Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
Be careful out there! On the loose is a 21-month-old toddler with violent ambitions and nothing to lose. I speak of course of my own flesh and blood, my toddler son, Hudson. And he was off to such a promising start.

Hudson is starting to internalize the effectiveness of using brute force to get what he wants. Hitting, punching, kicking—he’s ruthless. If you’re in his path, I urge you to comply. A toy, a cookie, passage to a forbidden room—whatever it is, for your own safety, give it up!

Sources say that they expect Hudson-related to crime to subside at some point within the calendar year. In the meantime, use caution, especially when in the vicinity of Hudson’s unusually large head, his most dangerous weapon.

GrowUpLearning will release updates as they become available. Stay safe.

Charlotte has started calling for her brother when she first wakes up each morning.  A lot of mornings, I use getting Charlotte out of her crib as motivation to get Rory out of his bed (or out of our bed, or out of our bathroom) or to stop running around like a crazy person. . .

Now Charlotte seems to have caught on to our scheme and has one upped me by calling for him herself.  She has even perfected a “game” in which she gets “stuck” in her crib and only Rory can help her out.  And he LOVES it.

Their bond is pretty remarkable.  And it is also constantly evolving.  Sure, there is LOTS of yelling and tears when they steal each others’ toys, and sure, Rory has gotten smart to the fact that he can get a quick reaction from everyone if he steals her toys even more frequently.

But there are also plenty of tender moments.  Like yesterday morning when Rory asked if I would put Charlotte in his lap to let him help calm her down. And they say together on the couch quietly calming one another.  Rory ran his little hands through her hair and kissed the back of her head with a kind of care that took my breath away.

I know the gap between the highs and lows will keep growing as they grow older.  But am pretty sure I should pause and take the time to observe these quiet moments while I have them.