Terrible, Teriffic, Terrifying Two!

Very almost two!

One

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Thomas is turning two this week (Thursday, August 19th, to be exact).  With most babies, it seems as if the space between birthdays happens in the blink of an eye.  With Thomas, it's hard to believe that he's only just now turning two.  Behaviorally, he's already been VERY two for several months.

That being said, it's such an incredible gift to watch a toddler grow and learn.  Their little sponge brains absorb so much information so quickly!   Every day, in small ways, we can see Thomas changing from a toddler to a little boy.  He's always had a lot of personality, but now he's evolving into someone with definite likes and dislikes, and the clear ability to say "no."

He's developed a real preference for Blue's Clues.  We like this because we know it's far superior to many of the other shows he could have developed his first obsession with.  With Adam we had to endure Dora (ick), and even worse, Boohbah (ick, ick, not enough icks in the world, ick).  We steer (and steered) clear of cloyingly sickly-sweet Barney too.  All in all, Blue's Clues isn't the worst choice he could have made.  As parents, we obviously are heavily exposed to whatever show du jour with which our children are enamored.  Since we have to overhear it anyway, it's always nice when the show is tolerable, and even better when it caters somewhat to adults as well as children (i.e. Sesame Street and VeggieTales).


He definitely has his other favorites.  He loves noodles (noo-doos) of any kind.  If  I'm drinking a soda, he must have some too.  He really wants to learn how to play Wii, and loves being large and in charge.  He gets a big kick out of banging on our piano, even applauding for himself and shouting when he plays.  He tries very hard to escape from the safety of the gated living room.  He's even succeeded a few times by strategically placing toys near the gate, climbing on them, and then vaulting himself over said gate.  If he can find a pen or a marker, he will write on everything in sight, himself included.

This child is all boy.  I've seen a decorative vinyl wall decal that says defines him perfectly.  It says this:

 That is our Thomas.  He's loud, he's fearless, and he's busy.  When we tell him not to do something, he backs away from us, grins, and does it anyway.  Scarily for us, he seems to be missing his self-preservation gene.  Even our pediatrician (who certainly has seen a lot of kids over time) looked at him during one office visit (where I thought he was actually being relatively calm) and remarked, "I don't know, Kristin.  I worry about this one."  We do too, to be frank.  We worry that he's going to be that child who, at best, winds up on America's Funniest Home Videos as the kid who jumped off the roof using a garbage bag for a parachute and, at worst, winds up in the E.R. with oft-fractured limbs.

He beats Adam up on a regular basis.  In fact, we have to teach Adam to stand up to his little brother!  Thomas kicks him, pinches him, bites him, and/or hits him on a daily basis.  Of course we reprimand such behavior, but it makes no difference.  We have faith that as his cognitive skills grow that he will eventually put "hitting" and "wrong" together, but for now we have to teach Adam to move away and not just stand there and take it. 

Perhaps that is why we are especially delighted to see that our little rough and tumble two year-old already has a compassionate side.  When Max or Adam is crying, he walks over to them and starts patting  their backs.  If Max is hungry, he tries to feed him a bottle.  It's not unusual for him to volunteer a "ya you" (love you) to Max and then lean down and plant a kiss on him.  Sometimes he even holds his hand.  We're pretty sure they knew each other before they came to our family.  It's almost as if he pre-mortally promised his little brother that he'd make sure Max joined us as quickly as possible once Thomas left his side. 

One of the coolest things though, is watching his vocabulary increase on a daily basis.  "Blue's Clues (boo boo), drink (diiink), please (pease), thank you (ta you), love you (ya you), bottle (ba-ull), and clean (keen) are some of his newest words and phrases.  Clean is interesting because it comes with him grabbing a baby wipe and cleaning random surfaces.

Of all his new words and phrases though, our very favorite was spoken yesterday for the first time.  We had just gotten Max down for a nap, and Thomas accidentally woke him up.  Looking over at his screaming brother, he turned to us and sweetly said, "I saw-ee.  I saw-ee." It brings tears to my eyes just to think about it.  My little Tasmanian toddler said "sorry" for upsetting his baby brother.  I honestly had no idea that he could even begin to understand a concept as big as accountability, let alone couple it with compassion.


That little "sorry" was one of my most precious and treasured parenting experiences.  It was a way for me to know that despite the fact that Thomas alarms me with his "I'll climb anything" fearlessness, and his innate sense of "biting is a fine way to get things done," there is a tender, sweet, compassionate, loving little boy behind those mischievous eyes.

There are certain to be many worrisome experiences ahead with my charming little guy.  Thank goodness for these moments of sweet validation.  A little bit goes a long way, and I have a feeling with this one, we're going to need every moment we can get.

Happy Birthday Thomas John Cazier Hooten.  We are so grateful that you are ours, and we are so excited to be a part of your adventure!