My Introduction to Toddlerhood

The last couple weeks have been a lot of work. While parenting a toddler can definitely be more enjoyable, it is certainly a lot more effort than parenting a baby.

And we have a full on toddler in this house.

First let me mention that everyone thinks Vander is two years old. I cannot take him out shopping without everyone guessing he is around two years old. I think I forgot to mention in his twelve month post that he is in the 94th percentile for height, so he is close to the same height as the average two year old (and I swear he grew another half inch this weekend...).

Tantrums? Check! We have the tantrums of a two year old already. Right after Vander's birthday, Dylan, Vander and I went to Toys R Us. This was really Vander's first trip where he could interact with the place. I had so much fun looking at all of the toys and getting excited for what all he may be in to. Vander had two tantrums over us dragging him away from some totally random toys. He is excellent at tantrums. Bonelessness when he deems appropriate. He can swing his arms straight up really fast so that you cannot pick him up (although I quickly learned to pick him up by his body not his arms anymore). He goes straight as a board when you try to put him in his carseat sometimes. He arches his back and wails or bangs his head in frustration when you close the gate or don't let him play in the puppy water or drink from a beer bottle or what have you.

Taunting the dogs? Check! He says "Hi!" to them when we get home at the end of the day and then proceeds to chase them around whatever gated off area we all happen to be in trying to pet them. He is kind of, maybe, getting a little better at petting gently, but he really doesn't get a chance. And I don't blame the dogs for running when he is squealing after them. He also loves putting his feet on the dogs and I can't decide if he is trying to walk on them or pet them with his feet...

Smiling mischievously while doing the exact thing you are telling him not to do? Check! This little munchkin loves to go hide and giggle while you go look for him, preferably behind the blinds for the sliding glass door, which he is definitely not supposed to play with. He grins when he eats the rocks as you tell him "We need to leave the rocks out of our mouth."

Constant bumps and bruises? Check! Somehow Vander manages to walk really steadily and he falls well (without crying or damaging any part of himself) at home, but the second you take him out in public and let him walk on cement, he falls and gets a HUGE bruise on his forehead. Or he gets bruises you don't even know where they came from, since even though you put him to bed without bruises, he has them in the morning.

Everything that isn't actually a toy is way cooler than any toy? Check! He plays in the dogs' water, he chews on my flip flops, he plays with the tampons (still packaged obviously!), he wants to push his stroller all the time, he enjoys emptying the pantry and carrying around the balsamic vinegar, and he loves to play with the icebreaker mints container. As long as you didn't intentionally buy it for him, he will love it. The current main exceptions to this rule are the sand and bucket toys and pinwheels.

The world is an obstacle course? Check! Last weekend Vander mastered scooting down the stairs. Now he is constantly going up and down the stairs, all over the house. He also started crawling of top of step stools, his glider ottoman, into the refrigerator, etc.

The one thing that Vander is still not being your typical toddler on? Food! Besides the fact that he eats non-stop and he eats way more that most of the other kids (this week he had four whole graham crackers compared to 1-1.5 the other kids ate), he still eats everything. I would say he still prefers his vegetables and fruit over the carbs most of the time, or he will at least eat them evenly and he will eat a good amount of meat.

Wish us luck!