Nobody ever told me that 2-year-olds would be so much fun. When Swen was younger, I worried sometimes that I wouldn't enjoy him as he got older. Of course I was completely wrong about all of this because I'm pretty sure two is the best age yet! He has the cutest, sweetest personality ever and is so much fun to be around. I am no longer working at the restaurant part time, and am LOVING being with him all day long. I'm so grateful to be able to be with him and teach him while he learns and discovers the world.
What 2-year-old Swen enjoys:
- Garbage cans. I am still willing to bet that he WILL be a garbage man one day. Matt and I think this is great because we don't need to save for his college fund. :)
- Balls. Everywhere we go he manages to find a ball. He knows where they are in every store. He calls McDonald's "ball" because the one we frequently visit has a basketball hoop with a ball.
- Gocks (cars). He finds gocks in every book he owns, and the entire time we drive anywhere he is pointing out all the gocks. Over and over and over again.
- Singing. He has a list of songs that he LOVES. He will do a motion of a song he wants to hear and keep doing it until someone sings him that song. His favorites are Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle, Patty Cake, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and If You're Happy and You Know It.
- Feeding Kitty. He still loves to feed Kitty her food one piece at a time. Matt doesn't like it because he thinks it will bring ants into our home. Lucky for Swen, Matt got a new job so he hasn't been around enough to realize I'm still letting him feed Kitty. Lucky for me, Matt doesn't read this blog and will never know. :) Unless he's right and we start getting ants; then I will be in trouble!
- Blocks and Legos. I'm amazed by the giant tall towers this kid builds!
- Cheese. He would eat cheese all day if I'd let him.
- Feeding himself. His new thing is that I put all his food on his high chair tray and then he runs and points to where he wants me to put the tray on the floor somewhere. Then he will sit down and eat it happily. If I try to put him in the high chair to eat, he will last maybe one minute until he wants up. If he is eating, I'm happy and couldn't care less where his eating occurs.
- Going bye-bye. If I ever tell him we are going bye-bye but don't head directly to the car, he FREAKS out. I can never stop upstairs for even a minute without a tantrum. I've learned to be 100% ready before telling him we get to leave.
- Daddy Baths. Matt still gets into the tub with him, and it is his favorite thing ever.
- Peanut butter. Straight out of the jar.
- Outside. He would live outside if I let him. I don't think he realizes that I'm NOT outdoorsy at all. He loves all parks, fields, and dirt. He has loved our backyard ever since he could walk, but then Matt's parents got him a sandbox for his birthday, and now he loves it even more. If he's not eating inside, then he's whining at the door to go outside in his sand. I am glad he loves his sandbox , but I'm already sick of the mess. I don't know what I was thinking suggesting this as a gift!
- Naming people. He loves to ask "a dat?" to everyone. Even though he knows who everyone is already.
- Car grocery carts. He has recently decided that he will only ride in a cart that has a car on it. This becomes a big problem when all the car carts are being used. My mom had him at the store one day while I was at work, and the only car cart was way back behind like 25 other carts. Because she loves him so much, she moved every single cart (while holding Swen!) just so he could have the car cart. I've had to go on car hunts and sometimes wait for people to be finished with their carts before I can shop, so he can have what he wants. Toddlers get very little say in life. I can't imagine how frustrating this would be, so if he wants to ride in a car cart, then he will ride in a car cart!
- Coke. Well really Diet Coke because that's what I drink, but he calls it Coke. And he loves it more than anything. It's bad. I try to give him tiny sips and encourage other drinks. He does love milk and water too, so I'm not too worried.
- Doo doos (toilet paper and paper towel rolls). He likes to hold them up and say, "doo doo" down the tube so that's what they're called. If I was rich, I'd buy him rolls and rolls of paper towels to play with.
- Hitting Mom. Two sad things here. 1- He calls me "mom." Not anything cute like mamma or mommy. Just plain old mom. Matt gets to be called "dada" and it's adorable. 2- When he's mad at anything, he hits me in the face really hard. Like if he trips on a toy, he will run crying to me, and when I pick him up, he starts hitting me like it's my fault. It is SO funny, but we all try not to laugh so we don't encourage it. I'm just glad it's me he's exploring hitting with and not random people or kids.
- Cleaning up. He is the best cleaner ever! I do very little at night to help him pick up his toys except sit and tell him how awesome he is while he picks up every last toy in the house. It's so cute. He also loves to get wipes and clean the house or restaurant or wherever we are.
What 2-year-old Swen doesn't enjoy:
