Bring On the Toddler Games!

As many of you know, if you caught my post last week, Baby E is now a year old. A toddler. I had a preview even before he officially became a toddler, as he decided to start the "toddler tantrums" about a month early! It was at that point that he realized what a firm, "No," meant, when he tried doing something dangerous. At first, he'd be reduced to tears after hearing the word, but now, almost two months later, he just screams and shakes his hands momentarily before moving on.

Baby E isn't quite walking yet, as he seems to enjoy taking his time with such thing. He will eagerly go to my husband, J, grab his hands, and go walking across the room in that fashion. But, if I let him go, he'll stand still for a few minutes, calculating, before using his cloth diapered bum as a landing pad for the floor. Then proceed to his destination at a crawl. It's so adorable watching him do it. I never tire of it!

I was well aware it may be too early for him to appreciate, but I found a package of soap crayons, and I couldn't resist purchasing them, even for safekeeping until the time came where he was old enough. They are a genius product, as they are washable crayons safe to draw on the bathtub with! Fully prepared to tuck them into a drawer for another six months or so, I gave them to him a few days ago for the first time, to see what he'd do with them. He first watched with excitement as my husband drew a face and a sun onto our tile floor in the kitchen. When my husband handed him two crayons---one for each hand, of course---he knew exactly what to do. He went to work scribbling lines and circles from tile to tile, until he'd created a landscape of scribbles as far as he could reach (which, from a sitting position in a single spot, isn't far).

Before Baby E turned one, I worried with anticipation that when my little guy became a toddler, from then on, I'd wish he were small again. And while cleaning out his drawers of outgrown clothing, I did sigh as I remembered all of the memories we made over those months, and even looked in surprise at his newborn clothing ("He never fit into that, did he?!?")... I love having a little toddler. It's precious to be able to watch how he learns, acts, and reacts to everything around him.

As for when he gets to his Terrible Two's... we'll see if I'm still enjoying it then!

But for now, everything is golden. Bring on the toddler games!