Of confidence and minding your language

DS2 is amazing. I always think it would be great to be him. He has none of DS1's angst at all, and just seems to be genuinely happy most of the time. Yesterday, at DS1's swimming lesson we were in the waiting room and he saw that the people at the next table had oranges - his current favourite fruit. Without any thought he just walked over there and said "Orange?" I was muttering my apologies and telling DS2 they weren't his oranges etc, when the dad said, 'We've got a spare if he wants it' - and before I knew it DS2 had climbed up on to the chair next to him - waiting to be served! - and then struck up a conversation with him about the other food on the table. God I wish I could do that! I'd just love to be that easy with people. DS1 and I are in knots just opening our mouths to someone that we don't know - I hide it significantly better, but the feeling is the same. Obviously it helps that DS2 is very cute and not yet two years old, but even so, with a far slimmer grasp of the English language than his brother or I, he seems to communicate with much greater ease.

Having said that, his language is just growing exponentially at the moment, in the way toddlers' language does around about this age. I'd forgotten how great it is to listen to and I love his experimenting with phrases. Like at the moment, his favourite thing to do is put "Err... " on the start of everything, in such a grown up way. It sounds as if he's about to say to a waiter "Err... I don't think I ordered the veal". This led to a classic yesterday.  DS1 and I were chatting in the kitchen, and DS2, who had been playing in the living room, popped his head round the door and said "Err... I stinky". We did giggle - although me not so much, as I had to change him.

The end of half term, tantrums and good manners

It was a crazy half term really, even without the illness to start it off. I tried to give DS1 some extra one-to-one time with me - we had a day out with a show and lunch, and we went to a film with a lovely woodland workshop afterwards. This was all very lovely, but in between we had his usual letting rip - with added angst as it had been 3 nights at his dad's because of half term, and because all the activities meant he wasn't getting much downtime. Ah, will the joy of motherhood never stop?! DS2 just got his head down and played with his vehicles as usual - I am very lucky to have such a convenient toddler - he seems to know when its not his turn to yell, although he happily makes his mark when it is, god love him.

The High Street showdown

Wednesday has become blog day it seems - DS2 is now so active all the time (and not doing anything helpful like actually napping for any significant amount of time during the day) that trying to do it when he's here is completely impossible.

So what news? Well, unsurprisingly as Saturday was the first full day the three of us had had at home together for about a month, DS1 decided to spend it yelling about anything he could think of. I was not prepared this time - I think I thought he'd got it all out of his system already, foolish woman that I am, so it took a bit of adjusting, but I did my best to rise to the parenting challenge under extreme provocation.

His opening yell of the day was pretty epic by all accounts, and I'm sure our small town's high street appreciated it at 8.30 in the morning. You see, it was the last day of the free Lego, so despite the fact that it meant getting up early on a Saturday and dragging a coughing and sneezing DS2 with us, I valiantly got them both in the car and headed down to WHSmith. (I will keep trying to do nice things for him and I probably really should stop as it never ends well.) I parked where we could see the shop about 20 yards away, and asked DS1 if he was alright to stay in the car with DS2, as didn't want to get him out in the cold again when I would only be a couple of minutes. DS1 said that was fine. Went into the shop, they hadn't got the free toys out yet so had to get them from upstairs, which took an extra couple of minutes, so total time in the shop 4 minutes tops. As I opened the door of the shop to leave I heard "I NEED SOMEONE TO LOOK AFTER ME!!!!" being screamed full blast from my car, echoing down the high street towards me, for the delight and delectation of passers by. He must have scared the life out of the man at the cash machine just next to the car - who had a look on his face as if to say 'Who? Me?' - at this stage I don't think DS1 was particularly fussy.

Of speech, circles, musical theatre and an unfeasibly large spider

DS2 weekend this weekend, DS1 at his Dad's. It's been a busy one - he is becoming more wilful by the second! Currently he is sleeping and has a big graze on his nose and forehead from falling out of the back door onto the concrete - that'll teach me to try and get some gardening done. I've finally got rid of the cherry tomato plants that he stands by going 'uh, uh' and pointing at every time he's in the garden. I think he's eaten 90% of those tomatoes - DS1 and I did not get a look in.

He's chosen this weekend to start using words. He opened on Saturday morning with 'emur' for the cuddly lemur in my bed (my lemur note, not the kids - sometimes a girl just needs a cuddly lemur). He then decided to say 'big dog there' to a big dog going down the road, and ended the day with the classic baby utterance 'nana' - for banana, of course. Getting dressed after bath time he added 'next foot there' - which is what I always say to him to put his other foot in his pyjama bottoms. So clearly, he can speak, which is good as I was getting a bit concerned. I went to a friend's on Friday, whose little boy, the same age, has a definite vocabulary of recognisable words he uses appropriately - where as up until this point DS1 would only utter 'bruvva' at his brother, other children and, with a slightly different inflection, at trees blowing in the wind - I have interpreted this as 'flower' but to be honest the difference is imperceptible to the non-mum ear. I can only assume that DS2 picked up on my concern and chose yesterday to tell me that he could use these things I called words, he just preferred to express himself through the medium of song and expressive dance - which he does all the time. I have created a musical theatre baby - somewhat unexpected, but who knows, he could go far...