We’ve really rounded the corner towards 3 and I know it’s going to come quickly. Since my last quarterly update on Ben we’ve gotten to see what it’s like having a 2 1/2 year old – I’ll tell you this much, it’s undeniably my new favorite age. So far in my 2 3/4 years of experience as a parent, every age has its highs {and lows, of course} but 2 1/2 is an age like no other.
Ben’s stats:
- Weight: ?!
- Height: 37″ – his head is now higher than the counter
- Number of teeth: 20! All of Ben’s baby teeth are in!!! Finally!
- Clothing size: 2 or 3T – he’s made the leap out of his 2T jammies and his 3T shirts are fitting him better. I was just noticing that his 2T winter coat is looking a tad bit short…
- Shoe size: size 7 toddler
- Favorite foods: tuna, any type of cheese, crackers, broccoli, yogurt, smoothies, cottage cheese, bananas, apple sauce, tomato soup, CHILI!
- Favorite activities: make believing, pushing his cars/trucks around, painting, listening to music, riding his bike, gymnastics, swimming, reading books
I’ve been saying for a while that the biggest theme for Ben has been language development. While it’s true his language skills have really taken off and he’s able to have a full-on conversation where he asks and answers questions, makes inferences and connections, and uses transition words, this time I’m excited to report the new theme is pretend play.
I get so much joy out of watching Ben play pretend – or “make believe” as he says {thank you, Daniel Tiger!}. We go for lots of rides in firetrucks and school buses, we take his toy school bus to Costco to get its tire fixed after it gets a flat, we have lots and lots of picnics and we bake cookies. Pretend play has been one of my absolute favorite parts of the child development process.
Alex and I had the pleasure of attending our first conference at Ben’s school in the month of January. His preschool is so sweet – we love his teachers and so does he. We learned that in school some of his strengths are using kind words, engaging in sharing, following directions and speaking clearly. His teachers shared with us that he is very warm, reserved, realistic and knowledgeable and sensitive. They said they’ve started noticing how funny he is and that he has a natural affinity for art.
His teachers shared with us that they’ve noticed Ben feels things very deeply and can have a hard time adjusting to the school environment. He’s working on building his confidence in expressing himself. Alex and I have also been seeing just how big Ben’s emotions are – with Daniel Tiger’s help and encouragement he is working really hard on identifying and expressing his feelings. {Daniel Tiger is this generation’s version of Mr. Rogers – it’s the sweetest little PBS program.} His sensitive and naturally empathetic personality is really emerging and it is so sweet.
Some of the things that come out of Ben’s mouth are matter-of-fact, full of insight, funny, and sometimes nonsensical. Most of the things Ben says make perfect sense, occasionally he’ll surprise us with a memory he has from something completely random or from a long time ago.
A few of my favorite 2 1/2 year old phrases:
- “I did” or “I do!” or “I can!” or “I don’t!” in response to a question instead of a simple “yes” or “no”
- “My Hannah” when referring to his baby sister
- “Holy buckets!”
- “Can we talk about….?” asking to start a conversation about something
- “How was your day?!” he often says excitedly upon seeing us after school or at the end of the day
Ben is super independent and is becoming quite self-sufficient. He loves being a helper and he takes pride in doing things himself. Recently he’s been known to go and grab a step stool all on his own so he can see something or reach something high up. He’s working really hard on getting dressed on his own {we’re a ways off from this one!} and he really wants to learn how to tie his own shoes.
One thing I noticed recently is Ben is experimenting in a different way with testing boundaries. He really wants to know what will happen when I tell him not to do something. So, one day when we were up at the lodge and he was pushing around Jackson’s big container of food, he decided to see what would happen when he pushed it down the stairs. I’m glad he opted to test that boundary, rather than the lets-see-what-happens-when-I-touch-the-hot-stove boundary.
I love how inquisitive Ben is becoming. He’ll either repeat something we say if we’re explaining it to him or he’ll ask “why?” or more specific questions. The connections and inferences he makes blow my mind sometimes. We haven’t hit the “why? why? why? why?” phase yet, though I know it’s coming. I’m looking forward to it, actually.
Recently Ben started gymnastics class. He’s only had a couple sessions, so he’s still getting comfortable. I have a feeling once he settles into his class that he’ll LOVE it. He gets SO into jumping on the trampoline. He was a little sweat ball after last week’s class because he was running around so much.
Some of my favorite moments for Ben this last quarter have been him starting to learn to ski. He is very physical and athletic and has picked it up really quickly so far. It has been an experience filled with pride to see him enjoy something his father and I love so much.
Lately Ben has been requesting to ride his bicycle more. He is getting really confident on his balance bike {a balance bike has no pedals or training wheels – Ben sits on the seat and uses his feet on the ground to push himself forward.}. He has been testing speed and balance.
Ben has started referring to Hannah as “my Hannah” or “my baby” which of course melts my heart. Sometimes he’ll come up to Hannah when she’s on the ground playing and try to engage with her – often by trying to lay on top of her and give her a big hug, or he’ll try to make her laugh. Alex and Hannah love chasing Ben around the house.
Ben is already proving to be quite a protective brother. He’s very concerned about Hannah if she cries and will often come to me and tell me that I need to feed her or give her her pacifier or that he thinks she’s sad. When family or friends come over and are connecting with Ben he becomes very jealous and upset when they try to hold Hannah. It seems like he’s gotten more used to me holding her and doesn’t get upset nearly as often with me.
Ben has figured out what family is and he loves when his extended family is around. He asks about his relatives on a daily basis and after his grandparents left recently he asked if more family was going to come visit. We love how much he loves his family. We had a wonderful family Christmas and enjoyed seeing most of Ben’s grandparents’ during their recent visits.
There have been so many moments over the last few months that I wish I could stop and freeze time. I wish 2 1/2 would last for such a much longer time, though I’ve heard from several people who told me if I love 2 1/2 that 3 will be even better. The sheer curiosity and inquisitive nature of a toddler is so precious and endearing. I just love watching Ben figure things out and take so much pleasure from the littlest things in life.