Our littlest toddler is the best.
You couldn’t ask for a better quarantine buddy. Well you could, because he’s also an angry little tyrant who demands food constantly and runs away when you try and change his diaper, but he’s the best mood booster. Recently I taught him how to give hugs, and it’s the best thing ever. I don’t know why it’s taken me this long. But now I’ll tell him to give me a hug and he’ll grab one of my shoulders in each hand and squeeze them as hard as he can while grunting. Seriously, who couldn’t use a hug like that?
When he gets excited about something, he rocks sideways from one foot to another with anticipation. His whole face lights up. He’s so easy to make happy, but he doesn’t have a ton of patience. When he wants something, he wants it now. (He is a one year old, after all). His demands come loud and frequently. Any time he goes near a couch or a bed, he’ll yell “UP!” until you throw him on it. And by throw, I mean throw. He wants to be dropped from up high and bounce on his back. For that, he’ll reward you with the best screeches of happiness and face snuggles.
Sometimes though, his demands are a little less clear. His two favorite words are “that” and “nooo.” As in he really REALLY wants “that” but every time you try to give him something, you’ll get no for an answer. It’s sometimes frustrating to not know what he wants. I know it’s a language issue, and eventually he’ll be able to tell us, but I’ve never known a toddler to be able to speak so many words, but still not be able to communicate well. He can say more words than I can count, but a lot of them are random words - truck, freeze, bubble. Words that don’t help me when he’s screaming. The other day I had to laugh, since E felt a little bit of my frustration. We were upstairs getting ready for bed, and G was screaming in his room. I got up to go help him, but E said “no, I go help!” and ran off. I sat there and overheard their conversation:
G: Help!
E: This?
G: Nooooo
E: This?
G: Nooooo
E: This?
G: Nooooo
E: This?
G: Nooooo
E: What you like?? Sound machine?
G: SCREECHHHHH
That sound machine, by the way, is one of his new favorite things. Most night when we head upstairs to calm down before bed, he stands there for half an hour pressing buttons on it. I can’t hear myself think over the random waves, crickets and nursery music coming from that thing. When he loves something, he LOVES it. Food, stuffed animals, the cat. He wants to smush them all to his face and squeeze them forever.
Which is maybe what he’s trying to do every time he jumps on our backs. I’m not kidding. Bend down to clean something up, or lie down on your stomach, and you better expect a twenty something pound toddler to jump on your back like a monkey. Every time. Giggling as he does it.
The other day we were playing outside and I was sitting on our front steps, talking to Tom. The kids were running around, playing in the dirt, and eating snacks. G had climbed up the steps and was watching Tom dig up a plant through the railing. And then of course, as I was least expecting it, there were two arms around my neck and he’d jumped up on my back, feet off the ground.
Basically he keeps us on our toes and delighted every day.
