Two and Terrific

Sethie attempts to smile for the camera...

Lately we've been listening to a kids' cd we checked out from the library. Seth has discovered a new favorite song. It goes like this -

I want to do it myself.

I want to do it myself.

I want to do it myself. I mean it!

I want to do it myself.

I want to do it myself.

I want to do it myself and IIIIIIIIIIIII mean it!!!

That's pretty much his mantra around here lately. "Me wash my hands." "Me put mine pants on." "Me do it."

Actually it's more like, "ME WASH MY HANDS!", "ME PUT MINE PANTS ON!", "ME DO IT!"

I watch him struggling to put his own shoes on, climbing to the tall ladder at the playground, and refusing to be babied like his sister, Lina. "Me big boy," he reports to anyone who will listen.

But then, he can't get his shoes on. He needs a hand at the last rung on the ladder. And sometimes he gets a bonk on his knee and needs a hug and kiss. He's not really a big boy. He's not a baby either. This is the challenge of being two - feeling big and independent one minute, but needing help the next.

As a parent, I love watching this little person emerge. He is louder, stronger, and more sure of what he can do and what he wants. He beams when he is able to do something himself. He gets frustrated when he can't. But he is ever reaching. Growing. Stretching to that next step. I get to be the one to give hugs when they are needed, to offer help when I am asked, and to nudge him in the right direction.

And when he does make it to the top rung on the ladder, I get to be the one to say, "You did it!!!"

But most of all, I watch it all happening and try to stay out of the way.