Look at this handsome little dude. There are some days I barely recognize my baby boy. He is becoming more and more a little boy, with his own opinions, his own likes and dislikes, his own way of doing things, and the ability to verbalize his independence.
He's so smart. His vocabulary is incredibly expansive. "Experts" say that, by 18 months, a baby (I refuse to call him a toddler - he will always be my baby) should have a vocabulary of at least 10 words. My husband and I compiled a list of all coherent words that he speaks and, at my last count, we were in the 70s. He picks up concepts incredibly fast. He's hilarious - already a comedian, just like his mama. He knows some letters and numbers. He can count to 2.
I could go on all day about the amazing things he does, but it would be of interest only to me, I'm sure. I'm just so amazed by his abilities and things that he's already capable of. I let him learn these things at his own pace. I certainly do not push him to learn his letters or numbers or words - he picks these up just from daily conversation. I credit this to the amount of interaction I've had with him since the day he was born, never using baby talk and always talking to him, even as an itty-bitty, as though he could actually comprehend what I was saying. I know many people who are in a hurry to grow their children up - enrolling them in school too early, just because they're intellectually capable, or rushing into things like potty training and toddler beds, all because they desire the convenience of having a "big kid" rather than letting a baby be a baby or a toddler be a toddler. These are the same people who will cry and complain when it seems as though their children have grown up overnight - we all know that our children will grow up - it's the most awful part of being a parent, I think, but these people are pushing for it to happen. Would I love to have a child who could go to the bathroom on his own at home? Absolutely. He tells me when he's going peepee or caca, and would likely grasp the task of potty training very quickly. But I'm in no hurry. Being in a diaper isn't hurting him.
I'm no one to judge - to each his own, after all, but what happened to allowing kids to be kids?
2 comments:
what a cute little man! he's only a couple of months younger than my daughter, who was born on 8/8/06.
i love how much you love him and how you describe the journey.
my son spoke young too. my daughter still only says a few words, but understands the language well. in fact, we were talking about me being gone for 3 days last night as if she wouldn't understand, and she wouldn't go to bed last night in her usual way. i had to let her cry herself to sleep. thankfully, it only took 15 painstaking minutes... ahem.
re: the potty training thing. i am so with you there. my son was in diapers until he was 3 1/2. (hey, don't judge!) being a laissez-faire (sp?) mother, i let him potty-train himself. one day, took him to his preschool class in underwear and that was that. he just followed what the rest of the kids were doing.
i couldn't agree more - don't rush the growin up process! let's enjoy every minute detail while we can. because, before we know it, they'll be going to that first day of kindergarten, playing their first soccer game, into puberty and hitting us up for our car keys.
ugh, i was thinking about the first day of kindergarten the other day...i don't know why...and it got me all teary.
i probably talk about the mushy-gushy side of being a mom too much for most people to stomach, and i'll probably end up being one of those moms who is thought to be a smother-mother, but i don't care.
well, i'll care if he ends up resenting and hating me for it when he's 31, but hopefully that won't happen.
i guess i didn't realize your daughter was so close in age to nat. they could end up meeting at some overpriced college some day and it could be love at first sight! then we'd be inlaws, and we could sit around and hate people together. sweet! :)
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