RICHARDS REGISTER: The Joy of Toddlerhood (long post with pictures and video)

Life with a toddler is so much fun (and so much work)!! I can't believe that Sean will be 2 in just over a month. Where did the time go. He has just continued to develop and grow and is learning so many things. He is becoming a great mimicker, so we really try to watch what we say. We have even had to start spelling some words because if he hears them watch out (like outside, never say that in front of him, unless you are prepared to take him outside!)!

Not only is Sean learning a lot during this time, he is physically changing. He is getting taller (about 35 inches we guess) and his face is changing. He no longer looks like a baby, but a boy. He loves to smile and make funny faces and he loves to stick out his tongue. He is talking and singing more and more, and he is constantly trying out words that he hears us say and will repeat as much as possible. He is also getting easier to understand, though sometimes we still don't know what he is saying. I am trying to teach him to use his words instead of whine and grunt. He loves to try and sing the alphabet song and he will sometimes sing some of the words to his favorite primary songs. Usually we sing to him right before bed and he loves to hear primary songs, but just in the past week or so, he has been not wanting us to sing certain songs (like Give Said the Little Stream, Jesus Wants me For a Sunbeam and others). This makes us scramble to find songs he wants to hear. We ask what he wants us to sing and he usually tells us, but unfortunately, it is one of those things we don't understand. I am sure Sean is frustrated by that. I feel like Marlin in Finding Nemo where he is being told by the baby sea turtle how to get out of the EAC (East Australian Current) and you can't understand what the sea turtle is saying and Marlin says, "It's like he's trying o speak to me, I know it. You know, you're really cute, but I don't know what you're saying!"

Sean still loves Elmo, but is now starting to expand to other things like Thomas the Train, Winnie the Pooh, his baby doll Sam and Bob the Builder. He will ask for a video and either say La, La or Bob, Bob. He also loves the movie Cars. He still loves to read his books and will get a great big pile out almost every day and just sit and look at the books by himself. He of course, wants to go outside every day and every minute that he can. I have to make sure that our child locks to the back door are secure because if I latch it quickly, it doesn't always lock and Sean has figured this out and will test the door to see if it will open. Many times I have come into the living room from another room to find the back door open and him outside have a blast - with our without shoes (mostly without) and not caring if it is cold or not! I have finally set up a chair in the back yard so I can read or work on some projects, so he can have outside time. I have actually started looking forward to these times as I love getting a little sun (as long as it is not too hot).

When he doesn't get his way, he throws a major fit. Usually kicking and screaming and throwing things. We are working on getting that under control and teaching him better ways to react. It is harder than I thought.

He also loves to play with cars. He loves to push any and all cars and trucks - big and small, etc around the floor and into cupboards and such. Besides his room where toys are kept, he has a small car garage under the kitchen sink. I found about 20 cars under the sink one day and there is usually several cars there every day. I stopped trying to put them back as they always find their way back eventually.

Sean is still very loving and will give lots of hugs through out the day. He has started kissing us, but will only do it when he wants to, not often when we ask. He loves to play on our bed and he will pull back the covers and lay on the pillow and cover up and then say "seep (sleep)" and close his eyes tightly and giggle. He loves to wrestle and to play under a tent. He loves baths also. That is another word you can't say in front of Sean without being prepared to give him a bath. He will stay in the bath until the water is cold and you pretty much have to pull him out each time.

The other thing that consumes much of his day is his continued fascination with doors and now locks. Probably because he is locked out of the bathroom and we lock him in the house so he can't run away. But he is now tall enough to lock the bedroom door handles, so you will find him locking them and unlocking them all day. He knows I have a pin key to open them and he will often point at it to open the door. I spend most of my day using that key to get into my bedroom after he has locked and shut the door behind him! He will say "aa laah aa dooh" - which means I locked the door (we think). He will say that over and over while he is playing with the door locks.

We sure love this time with Sean as each day is a new adventure. We learn so much from him and I hope we are learning to be good parents. I can't wait to see what the next few months will bring.

Here are some recent pictures and videos:

Here is my cheesy grin. I keep closing my eyes, because the flash is bright!

I love to stick out my tongue!

One day while preparing lunch, Sean was asking for food before it was ready, so I handed him a radish (which he loves) and he ran in the other room. I thought he was in the living room, but upon further investigation, I found him on my bed casually eating the radish.