And just like that our little Levi is closer to two years old than to one. He’s the same happy and sweet boy, only more mischievous. His latest obsession involves trying to climb on top of everything, whether it’s a box, a table, or a drum. I don’t mind him climbing on a box or a toy, but I draw the line at tables and anything that’s potentially dangerous. He’s also bossier. The other night I was singing him a lullaby and he simply looked at me and said “No. Bye.” Guess I have a lifetime of no’s to look forward to. 

The Terrible Ones

The “experts” say the best way to prevent the terrible twos is to prevent the terrible ones, and so that’s what we’ve been attempting to do. If Levi’s doing something he shouldn’t be, like pulling leaves off the plants or trying to climb on the barstools, we tell him no and calmly give him a warning. If he does it again, we silently place him in his crib for about one minute for a timeout (timeout duration should correspond to the child’s age). Then we take him out of the crib and resume business as usual. In his book, The New Basics, pediatrician Michel Cohen says toddlers don’t understand reason and lengthy explanations, but they do understand actions and that it’s the parents who decide the rules. The key is to keep your cool because yelling or getting frustrated provides the child with attention and that’s the last thing you want to give them when they’re misbehaving. This approach is straightforward and makes sense to me, so I’m going to stick to it for the time being.

Picky Eating

Before 16 months, Levi had a very diverse palate, but then he discovered sweets and snacks and the fact that he has options. We tried to keep him away from sweets for as long as we could, but once he started being around other kids more and attending birthday parties, it became impossible. I don’t serve him cupcakes at home unless it’s a special occasion, but if he’s at a party with a cupcake display, I think it’s unfair to not let him have one. I belong to the everything in moderation camp and I think you have to be reasonable.

Somedays he’ll still eat well, but othertimes, he’ll skip a meal or two and will reject even his favorite foods. #Toddlerlife. Similarly, one moment he’s cuddly and lovable, the next he’s a whiny, annoying little dictator. A problem we’ve been dealing with is sometimes he won’t have his meal altogether and will point at the pantry begging for crackers and puffs. This is totally normal toddler behavior, but I don’t want him subsisting on a diet of cheddar bunnies and veggie straws. I used to only let him have snack type foods during snack time, but recently I’ve been giving in and obliging him some even if he eats a little bit of his meal. I’ve decided it’s gotten a bit out of hand and I’m going to nip it in the butt. The worst thing that can happen is he’ll cry and have a tantrum; I’ll ignore it and we’ll move on. I don’t know if it’s his age or his personality, but if Levi does have a tantrum — it’s very short.

Transitioning to one nap

The day after I hit publish on Levi’s 16 month update, he started to refuse his morning nap. I kept gradually pushing it later, but once he wasn’t falling asleep by 10a.m. I decided to rip off the bandaid and transition him to one nap. For about two weeks he would nap from 11:30 till 1 or 1:30. Consequently, he was exhausted by bedtime so he went to sleep earlier at 6:30. He was crankier for sure, but after about three weeks he was consistently napping 2-3 hours starting at noon and going to bed between 7 and 730.

I definitely miss having the two naps because it gave me two separate breaks to get things done and have a breather, but there’s something to be said for having one longer nap midday. Besides, for a while his second nap began at 2:30, whereas now his nap coincides with lunch time and when it’s the hottest outside. It’s also easier to make plans when there’s only one nap to work around. 

Baby it’s hot outside

It’s June in Miami and it’s hot as f*$k. Levi, however, doesn’t seem to mind the heat (although it does make his eczema flare up), and naturally only wants to be outside. I, on the other hand don’t do well in extremely warm weather so my current challenge is keeping him inside and entertained till at least 4pm. He’s still not into toys, and only wants to play with things he shouldn’t such as the dust buster, batteries, outlets, and wires. We’ve upped our baby proofing considerably over the last two months and have put child locks all over our kitchen and in the office. I never thought I would have to go that far, but here I am — locked out of my own fridge!

In short, things are pretty good over here, and I can’t wait for our trip to Montreal in two weeks. We’ll be there for three weeks and I’m so excited to see family and friends, and finally meet my best friend’s baby girl! Wish me luck on the flight there since I’ll be alone with the babe.

XOXO

Val