In the last few days I have realized that 28 months is my favorite age so far. Hippo is more aware of his body, his environment, his behavior, and his impact on others than I thought possible.
L said last night as we were falling asleep, "You and Hip have a lot of similarities...he has your sense of humor." I said, "It's awesome."
Sure he seeks attention every 30 seconds, sure he still has major temper tantrums at times, sure he still has bouts of hitting/kicking/screaming/yelling, and sure he is into EVERYTHING but instead of driving me nuts (which, by the way, sometimes he asks me if he is driving me nuts. I say, "YES!") most of the time I find it charming and a side effect of his developing interests, personality, and awareness.
Mostly he is cute and funny.
Hip's gross motor skills have increased dramatically in the last few weeks. He has learned to climb and go up and down stairs on his feet (using the wall as support).
We have been potty training the last few days. I am delighted in how motivated he is (by candy and mini ice cream sandwiches) by the process of mastering new skills. He has learned to use the potty, undress, take his diaper off, to go #1 on command just about, etc. I have to admit that a few of these skills I have been intentionally avoiding as they have brought inevitable problems (urinating all over his bed, running around the house naked and refusing to put clothing on, and thinking he is the master of the house to name a few).
I have put his underwear on no less than 1,000 times today. And he has eaten no less than 1,000 pieces of candy in the last 72 hours. I wonder if upon his marriage he will demand his wife to give him a piece of candy in return for going #1 or demand an ice cream sandwich for him to go #2.
We have had a few accidents despite the 90% success we have had. Since he is climbing now, he climbed up on a bunch of our unpacked boxes in the basement and did some business. Thank goodness he tattled on himself because that would have been an unpleasant find days/weeks later. He/we got a little lazy last night and instead of vigilantly asking him to go (or him demanding a piece of candy) we went a couple of hours and he relieved himself in his high chair and then on the floor a few minutes later.
Hip continues to love vehicles including but not limited to: cars, trucks, tractors, aircraft, trains, semi-trucks, rescue vehicles, and construction equipment. He can identify everyone he knows' vehicles. When we were at the Oregon Coast a few months ago he saw a white Lincoln, which is what Uncle AJ drives, and insisted that AJ must be around somewhere. He asked for no less than one hour, "Where's AJ?"
Hip also continues to love music of all genres, music videos, and dancing. The only music he does not like is when I sing. "Mommy, stop singing!" he says anytime I break into song. Where did he learn this?! It's rude and it was quite a problem since our car radio burned out and my singing was our only driving entertainment. Any guesses on who his current favorite musician is? Justin Bieber, of course (but he still loves Lady Gaga--he is sheltered from her image). He loves Katie Perry and Timbaland's "If We Ever Meet Again". And he is mad that Miley Cyrus turned creepy and refuses to listen to "Can't Be Tamed".
Apparently Hippo is quite busy. We joke and say he is too busy: too busy to obey, too busy to clean up toys, and too busy to listen. I actually have no idea how busy he really is but friends and family that have children to compare him against are always saying something along the lines of, "My oh my, he sure is busy." while shaking their head.
Hip still loves books and reading. Reading is a part of our daily schedule and last month he picked out his first library book--it was about cookies. This month he picked a book out about a cow.
He still likes to be out and about. When we spend too much time in the house he goes through a list of ideas of places we could go. Church, the gym, and Grandma's always top his list. He makes friends wherever we go, including our new neighbor, Lema. Lema is a 72 year-old Samoan lady who gives Hip candy, ice cream, popsicles, and other treats any time she sees him. Several weeks ago she had her knee replaced and he was very concerned knowing she was hurt in the hospital and asked about her daily until she came home. He would even ask to visit her at the hospital. When she got home he showed great tenderness to her "owie." L and I think Lema is Hip's best/favorite friend and we are sad to be leaving yet another one of Hippo's entourage.
This post would not be complete without a discussion about Hip's infatuation with the damn cat. His delight in her is translated into a lot of screeching when she is around (so she is not around that much) which I know he learned from L and I. She puts up with a lot from him but every once in awhile she loses her cool (hey, so do I) and bats at him. He has never been hurt by these encounters, except his feelings. He demands she be placed in time out for two minutes for hitting. We happily oblige.
Hip is still a wonderful eater. He will try just about everything, unless he already knows he does not like it (e.g. peas). His favorite foods continue to be: cheese in various forms--cottage cheese being his absolute favorite, berries, ranch dressing and other condiments, yogurt, bananas, Cheerios, oatmeal, candy, and ice cream sandwiches.
Hip's vocabulary is still stellar and his conversation skills are adorable. My favorite is when he has conversations with various people who are not there. It is so funny because usually he is bossing them around. He talks on an imaginary phone to his Aunt T about once a week. He told her all about his potty training last night (I bet you had no idea T!).
Speaking of being bossy...he tells everyone off except me--oh, he has learned. Next to me, it appears he believes he rules the world; and unfortunately most people, except me, abide by his commands. During his grandpa's tomato planting he would either stand at the base of the field directing the tractor/Grandpa on what he should be doing and how he should be doing it or he would sit on Grandpa's lap while driving the tractor and direct from that vantage point. It is a true travesty we never had a video camera during those times. I bet you did not realize a two year-old had so much tomato planting expertise as I was surprised myself.
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Unfortunately Hip chose the two times he wore a diaper today--nighttime and naptime--to go #2 despite begging me all day to earn an ice cream sandwich. I let him stay up late tonight as we have been homebound, under stimulated, and bored to tears and so he hasn't been able to fall asleep quickly. at 8:20 pm he came running out of his playroom exclaiming he had to go poop. Sure enough, despite crying wolf many, many times today he earned an ice cream sandwich in the nick of time!
