Teo at two is such an amazing creature and changing so fast we wish we could press the "pause" button and keep him here for just a little longer.
We have to safety-pin him into his pajamas every night when we put him to bed or after we leave the room he will: 1. take off his pajamas, 2. take off his diaper, 3. toss his pajamas, diaper, blankets, pillow, binky, stuffed animals, and yes, even the fitted sheet on the nights he can manage to get it off, onto the floor next to his crib. If we're lucky he will have an empty bladder while he proceeds to alternately slam dance, masturbate and wax philosophical until we discover him and put all the pieces back together. On more than one occasion I've done this twice in one evening. (What can I say? In our busy lives, one can't always locate a safety pin).
You know how some dogs think they're human? Teo thinks he's a grown up. He is incredibly independent and self-sufficient. He'll drag a chair over to any counter and climb up on it to help himself to things that are out of reach. He reminds me of all the stories my parents used to tell about the trouble my sister Aileen would get in while my father, who was working nights and taking care of her during the day, was sleeping. He will take every ziploc bag out of the box and spread them around the kitchen floor. He will turn on and off the dishwasher whenever he gets the urge. He gets his own snacks.
Although he often makes an extraordinary mess, he can be extremely helpful, too. The other day we were in a tile store where they had a little play place. He was drinking a juice box and playing. When we went to leave, I couldn't see his juice box and I wanted to make sure we didn't leave in somewhere in the store, so I asked him to show me where he put it. He dragged me directly over to a large metal trash can with a "flap" opening and pointed to the flap. He had thrown it away himself. When he wants to, he will help clean up toys or games efficiently and well. He loves to "wash the dishes" himself. The other day he went upstairs alone and I followed him up a few minutes later to investigate. I asked him what he was up to, and he pointed proudly to the toilet paper holder in the bathroom. It had been empty, because someone had finished the last roll and thrown it away, but not replaced it. Teo had taken 3 or 4 of the flushable toddler wipes we keep on the heater nearby and had folded them neatly over the toilet paper bar to replace the old roll.
Going out in the world with Teo is like being with a rock star. Yesterday we took the kids to Asia Buffet for lunch and as the Maitre D showed us to our table I noticed that every person in the place was looking at us. Do I need a haircut that badly, I thought to myself. Then I realized they were all staring at Teo. People talk about how beautiful he is all the time, but I'm convinced it's not just about the way he looks. I mean, I agree he's a cute kid, but I don't think he's so unusually stunning as all that. He's all personality though, and I think people really respond to that. He'd be a very successful politician. I feel like when we're out with Teo, we get the star treatment from store clerks, waitrons, etc. I hope it lasts because it would be really hard for us to get used to being ordinary again.
Teo at two was tested by Birth to Three because his language didn't seem to be developing as it should. They confirmed that he is very smart, and has amazing fine motor skills for his age, but does have a pronounced speech delay. He speaks mostly in vowels. My friend Beth said her son Carlos was the same way and that they would ask him, "Can we buy a consonant?" He says "Lucy" "ooo-eee". He says "see" "eee". He says "Luke" "oook" and "Max" "Ma". Although he does sometimes seem to get frustrated by our inability to understand his every demand, for the most part he continues to be happy and confident. Sarah M. said, "Teo is perfect. It doesn't bother me that he doesn't talk. He's awesome the way he is." Actually, with all the talking Luke does now (see Luke at Five), it is pretty refreshing. We took him to the audiologist at CCMC because the speech & language pathologist recommended it to rule out any hearing loss. I was pretty worried because when he was in the NICU they told us that the antibiotics they had to give him might cause deafness. They had tested his ears after that, though, and said he was fine. Anyway, the audiologist said his hearing is "within normal limits." Now every week the nice lady from Birth to Three comes to play with him, which he loves. He entertains her and is a social butterfly, and I do think that the speech issues are going to get better quickly.
Teo at two has a constantly evolving relationship with his brother. When he isn't biting him or sitting on him or trying to take a toy away from him, Teo wants to copy everything Luke does. For the most part, Luke is very good to him and really celebrates his successes. Being the youngest isn't always easy though. Teo is the "bad guy" or "monster" in every fantasy game that Luke and his friends play. They are constantly chasing after him or running away from him or hiding from him, which luckily he almost always enjoys. At least he's part of the game. Still, sometimes an over-excited friend of Luke's will whack Teo on the head with a plastic sword or light sabre and I'll have to go rescue him.
Teo at two still loves animals and books more than anything. He will chase Beth & Jodi's cat all over the house endlessly. He already plays games with Luke and I and he does really well at following the rules and taking turns. He even won a game of Yahtzee Junior the other day! He was on fire! When he's left to his own devices he'll take out a game and set out all the pieces and make up little games with them, then put them all away. He loves a stuffed bear that he calls "Bear Bear." He still loves his binky, but only one kind of binky which we only ever seem to be able to find one of so that we're always looking for "the good binky." He loves art and will sit still for a long time drawing, painting, cutting, and peeling the backs off of foam stickers and putting them all over everything. He writes on the walls with pencil and crayon, puts stickers on hardwood floors, furniture and clothing, pulls the plastic keys off Luke's laptop, and throws Teen's paperwork off her desk onto the floor. Half the time it feels like we're living with a frat boy from Animal House. A very cute and snuggly frat boy.
It's hard to imagine how Teo at two could be any better.
