to do that.  And it is our job to be patient as they begin to exert their independence.  (Yup, still working on this).

Levi loves puppies.  Levi loves cooking.  Levi loves trucks and machines.  Levi loves to count.  Levi loves letters.  Levi loves puzzles.  Levi loves slides.  Levi loves tents.  Levi loves animals.  Levi loves taking people to his room, closing the door and enjoying some quality time playing together.  Levi loves stories.  Levi loves playing piano.  Levi loves music.  Levi loves helping me transplant my houseplants.

Levi "no like" broccoli (too yucky).  Levi "no like" touching sticky things.  Levi "no like" having his hair washed.  Levi "no like" carbonation.  Levi "no like" socks with holes.  Levi "no like" daddy shows (sports). 

Levi, like every two year old, says the most interesting and hilarious things. 

"Garburate" as in "Here, Kayden, I garburate you!" (vibrating chair)
"I love you, Buddy." - said to Kayden just this morning
"Puppy LOVE me!" - while he holds Lennox in a headlock hug.
"Lettuce" as in "Lettuce, go get your ball!"
"Oh well" when he is not allowed to do something or when we are out of his favourite cereal.
"Buy more" when we are out of his favourite cereal.
"Oh well, buy a new one" when Mommy gets the van stuck in the snow bank.

I love our boy so much.   He is a perfect fit in our family (interesting how we always get the perfect ones for us, right?).  He is obviously still adjusting to having a sibling, but he is doing so so well.  We are incredibly proud of him for all the ways he is growing and learning every day.  There are many days when Nathan comes home from work and asks how Levi has been and I can honestly say that "he is an absolute delight!" 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really appreciate reading how positive and, well, appreciate you generally sound! You don't take your family for granted. Levi sounds like he has a whole lot of love ha ha!
- Katie D

Anonymous said...

*appreciative. Whoops.

Trev and Rebekah said...

I have been reflecting on how my son is soon going to be 6 and how we made it through the tough years (ages 2/2.5 to 4.5) of attitude, exerting of will, tantrums, will battles, etc. The best advice that was given to me was BE CONSISTENT! Kids know when they can get away with stuff when we aren't consistent. If we say we'll count to 3...count to 3 quickly don't drag it out. If we say we'll give them a time out for doing something...follow through on your word.

Way to strive to parent in patience...something I am sure all of us parents know we need to daily strive for.

Unknown said...

The above comment is so true. I'm not doing my daughter any favors when I drag out the counting. In fact, when I'm strict about it, especially in public, people think I'm an absolute wretch. We need to schedule a Skype date soon so that we can see Kayden and Levi.