Light bulbs

As a teacher, I've experienced the awe and wonder of watching children grow. I've experienced the sense of pride in turning preschoolers into readers, and third graders into young scholars. I know the look in the eyes of a child when something finally "clicks" and the light bulb turns on. It's great. It's amazing. It's one of the reasons teachers become (or shall I say, STAY) teachers.

And yet none of it prepared me for the overwhelming sense of joy from watching my own child learn and grow.

It has been said that the first year of a child's life is "magical." That may be true, and it certainly is filled with countless milestones and changes. But as I approach the end of my second year of motherhood, I must argue that it is equally as "magical," if not more so.

See, that first year, especially the early months, a newborn is kind of like a... lumpy potato. I mean, they are precious and wonderful and smell fantastic, but there's not a whole lot of self-awareness going on there. They don't realize they're learning. They don't care if you approve that they accomplished rolling over, sitting up, or what have you. As toddlers, they THRIVE on it. And let me tell you, it's awesome.

I think toddlerhood gets a bad rep because of the whole "terrible two's" thing. Yeah, it's challenging. But so are the multiple night wakings, complete lack of independence, and 137 diaper and/or clothing changes a day that come along with babyhood.

Here lately, Corbin has amazed me in what he's learned to do. I've been watching light bulbs shine like Christmas lights in a trailer park in the middle of February. Here are some recent moments of enlightenment for Corbin:

#1 Opening doors. Seriously, most annoying thing ever. But aside from the fact that nothing is off limits anymore, it also has its advantages. For example, he can now open his closet door to get out toys. What's even more amazing is that he puts them back in there. Novelty? Likely. But for now, it's pretty amazing.

#2 Playing off #1 is his ability to open the pantry door and get a snack. I keep his snacks on the bottom shelf in self-serve containers so he can just grab one and start munching. Sometimes it's a pain because, hey, it's also a novelty and he likes to feed the dog, but still. Pretty neat.

#3 His ability to copy everything I do, part 1. Every. Thing. I can not stress enough how this one is so important! I have to be on constant guard to make sure I don't always let Corbin see what I am doing, at least nothing I don't want him to repeat. I'm still paying for one that's too embarrassing to write for the public eye. I'll just leave it at that. Moral of the story, if you pick your nose, your kid is going to, too. And maybe other's. You just never know.

#4 His ability to copy everything I do, part 2. Hello, child labor. I sweep, he sweeps. I vacuum, he vacuums. He has definitely learned to be "tidy" from me. He will bring his dishes to the sink, throw away trash, put his books back in the basket, and place things back where they belong, on command but also on his own. Yes he's still a messy, irresponsible toddler, but I think neatness is going to come natural for him. For instance, at Walmart, he will pick things up off the floor and put them back, even if he didn't do it. And today when he spilled a little of his milk, he came and got me, saying "uh oh!" I gave him a paper towel and he wiped it up!

#5 Potty training. So, we aren't hitting this hard, but we're definitely dabbling in it. He'll pee-pee just about any time I remember to set him on the potty (usually during diaper changes). He even told me yesterday he had to go and then went in the potty. Unlike babies, he is totally self-aware and looks at me for praise every time he goes! When I feel proud of him, he feels proud of himself.

#6 TALKING. Oh my goodness, this child talks a lot. But just like when he started walking, he took his ever-loving time, and then when he was ready, took off like he'd been doing it his whole life. First time he walked, he ran. None of that silly 1 or 2 step nonsense. He ran from me to Josh and back again. Then he walked from the living room to the bathroom. With talking, I thought he'd never start. He had maybe 5 words he'd randomly say. Then suddenly, he was saying, "what is this?" and "see that?" and "me do it!" And that was that. Today he said, "you get my zoom?" (his word for vacuum). Yesterday I asked if he wanted a bath and he said "no, I gonna play." Bossy britches.

#7 Affection. This one turns me to mush. When I'm rocking him for naps, he'll reach up and gently rub my face, or play with my hair, or pat my arm. When we're sitting on the couch, he'll lay his head over on me or take my arm and wrap it around him. Sometimes he'll just hug my legs and say "awwww, my baby" (lol - what I often say when he's being sweet). And then my ABSOLUTE favorite is when he grabs my face with both hands and gives me Eskimo kisses. Heart. Explodes.

#8 Humor. Corbin hides a lot of his personality around people, but once he gets comfortable with you, he REALLY gets comfortable. He lives for a laugh. He makes crazy faces, puts things on his head, purposely "falls" down, and so many other antics. Sometimes he'll use them to try to get out of trouble. Try scolding your toddler for throwing food on the floor while he's giving you a cheesetastic smile or pretending to smell an imaginary flower. Yeah. We're doomed.

#9 He can put a disc in the dvd player and start a movie. Enough said.

#10 Properly use toys and objects. Gone are the days when every toy was an object in the game Will It Fit In My Mouth? Now his choo choos drive on the track. His blocks make a tower. His shape sorter gets sorted. Puzzles are put together. Crayons make a picture instead of a snack. You get the idea.

So there you have it. Life with a toddler. Well, at least mine currently. Tantrums are just part of the learning process, I have come to realize. Every day he makes me proud as he takes one more step toward independence. It's absolutely bittersweet, and there are times I miss the squishy, lumpy potato stage of babyhood. But then I remember, I like sleep. Oh and the helping-clean-up-after-themselves thing.

Now if only I could train my husband to do the same.