Life and Times at 2

The more time I spend with my 2-year-old son, the more I wish I could return to that age. Not that I would want to live through all the years between 2 and 37 again, maybe I would want to remain 2 forever!

From a two-year-old's point of view, life is a grand adventure, and the world revolves around them. Wouldn't it be nice to experience that again?

Over the past few weeks, since my son's vocabulary has finally caught up with his quick and changeable mind, I am shocked and amazed to discover the thoughts that fuel his antics. In mere moments he leads me through a myriad of emotions; anger, fear, uproarious laughter, pride, pleasure, and sometimes even pain.

An overwhelming desire to keep his car impeccably clean has driven hubby to declare his car a kid-free zone, at least most of the time. On the odd occasion when he is 'burdened' with sole responsibility for the boys and needs to beat a hasty retreat to his mom's (I'm exaggerating), he has no choice but to strap the boys into his car. This situation has not gone unnoticed by our perceptive 2-year-old, and he has come to realize that travel in the car is quite a special event. He now squeals in delight at the thought of going for a ride in Dad's car, and often gingerly walks around this off-limits vehicle, gently caressing the many sleek contours. 'Lights, mom', he declares knowingly. 'Wheels, mom', he coos as he grasps the hubs, leaving tiny fingerprints behind. What is it with the male gender and cars? Both boys have a strange passion for watching wheels turn, getting into prone position to see their tiny Hot Wheels tires hit the floor, mesmerized by the turning wheels, repeating the action over and over. This infatuation with wheels is beyond the comprehension of my female brain.

The three males in my house ventured out to the football game two nights ago. I was treated to a relaxing night of study on my own, and the boys experienced their first football game from row 3 above the 50-yard-line. I love the atmosphere at a football game, and even more so when I can be amidst the action, so was regretting my decision to be studious. The evening was a great hit. 7-year-old made it to the big screen and came home with a football and t-shirt. 2-year-old entered the house at 10pm excitedly pronouncing that, 'He fell on the train!' We're still not sure what he means by that, but the LRT ride to and from the game definitely was the highlight of his evening.

We made the trek out to Pappa Paul's a few weeks ago. I braved the 2-hour trip driving my brother's van with our 4 kids, 2 toddlers and 2 7-year-olds while they were entranced with the antics of Patrick and Sponge-bob playing on the built-in DVD system. What luxury! The experience on the farm was a big hit with the toddlers, they oohed at the horses, and wouldn't leave the tiny battery powered jeep, much to the chagrine of the 7-year-olds. Every time 2-year-old talks to Pappa and Gamma on the phone he asks about the jeep, and his eyes light up, anticipating his next adventure on the farm.

Along with these excited expressions of discovery, new ways to express his willfulness are quickly emerging. NO BED! NO JAMAS! are very adamantly and clearly declared followed by a mad dash through the house with mama trailing behind. WATCH WIGGLES! MY CAR! and HE HURT MY HEAD! are all declarations that drive 7-year-old crazy and balance the scales of power in the house.

Our habits are becoming apparent to us as 2-year-old begins to question our activities, "Daddy at work?", "Mom's -puter?", "Daddy's wine?", "Going for a run?", "Momma golf?", "Boys at school?".

Yes, a 2-year-old's lifestyle is something to aspire to, but living with one is almost as fun!