So the boys have been asleep for 3 hours and it's 4pm. I think they keep picking up bugs at the playcentre that we attend. Anyway, it just so happens to be that Julian is 28 months old today.
Hmmm, where to start. We started the playcentre, a play group that meets twice a week (Tue and Wed) for 3 hours at a time. They have every toy imaginable, books, outside equipment (bikes, slides, playhouse, sandpit), and tons of MESSY play (painting, glitter, play dough, etc.). It is awesome! I really wanted J to venture out on his own, play with other kids, and get comfortable enough where I could leave him once he's 2.5 in October.
He adapted and changed his outlook on life it seems. The 2nd day at playcentre he went outside with another adult and the 3rd day he stayed away from me for much longer periods. Then at home he asked Dan if they could go for a walk. Dan said no but Julian left the driveway, and then got a lecture about leaving alone. The next day he told Dan he was going for a long walk, took off down the street and then down the steep walking path without looking back. Dan followed him to see how far he would go. Julian got scared when he saw a construction crew at the bottom of the path. Dan lectured him. They got back and told me the story. J laughed and said, "it is funny mommy". He then got a lecture from me about mean animals, mean people, etc. Who is this new kid? I am very excited at how adventurous he is now, but it's scary that I have to really watch him now. I've been pretty lucky in some aspects with him being attached to me.
Picking up 2 days later:
The other thing is that the educator has really taken to liking Julian and helping me with this new phase of being 2. She is always looking out for him, teaching him things, and praising him. She is shocked at his verbal ability. Her training is in Montessori and I so want to send J to Montessori, but not sure about the costs. She (and many others) believe he'd be a great fit, so I think we'll pinch pennies and try to make that work next year. The best thing that she has done is help me find the balance between backing off as a helicopter parent and not letting go completely. Most of the other moms are very hands off and struggle with it. The educator said I don't have to let go, but I can stretch the string. It's great to have this support since I'm unlike a lot of the other moms. I want to back off, but I can't let go completely.
I've actually been emotional at how J is changing. I've always wanted him to grow up and reach the next milestone, but now I find he's so smart and too grown up for only being 2. He talks more than all the 3 and 4 year olds but is addicted to his pacifier and shows no sign of wanting to (and absolutely refuses to) potty train. He's a baby disguised in a tall, verbal boy.
I wish I could explain how smart he is. He puts so many concepts together, relating a book to another book or tv show that aren't alike, but he finds similarities. He makes us laugh with his interpretation of things such as Dan stating, "I need to write my draft..." and Julian said, "Daddy is going to ride his giraffe today." ha ha. His grammar is better than mine was in high school. Pronouns are old news and he's so cute with tenses, "I ranned". "I go-ed".
J is also really into music and arts. He LOVES to paint at playcentre and makes circles. He plays the piano and drums religiously. Dan plays guitar with him almost everyday and it's so cute to see him jam. He loves to draw with a pen and color. I'm impressed that he's actually coloring certain things on the pages in a coloring book. He loves to color eyes and shoes. Julian also takes his dry erase book and colors in all the O's (not the P,D, B, etc.) in the book. Hal from Malcolm in the Middle did this to an encyclopedia. Do I have a crazy guy on my hands?
More particulars: he is obsessed that the cupboards and drawers are closed properly, lines up cars and dinosaurs, wants two drum or xylophone sticks to play with (today our friend only had one and he asked me about 50 times where the other stick was), etc. etc. He doesn't show any signs of autism, but Dan and I are a bit crazy, so the poor guy is doomed.
The other amazing thing that he's started to do is put 12 piece puzzles together. The are Eric Carle wooden ones that I got in the states for $2 at goodwill (I miss that place!). I showed him how to put it together and then I realized his brain is completely different from mine and he puts it together a completely different way. He starts with a defining part of the picture, so side to side or middle to outward while I put the edge pieces together first and then go inward. It was hard to just back off and let him do it, get frustrated and now he has mastered it on his own. He was so determined to do it though there were a lot of tears and tantrums and I have wanted to hide it multiple times. I'm glad I didn't.
Well, that's what I can think of now while the boys sleep today. I'm just so amazed and how brilliant kids can be. I hope that stays and that I find energy again to work with Julian like I used to do. He wants to learn so badly. I think the "why?" phase is coming soon since everything is "what's that?" right now...even with many things he already knows.
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