He's a Big Boy

Elijah has been - how shall I put this - challenging lately.

It's kind of difficult to put our finger on what is wrong. We know Elijah is teething, but he has been for months. Two of his two year molars are poking through, but those suckers are taking forever. And to think there are two more to go. Sigh.

At the age of two our little man finally started to sleep through the night fairly consistently... and then it all changed. Teething, perhaps.

The thing is, though, that there are a lot of changes taking place in Elijahland. There might be more to it than just some teeth. Little man seems to be trying to assert his independence in whatever ways be can. He seems to be having the typical two-year-old "me do" mentality. Problem is, he isn't able to tell us verbally what he wants - which is frustrating to all of us.

His receptive language, however, is coming along. He's showing us that he is indeed understanding some phrases that we say. For example, if I say it's time to eat, he will walk to the table (usually laughing as he goes).

And, diaper changes. Elijah has hated having his diaper changed for the longest time. I'd explain what was going to happen, lay him down and he'd absolutely freak out. We finally figured out that he didn't like to be laid down. He wanted to do it himself. We tell him that he needs his diaper changed and he very compliantly lays down on the floor to have it changed. He'll even lift up his bum sometimes to help out! I know it might not sound like much, but to us...it's a big deal. Not only does he understand, he has a preference to how his diaper is changed, and he wants to do it all by himself. He's a big boy and he's desperately trying to let us know.

Speaking of being a big boy, we're making the transition to a toddler/day bed. We've been thinking about this for awhile now, since Elijah's getting scarily tall for his crib. We turned his crib backwards (because the back of his crib is taller than the front), but then I needed a stool just to reach him! Not ideal. We've been apprehensive to make the change, wondering if he's ready developmentally. And guess what? Elijah seems to be sleeping better with just having his mattress on the floor (we're doing it this way first to make sure he doesn't take a big tumble out of bed). It's going to take some training to teach him how to stay in bed (and it would with any kid), but he seems to be so much happier. He's a big boy. He wants freedom and independence - just like any other two year old. And just like any other first time parents, we're trying to figure it all out. We'll get there.

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