6.05.2013

Baby-Toddler Limbo

Jack is not quite two, looks two and a half, and loves to march himself over to the biggest kids he can find and try to hold his own. 

I like to think of this time as baby-toddler limbo. Jack is still a baby in a few ways. He still sleeps in a crib, potty-training is not even crossing our minds, and he cannot yet do so many of the "toddler activities" that you find on Pinterest boards and mommy blogs. However - he is a toddler. He walks, talks, helps when he can... 

Recently we (Jack and I) had a conversation that went like this:

Me: "Are you a baby?"
Jack: "No!"
Me: "Are you a little boy?" 
Jack: "NO!"
Me: "Are you a BIG boy?"
Jack: "YESTH!!"

Then, yesterday, while looking at pictures on my phone he pointed at every picture of himself (recent pictures) and said, "baby!". 

Even Jack is confused. 

This limbo time is hard for a few reasons. Mostly discipline and age-appropriate activities. It's hard to stay developmentally correct without challenging them or putting them into situations that are setting them up to fail. 

Jack is a short-tempered, strong-willed, sweet & snuggly, lover boy who gets M-A-D when he cannot figure something out yet bored in 2.3 seconds if something doesn't challenge him. 

My goal this summer has been to try out something at least 3 days a week. So far, so good- challenging activities are saved for the privacy of our own home, and easy/"safe" (As in, safe from tantrums) activities turn into outings. And, when all else fails, we just go to the park. There have been a few ups and downs, but mostly I am excited about all the learning and fun we have been having in the last month!

I've decided to start a series called, "What to Do With Your Baby-Toddler" where I document our activities. Most of them are obvious but I thought it might be a good resource for other moms with baby-toddlers of their own who are stumped over what to do with their afternoon. 

I get the tantrums, the hitting, and (GASP) Jack even bit me two weeks ago... but, as a good friend says to her toddler on the reg, "We are all learning". 

Posts to come:
Baking Cookies With Your Baby-Toddler
Planting a Vegetable Garden With Your Baby-Toddler
Going to the Museum With Your Baby-Toddler
Going to the Play Place With Your Baby-Toddler
Working Out With Your Baby-Toddler

2 comments:

Shannon said...

This is great, I can't wait to read your future posts. I'm in the same position right now having a baby/toddler.

Andie said...

As you know, Jack & Andrew are only a few days apart in age, so I'm curious to see what you do with J. I know right now we are having tantrum issues because he is thinking way faster than he is speaking.

Just recently, I've taken to letting him help me cook by stirring, etc. I think he really enjoys it!