Il Numero Due

A few days ago Logan turned two years old and MY GOD how horrifying and wonderful is it to realize I am a mother of a two year old?!? I absolutely love watching his little mind at work - the wonderment he gets out of anything he stumbles upon. His tantrums are starting to become more and more frequent however, and THAT my friends, is the horrifying part.


Everything with a two year old is larger than life. The emotional swings Logan goes through are insane - he has always been one to switch from hot to cold in a moment's notice but the reactions nowadays are much more extreme. I ask him to put on his jacket before we go outside - COMPLETE MELTDOWN. Two seconds later I say ok, you need to wear a jacket if you want to go outside. How about you tell me which one you want - this one, or that one?

That one. He says, with a huge smile and arms out wide for me to put on the jacket. No problemo - it's as if he wasn't just stomping and screaming and running in the opposite direction 5 seconds ago.


His excitement for all things (usually BIG) is hilarious however, and we soon forget about his tantrums. In fact, if he's screaming from the backseat while driving to school, I can usually get him to forget about his tears if there's a bus or truck rolling by - we both squeal with delight and excitement and hey whaddya know. Happy kid who then points out EVERY. SINGLE. TRUCK. after that.

Though sometimes frustrating, I don't find the snippy little defiant attitude Logan has taken to be quite as bad. Like all toddlers, he picked up on the word "No" early on and has used it pretty consistently. But he's recently adapted that "No" to "Nope" which frankly, is a helluva lot cuter than NO.

So, I'll ask him if he's hungry and he'll say "Nope!" without even looking up (usually focused on his train set or cars instead). I'll ask him if he's ready for bed and he'll say "Nope!" I'll ask him if he needs his diaper changed - "Nope!" We always have had, and always will have, our hands full with this guy - luckily, both his parents are probably ten times more stubborn than he is. So I think for now, we've still got enough energy to outlast him in these "Nope" contests. ;-)


Within the past month, Logan has continued to increase his vocabulary and interest in the world. He sings to us as we change his diaper and helps us read his book before bedtime (lately it's been The Giving Tree which he loves; pointing out the tree, the little boy, asking the boy to pick up the apples, the leaves, telling him he loves him and to sit down when we've reached the end of the story). He's becoming more and more inquisitive - we've heard him ask "Why?" a few times which causes both Jon and I to look at each other with that "OH SHIT WHAT ARE WE IN FOR" look. But usually his favorite question is "(Whatcha) Doing?" or "(Where'd) doggie go?"

He has also taken to repeating any word you say. Which, if you know Jon and Jon's vocabulary, has already created some funny stories. Usually these stories happen in the car - when Jon is known to display his most colorful of words. While traveling over Thanksgiving, Jon missed a green light by a few seconds and had to stop at the red. So he said "Oh man we just got effed!"

Logan happily piped up in the backseat "Effed! Effed! Effed!" while I glared at Jon with a you better watch it look.

Because the rain always brings out the best in California drivers, Jon got cut off when driving home the other day and immediately yelled out "Mother Fucker!"

Logan happily piped up in the backseat "Fucker! Fucker! Fucker!"

I wasn't in the car to glare at Jon - but he did have the quick good sense of mind to say "Doctor! Doctor! Doctor!" at which Logan then started repeating instead.

Still, it's really only a matter of time where Logan will not only be repeating our words more frequently, but out in public amongst others. Ohhhhh, I can't wait.

The transition to a toddler bed has gone without a hitch *knocks on wood*. Logan sleeps BETTER in it than he did in his crib! Why we didn't think about switching him over earlier is beyond me but I (and my belly, and my back) am so glad we did. He often calls himself "Logan Big Boy", thumping his chest with pride. He's quite right - he's really grown up fast before our very eyes this past year.


For Logan's birthday, we had a very quiet dinner with my parents and brother who were in town. I randomly chose an Italian restaurant in Palo Alto that had good reviews and had a decent menu from first glance. When Logan and I pulled up, I was delighted to see it was actually a restaurant I had passed week after week when pregnant with Logan, since the pre-natal yoga class I was taking at the time was just around the corner. Every week I'd remind myself that the restaurant looked pretty good, authentic, and we really needed to try it out.

Two years later, and we finally did. ;-)

It was excellent and authentic and we had a really nice night out (though the picky two year old refused to try some of his birthday gelato!). We got home too late to open presents but had Logan open a few the next morning before his doctor's appointment - at which he exclaimed (with every single present) - WOOOWWWW!!!!! Asking us to help him "open Logan's box" after each one, so he could get his hands on the new toy and start playing. :)


Happy Birthday Love.