I am somewhat surprised at myself because when I made the decision to stop doing monthly updates on The Bean once he reached age two, I really didn't think I would miss it. But you know what,
I do. I don't miss so much the writing of the updates, but I miss taking note of the things I want to include in them and I definitely miss having them. They are such a nice record of what our little guy was up to each of his first 24 months.
So, though they may not come monthly anymore, I think I will continue to do Bean updates when the mood strikes me. He is still changing so much and so quickly. He makes me smile, this little boy of ours. (He also makes me crazy sometimes, but let's focus on the positive. :) )
So, here are a few things that I remember from the past few months...
-Not long after Sprout came home I was nursing her and The Bean clearly wanted my attention, so he said to me, "Mama, put [Sprout] in chair. Put blanket on her." I was a little taken aback, but it was what I was doing whenever I went to play with him. He's pretty observant.
-Our cat, Mo, is justifiably wary of The Bean. There was a period of time a little while back where she would hiss at him whenever he got too close. As a result, The Bean will now hiss when you ask him what sound a cat makes. He also sometimes hisses at Mo. He was doing this a month or so ago, and I told him to stop, explaining that Mo only hisses when she's scared and that hissing at her is not a nice thing to do. I said to him, "Mo is a good girl. Please do not hiss at her." And he looked at me and said in a very serious voice, "Not a girl, Mama. A cat."
-The Bean has started telling stories. His most repeated one is half story/half joke. It goes: "One day a chicken (pause) QUACK!" He'll then laugh and say "The End!" The Bean knows many animal sounds including those of both chickens and ducks, so rather than being concerned that he is confused, I sort of proud that he realizes that this is funny.
-He's been really into knock knock jokes lately too. Most of them don't make much sense though.
-He does tell other stories, though he often requires prompting. Most of his stories are about a boy going to the grocery store, or, as The Bean calls it "the SUPERMARKET!!!" And yes, going to "the SUPERMARKET!!!" is one of the highlights of our son's week. Clearly.
-We also found out that our daycare provider sometimes takes the morning kids to a nearby McDonald's Playland when it's too cold our yuck to go outside. The Bean's accounts of going to Old McDonald's and drinking coffee tipped us off. We have confirmed that it is only the daycare provider who gets coffee and not the kids. ;)
-He can sing the Alphabet song as well as many others, spell his first name (mostly accurately) and recognize the letters in it, count to ten, and recognize colours (though sometimes he mixes up red and purple). Not bad for just a little over two years old!
-He is the king of procrastination at bedtime. Mommy likes rocking him in his rocking chair after lights out, so we let it slide a little bit.
-He has formed an attachment to his stuff hippo, Owen, and now asks for him at nap and bedtime. Owen is from Pottery Barn and I'm more than a little concerned that they no longer sell him so there can be no "back up" Owen. We have instituted a strict "Owen says in the house" rule. (Which we will break when travelling, but not at any other times.)
-I, Mama, have recently become "Daddy" or "Dad." Sometimes I am still Mama, but I think because I am not Mommy he has decided to rename me. I'm not thrilled with it, but I am sure it's a passing phase, probably brought on by discussions about family at daycare or talks with his friends. Has any one else gone through this?
-He has been identifying figures and characters in books as "bad guys" lately. We were a bit concerned, but have found out it's because of superhero action figures at daycare and some of the play that goes along with the superhero figures. There are older kids there. I guess it's bound to happen.
-He has a crazy good memory. He will talk about things Jen and I have long since forgotten. Like how the mechanical horse at the barber's was broken. Or what happened when his friend was over to play. It's not just my "baby brain", this kid doesn't forget anything.
So that's a snapshot of The Bean right now. When he's in a good mood he is so fun to be around. When he's cranky it's not so fun, but we love him anyway. :) He's a great big brother. He's an enthusiastic helper. He's smart and silly and bossy and funny and we feel lucky to be his parents and to see him grown and develop.
