Hey there, little man. You sure are trying to act tough these days.
You demand independence and have to do everything yourself. Opening food wrappers, washing hands, buckling the car seat straps, feeding your beta fish Rhubarb, etc. At the instance one of us tries to help, you sound the alarm of a high pitched “No!” and proceed the task with a furrowed brow, ever more determined to do it on your own.
Unfortunately the one task you won’t do by yourself is clean up the aftermath left behind you. We’ll work on that.
You can bring a sky-high intensity to tasks as you try and keep up with Eliza, who has the unfair age advantage of 20 months. This shows up when you want to put on shoes or zip a jacket, which requires finer motor skills. Sometimes that intensity manifests in a textbook “Terrible Twos” tantrum, especially around nap or bed time.
You are reasonable about some things, like writing and coloring where you just enjoy having the pen in your hand. You somehow hold a pen perfectly between first and second fingers with thumb helping to balance the instrument. We need to get you to focus on keeping the pen on paper. Your penmanship won’t fly on the couch cushions again.
You care deeply about what you wear and are good at picking out clothes for the day and pajamas at night, which is helpful. You most prefer to be in just a pull-up or in the nude with a cozy blanket wrapped around you like a cape for that next-to-skin warmth. It’s a Captain Underpants look.
You also seem to pick a favorite parent for the day, following one of us around trying to play, cuddle or keep up conversation. “Um, Mom…” or “Um, Dada…” is how most of those conversations start or end. For all the independence you seek to show off how you can take care of yourself, you still seek out a lot of affection. And that’s just fine.
One of those secrets in life: balance. Go hard at what you’re trying to accomplish, but also go hard at chilling out.
Love, Dad