Well, tomorrow, my little man turns 23 months old. Only one more month I will officially have a two-year old! Holy crap. I must say that I am ready for age three to be here. We have been experiencing "the terrible twos" for months now and I know it's only going to get worse. Joey is an overachiever in certain areas of life, and that definitely includes, tantrums, independence, physical assertion. I'm trying not to wish time away, but boy, toddlers are exhausting and overwhelming. Especially when you are single parenting for months! Anyways, enough whining, onto some accomplishments!
Joey is definitely a climber, which has already been proven in the past. Well, the time has come, and he has climbed out of his crib. He did it at two separate nap times. The first one, I went in the room to get him up after he was playing, talking, and crying for about 45 minutes. When I got to the room door, the light was on. I didn't leave the light on when I left. I opened the door, and there sat Joey playing with his train. He even had a diaper and the wipes sitting there waiting! He then climbed out two days later. I decided right then and there, that I didn't need to add a broken bone to our routine, so Joey and I converted the crib to a toddler bed right then. He has done pretty well with it. The key is putting him to bed when he is actually tired and ready for sleep. When I put him down just because the clock says it's nap/bedtime, he gets up and plays. But if he's really tired, he falls right asleep! He even waits in the bed until I go in the room to get him up! I was really nervous how the transition was going to go down, but I really think it helped converting the crib, the familiar, versus giving him a whole new bed setup. (I do know a lot of friends that have done a whole new bed, and their kids did fine, as well). Oh, and yes, this does mean we are going to have to get a new crib for little sis, but we're okay with that.
We've still been meeting up with our little friends to play some, but not as much. I wanted to give all of the other kiddos a break from Joey's beatings and abuse while we worked on a little more discipline and gentle touches in our home. Joey does not seem to be hitting as much, but he still has his moments. Unfortunately, Joey had a pretty high fever over the past month and while at the doc, we found out he had a molar coming in. I really wonder if that's PART of the reason he was so aggressive and fussy and not sleeping? I can only imagine how much that sucks to have a molar pushing up through the gums! Since Joey is not the best with his words just yet, lashing out physically is probably the best form of communication he has right now. I'm hoping he gets better with his verbal communication before the other teeth come out.
Speaking of words, Joey's vocabulary has definitely increased dramatically! He is such a little parrot and can say a good percentage of the words that you say. He's also starting to use words he hears randomly. for example, I use the word "easy" when he's being a little too rough with other kids or dogs. Now, he'll walk around the house saying "Easy. Easy." It's actually pretty funny. He's also really picking up on certain words and when to actually use them. He can point things out in books, TV, real life and say their names. It always catches me off-guard when he throws a word out there and uses it in the word's proper context! Like, when we were at the playground the other day, he was in a tunnel, and he started yelling "Bee, bee!". I finally went over to check it out, and sure enough, there was a been crawling in the tunnel! I didn't even know he knew what a bee was!
Since Joey and I are together 24/7 now, with no breaks, I have decided to put Joey in daycare once a week. I know I was seriously getting stressed out and overwhelmed with dealing with him all of the time. Everyone should get a little bit of alone time. I knew a problem was starting to form when I wasn't letting little things, like tantrums at home or accidents, roll off my back. I was getting really upset anytime anything, no matter how small or large, was happening. Joey also seemed to be getting annoyed with me, as well. This is our second week of him in daycare for 6-7 hours, one day a week, and let me just tell you, it has been AMAZING! I feel so refreshed after my day off. I use my day off to go grocery shopping, eat a nice leisurely lunch, run errands (do you realize how many things you can get done without a toddler!!?!?!), clean, whatever! I also want to take this moment to say that this single parenting stuff is for the birds!
Joey's fascination with water and being in it has only increased since he has aged. He now "swims" during his baths. He wants to physically be in any standing water that he finds. I think he is going to have a fantastic time this summer swimming everyday!
Joey does seem to really miss his Daddy. Michael recorded a few stories and a sweet message for Joey before he left. Joey has watched these clips tons! He also has started calling certain guys, "Dada". He hung out with my cousin, Brian, a lot this past weekend and he called him Dada. Then while we Skyped with my parents recently, he heard my dad speak but couldn't see him, he yelled "Dada". Oh, it's so sad when that happens. I am definitely ready for this little boy to be with his daddy again!
Other than that, Joey has been changing on a daily basis, and it should be interesting what the next month, and then year brings! Happy 23rd Month, Joey!
