Q is just over two. We're starting to feel that we've got our parenting legs under us and know how to predict behavior and how we want to deliberately respond to him. Then he surprises us and we have to sit back and grin at all that we have to learn.
This week Q is in a growth spurt. At some ages, I'd mean that the kid put on 2 lbs and 4 inches. In this case I mean, he learned to write the letter 'Q' and the letter 'S' and the letter 'W' (well, if you know what to look for). Tuesday he hopped. He's never hopped before. Now it's not enough to hop, he has to hop at the edge of something so that he can risk breaking his little neck.
He's suddenly articulating himself really well, spontaneously. We've been coaching him to 'ask nicely' when he wants something:
Q: Cracker!
The Voices of Reason: I would like a cracker, please?
Q: Want Cracker!
And so forth. Often Q adjusts his request when we tell him he needs to ask nicely, by just throwing a "PLEEEEEASE?" at the end. This is sufficient for the moment.
During dinner the other night, I noticed that, without coaching, Q actually said, "I would like some milk, Daddy, please?" I had to interrupt J and request Q to repeat, which he amazingly did. If the kid asked for anything that politely I'd be tempted to give it to him...puppies, motorcycles, ibooks, you name it kid.
Yesterday, we had the real clincher for the week. J and I were sitting and talking about our fantasy kitchen renovation, for which he'd actually drawn a blueprint sketch. I glanced up and saw Q trying to navigate some toys near his plastic potty. The potty was in the way, so I casually told him, "Q you can sit on the potty, you don't have to go around, hon." He looked at said potty and lifted up the lid. He checked it all out again, per his usual, This is entertaining but has no relation to real life. "If you want to use the potty, we could take your pajamas and diaper off."
Then I returned to chatting with J. The next time I looked up, there was a naked child in my living room, clamboring over to sit on his potty. My jaw dropped and we had to leave the room so our hysterical laughter wouldn't disturb the strong possibility that Q was going to actually use his potty.
...and he did!
