Sunday, May 10, 2009

Chronicles: Tate enters the Terrible Twos

Tate had been practicing being a Terrible Two for about 4 months before the big birthday, so the trantrums and independence of the last few months haven't been a total shock. I didn't say it has been easy, only that he has allowed us to ease into this stage of life, the frequency, and the intensity. We are just so lucky.

The best part about the current form of his trantrums is that he *gently* gets down on his knees, then assesses the need to lay all the way down. Usually, by the time he gest all the way down there, he's forgotten what he was upset about and just lays there, staring up at me.
The toughest manifestation is the diaper change. He simply doesn't want it and will roll off the cahnging table. if you try to do it with him standing up, he'll run away from you. Sometimes with the diaper in his hand.

The most common manifestation is the appearance of Captain Destructo, where toys are beamed at walls and people, the play mat it totally dismantled, and all the cusions are removed from every piece of furniture. This is accompanied by squealing and peals of laughter. It's hard to be mad when he finds such joy in it. Until, that is, you become the target and then "rules" must be followed.

Newest catchphrases:
- Airplane! (this is screamed at the top of his lungs every time)
- Choo choo, mommy, CHOO CHOO
- Lighting McQueen (this is tough to make out - it sounds like Yightning McKeen)
- Light....
- "Get on the rope, Tate" (I guess he often wanders away at school)
- Where? (this is accompanied by the ASL sign for "where" and a concerned furrow of the brow)
- WHAT!? Oh, right-right-right. Okay. Bye.
- Jelly bean?

Some recent pics of the little guy:

Tate with Nana playing with the new tracks and new freight cars that he got for his birthday. Thank you Nana, Grandma, and Grandpa!

LIke his Grandma, Tate likes the licorice flavored jellly beans.
Luckily, they don't stain (for long).


Tate's birthday party at school...
Nana and Mommy made these very cool cupcakes
Tate and his buddies Aidan, Maddie and Andrew...
Tate's other classmates enjoying their cupcakes. Actually, after they all exclaimed "Lion!", they all just looked at it, like "what do I do with this?". So we had to break them apart so they knew how to eat them! We also had Jungle Juice (orange and cranberry juices mixed) that they thought was really cool.

Easter morning
Discovering what the Easter Bunny left for him...
Oh, man! There's a Lightning McQueen in there!
It must be played with immediately!
It was a long day of eating and entertaining...Tate is wiped out!

My boys...

Lilypie Second Birthday tickers
Lilypie Fifth Birthday tickers