Almost Two....

We find ourselves amazed that almost two years have gone by since Ronan burst onto the scene. Wow. It's hard to remember what life was like without him. Did we actually... go out at night? See movies? Take impromptu vacations? Sleep in? Do nothing on Saturdays? Yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes. But then, we didn't have the joy of hearing a two-year-old's hysterical laughter or feeling the arms of a little boy tightly hugging our necks before bed.

Life with a two-year-old is hyper-drive. There is a lot of learning happening in their growing brains, and a lot of new physical feats happening with their bodies. As Ronan fiddles with the stereo over and over (and over!) again, I can almost see the neurons firing as he "gets it." And suddenly, he knows how to find a CD, turn on the stereo, and play music of his choosing. Since mom and dad are on the computer so often, he also knows how to turn the Mac on and off. His favorite thing lately is posing for "Photo Booth" pics with me when I get home from work. He's quite a ham, grinning and jamming on the guitar in front of the computer cam!

We've been TRYING to read some parenting books in our free time, but given our work and travel schedules, that free time is pretty minimal. So we took the easy way out for one of the books and rented the DVD for Happiest Toddler on the Block. Ah, it's so much easier to watch 30 minutes of video at the end of a long day! We thought it was pretty helpful for dealing with the whining and tantrums of toddlerhood. Ronan has always had a strong personality -- very clear likes and dislikes. Our nanny says he hardly ever throws tantrums with her, but with us it happens at least once a day now. Often, it manifests as whining when it's time to stop reading books, stop playing with the ladder, or when we have to take a thoroughly fascinating but dangerous thing out of his hands -- like, say, a bottle of Windex or a letter opener. Sometimes, when he absolutely doesn't want to stop playing in order to eat lunch, he'll throw an all-out tantrum with lots of tears and protests. We're trying the strategy of speaking "toddlerese" to him during these times, and it seems to be working already. Diffuses some of his frustration. Another amusing strategy the video describes is "gossiping" to each other about him, as a form of praise. That's based on the idea that all people tend to believe second-hand compliments (overhearing someone tell another person that you look great) more than direct compliments (your friend telling you that you look great). The psychology of it is interesting.

So, what's new with the Ronan these days, as he approaches two? (Warning: scatalogical discussion now!) Of course, all parents talk about their kid's pooping and peeing as a matter of course. It's just as common as "How was your day, hon?" as a dinner topic. So, of course it'll bleed it's way into our blog. :-) We're casually introducing the idea of toilet-training to him in a very laid-back way. We hear you're supposed to look for the "ready signs" in the child, and for each kid it's different. He's so funny. He'll sit there (clothed) on his potty seat, make a face, and then take some tissue to "wipe." But the idea of actually going on his potty seat is still really bizarre to him, and we don't blame him. His preferred pooping stance is standing up by the coffee table. Why, he must wonder, would he want to be half-naked and sitting down in the bathroom? He's more comfortable trying to pee in the potty, like a big boy. The challenge there is seeing over his protruding belly in order to "aim." Hee hee! :-) (End of scatalogical discussion!)

We're planning a family vacation this spring or summer. The front-runner is Greece, but the timing may not work out because of intense summer heat there and really high airfare. Other choices: Mexico or Canada.... This would be with Ronan and hopefully a grandmother or two!

Our preschool search continues. Not sure if we should send him this fall (he'll be 2.5) or next fall. Many of the preschools we applied to take kids starting at 2 years 9 months, and he's just under that cut-off age. There are a few neighborhood schools that take kids as young as two, but they are more or less glorified daycare centers, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a different thing. We might go with one of these places for a year to get him around more kids, and then switch him into a more "standard" preschool for the next two years before kindergarten. We're not sure which preschool philosophy would work best for his temperament and personality. We've visited mostly development-centered schools, but I plan to tour the Montessoris too to see what they're like. The "hot" preschools in SF seem to be more diversity- and development-focused, with some structure but not as much as the Montessoris.

The housing search continues, but that is a whole other story!