Theo discovers a game

So I'm working at the computer and I hear Theo shout, "Mama, I did it! I busted the cereal!" At first, all I said was, "Good job, darling," without really thinking about what he's doing. But after he yells about it a few more times, I turn around. Theo has a large plastic cooking spoon that he got from the kitchen drawer, and he's hitting the carpet with it. On the carpet is a box of Kix on its side. I get up and look at everything more carefully, and sure enough, Theo has been putting Kix on the carpet, and swatting it with the spoon like he was trying to kill flies. All over the carpet, there are small imprints made of pulverized Kix. How do you even yell at a kid for doing something like this?

You know, this reminds me of another incident. Again, I was working at my computer, and I hear Dad say, "Theo, you are wasting the wipes. Do not get anymore wipies." I turn around to see what is going on, and Theo had been getting wipes one at a time and placing them on top of Ruby's head. She had about three of them on her head by the time we caught Theo. She never complained, even though they were hanging over her eyes and obscuring her view. And what really made me laugh was, Dad told Theo not to waste the wipies, but what I would have said was, "Hey Theo, do not put wipies on your sister's head please."

Theo learns to hug

A picture wouldn't do it justice. He gives it all his strength and squeezes your neck with those short arms.

It used to be that when you said, "Theo, give me a hug", he would let you do all the hugging. Now he's an active participant. He knows that somebody loves him and he wants to give some of that love back.

In the same vein he's started to say spontaneously that he loves us, or that I'm his "nice dad". He especially says that "Ruby is my nice baby." Just when I thought he couldn't get cuter, he pulls out all the stops.

Theo gets a second blog

I started a new blog for Theo, Theo's Quotations.

Theo likes to repeat funny things. For example, if you ask him, "Who has a big butt?" he'll say, "Uncle Casper." It's entertaining enough because it shows that he likes to play along, but it's not really THAT funny because we taught him to say that Uncle Casper has a big butt.

However, every once in a while, he'll just come up with stuff out of the blue. It's the kind of stuff that really reveals what happens when a two-year-old brain processes information. It is what I hope to collect in this new blog. For now it's a very short list, but it'll be fun to see it grow, and read back over it when he is older.

I think it is a real privilege to have a son that is so chatty and expressive at such a young age.

Theo learns to write

Dad wrote the one on the top, and Theo wrote the one on the bottom, with the exception of a few lines on the E. Theo did make horizontal lines on the E, but they were very short and you have to look closely to see them.

Theo actually is learning how to write letters, but more often than not, he is scribbling and then notices that his scribbles resemble letters. However, he can write letters O, T, I, and H on demand. One time he even wrote a very handsome letter B, but again, it was probably an accident.

Theo rides a snow horse

It snowed a lot out here just a couple days ago, and Theo took full advantage of it. We bought two sleds, so that Theo and my cousin Tim (a little girl-when you pronounce it correctly it doesn't sound like a boy's name) could play in the snow together. Tim wasn't as comfortable in the snow, but who can blame her? She moved here from the Philippines less than a month ago, and is just getting used to everything. Theo, on the other hand, played outside for 2 hours or so.

Theo is a funny boy

Two funny photos of Theo. In the first photo, I didn't give him a bath until the middle of the day even though he really needed it, just because I wanted to be able to look at his bedhead for as long as possible!

Theo understands about the potty

He understands but lacks the myelination to follow through. But hey, I think the understanding is the hardest part.

What happened was, this morning I checked his shorts and found that they were dry, so I asked him if he would like to sit in the potty. He said, "No!" and immediately began to whine and struggle. I tried to sound as soothing and nonthreatening as possible. I said, "Want to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow?" (NO, kick, whine.) I said, "Want to read the On Your Potty book?" (NO I DON'T WANT TO.) Then I explain that if he puts his poopoo in the potty, his butt won't turn red and hurt anymore. He listens. Just sit for two minutes, Theo. Hollering again. This whole business went on for a little while. Then I ask the magic question: "Do you want to sit on the big potty like Dada?" Yes!

So he sits there and gets peepee inside and squeezes (He actually says, "I'm squeezing it, Mama,") but no poopoo. But Dada and I congratulate him. We wash hands to the tune of Twinkle Stars and go downstairs to eat breakfast.

After breakfast I'm sure he'll need to poo, so we go back up to the potty. He easily complies, sings Twinkle Stars and Tomorrow and reads the Potty book. Squeeze. Nothing. He even suggests that I sit outside the bathroom for a while. I hear him singing. It gets to the point where I'm coaxing him to get OFF the potty. He finally stands up, and says, "No poopoo!" But I congratulate him anyway. We wash hands, then go downstairs.

He must have gone in his shorts in the fifteen seconds that it took to walk downstairs. I smelled it and said, "Do you have poopoo in your shorts?" He gets the most hilarious, sheepish look on his face and says, "Let me sit on the potty again?"

Ok that was a LOT of detail. But the point is, he knows what he has to do. We're on the same team, I think.