Signing Off At Two Years Old

Over the last few months, the thought has crossed my mind that I wished I had not let this blog go. Life has only gotten busier, and it has left me so little time to write. But you have changed/grown/matured so much, and there are so many things I wish I had documented.

Well I feel it is never too late. Ironically, when I read my last posting, it said that maybe I'll be writing this on your second birthday. We are just two days away from that, and I have decided on one last update. I feel like I really need to close this off with all of your latest achievements and new milestones. I'll be going by memory, for most of it.

I may pop on here every now and then with pictures, and to document something major. But I don't think I have an audience anymore, so this is more for us.

Since my last posting, your personality is emerging. Your personality is what we have known from the very beginning since your birth. You are shy, sweet and sensitive. As time went on, it became obvious to us that your sensitivies may be greater than other children. We accept that and love you for it. You are cautious, reserved, and a bit slow to warm up to people and situations. Your father and I have made a very conscious vow to never push you into any situation where you don't feel comfortable. And because you are sensitive, we are sensitive to you and try to handle every situation that way.

But that is just one aspect of your personality. At home, you have endless energy and could horse-play with your Daddy for hours. You are very verbal around us, and also quite expressive. You are also an observer, and have a very quiet way of learning. Right now, you are sort of caught between hanging onto your baby-hood, and blossoming into a toddler. You still love to be carried, but you also love to walk. I think the desire to be carried happens more so when you feel a bit overwhelmed by places/things.

This past month, you have become quite the talker. I am amazed at how quickly your vocabulary expanded. You have learned words that we haven't taught you. Every day, you say more and more things. We can now have conversations where you will answer back with your little one word/two word phrases. This has been one of the very best parts for me. To hear you chime back to us, and to hear the things come out of your mouth has been one of the things I have been most excited about. We taught you how to say your name, to which you proudly announce it as Giff-rin Jemz Ing. So cute........

You are a true Vancouverite, as your latest obsessions are water fountains and totem poles. You could stare at them for hours. You also LOVE 'choo-choo' trains, and have recently taken an interest in airplanes and helicopters.

One thing I noticed is you almost seem to have an engineering mind. You always need to know what every single part is, and you like to see how things run. Honestly, when you ask me to name all the working parts of a train, I have to make some of it up because I don't even know the answer! And you are very smart, you don't let it go until I have an answer for you that will suffice.

You are also a very clean child, which is lucky for us. You enjoy washing your hands quite a bit, and your feet. In fact, your other obsession is washrooms. You love going to any public washroom so you can wash your hands. It seems like a strange obsession, but I think it stemmed from you using the washrooms with your Daddy quite a bit while you were out.

Speaking of washrooms, we are also in the midst of having you potty trained. This was brought on from your own desire to learn. Your Daddy and I did not entertain or were planning to have you potty trained anytime soon. But you started expressing a deep interest in it, and would always pretend you were going. We decided to get your first training toilet to see how that would go. You are not 100% trained yet, but I don't think it will take long. You go on that potty at least once a day, maybe more to pee. When you do have to go, all you say to us is 'pee pee', we whip off your diaper, plop you on your seat and there you go.

You are thriving under your Daddy's care. In fact, you both have a very nice routine and you absolutely adore him. I think you have a parental preference to your Daddy, but I am ok with that. I need to be physically at work 40+ hours a week. So if there is a caregiver that I would like you to be close to, I'm glad it's your father. I think when it's time for you go to pre-school next year, it will be very hard on your father. But we'll cross that bridge later.

And wow, can't believe a year from now you'll be getting ready for pre-school. I can't even begin to imagine that day yet, but I know it's going to sneak up on us so soon. The thought is already making me weepy, so I better write about something else......

Speaking of routines earlier, you are indeed a 'routine' and very scheduled child. Some children are, some are not. But having a routine and schedule seems to be comfortable for you, so we don't change it. And luckily for us, your Daddy and I are both quite routine and schedule oriented people. So it works out well for all of us.

Your days are filled with morning time activities. Now that you are getting older, we are experimenting with more classes. For this season, we have enrolled you in a gymnastics class, your recurring music class, and a new arts and crafts class. We do this so you can try your hand at a few different things, and pick and choose what you like.

On the days where you don't have classes, your Daddy takes you on so many wonderful outings. Together, you have gone to UBC Anthropology Museum, Queen Elizabeth Park, UBC Endowment Lands trails, the beach, downtown to visit me at work and to look at water fountains, shopping together on West 4th Avenue and Oakridge, your various playgroups, the library, and not to mention a ton of lunch/snack dates and parks.

As you get older, we are finding more age-appropriate activities for you. And we are getting such a huge kick out of it! It's like we are rediscovering our childhood. As a family of three, we've gone back to Science World, Vancouver's Maritime Museum, The Aquarium, Lumberman's Arch in Stanley Park where they have this wonderful water park, Stanley Park's Miniature Train and many more places we haven't discovered yet. We are still looking forward to taking you to Aldergrove Zoo at some point, as well as the pumpkin patch this Hallowe'en.

Time does go by fast, and before you know it, you'll be three! When you turn three, that will be the year that your Daddy teaches you and I to snowboard. We made that promise when you were just born, and I am looking forward to doing that next winter.

I feel strangely relieved that I was able to write in this again. It really is a diary of sorts. I was starting to feel so guilty for not having a platform to remember these wonderful life events. I started this blog when you were a mere spec in my belly, and now you are a growing boy. Life is truly amazing sometimes.