Perfect

Since I have been relegated to the vast emptiness of suburban New England, I rarely get to see my old friends and a good portion of my family. Many of my friends have only seen Molly once and some never at all, which is a travesty. Molly, like me, isn’t perfect, but she is amazing and I feel proud of my (and Lindy’s parenting) and I wish I could show everyone her multitude of cutenesses. Molly is a really little person; she talks in sentences, can count to ten (not just memorizing the numbers, but can actually count things), her vocabulary is beyond counting, she knows colors and songs and books and has begun to use her imaginations. She orchestrates vast pretend tea-parties and keep her tiny pretend turtle (named Maple) in her hands to pet and kiss. She knows the song “Fibber Island” is funny and can pick out the song “Middle of the Street” after two notes. She runs around and explores, although she is not a climber like her cousin Matthew and does seem to want to look inside places she shouldn’t go. She plays independently if we are busy, but prefer if we read her a book or engage in a quick game of roly-poly. She has learned to share, but stands up for herself if someone tries to take her toys (often to the quick destruction of the invading toddler). She loves animals and her favorite one is an anteater. She sleep s in a toddler bed and is sleeping through the night (from 8:30pm-6:00am). She understands since and compromises, “Molly, you can’t have Daddy’s Gatorade now” I say, to which she responds, “Molly ‘ave ‘atorade in 2 minutes, bits (bits is her term for wanted just a little bit more, and she is still leaving the first letter off most words (although she can make the sounds just fine)). She can talk on the phone and tell you about her day. She runs with glee and freedom and is a never ending source of blissful happiness. She is spoiled, but why shouldn’t she be. She is a kid and should enjoy every moment.

So if you are not happy all the time, you should come visit Molly (and possible Lindy and I).

Here are some milestone a normal two-year old might have...

- Walk alone – Has been doing this for a year

- Pull toys behind her – Has been pulling a full size, old school-style, wooden radio-flyer wagon for months.

- Carry a large toy while walking – If it is less than 10 pounds she can carry it.

- Stand on the tips of her toes – Ha! Piece of cake.

- Kick a ball – Kick, Catch, throw, no problem.

- Climb onto and off furniture – Do adults beds, couches, tables, and chair count, I think so.

- Walk up and down stairs, holding onto the railing, or your hand, for support – Easily.

- Scribble spontaneously – She is an artist.

- Turn containers over to empty out the contents – Turn them over, put them back, no problem.

- Build a tower of four or more blocks – I think her record for regular blocks is 8 or 9.

Ok, how about milestones for older kids, six months older.

- Uses pronouns (e.g., I, me, you) – She know this halfway.

- Walks with smooth heel-to-toe motion - She can’t moonwalk…yet, but walking is set.

- Washes and dries own hands – She stands of a stool, asks for soap, waits for the water to be “warm”, scrubs, and rinses.

- Speaks clearly most of the time. – She needs to work on that first letter thing, but give her a few weeks.

- Jumps with both feet –She can’t jump off the ground, but watching her try is superfun.

- Opens doors – One of her friends was over who loved to open doors and Molly has never tried before. It took her 10 minutes to learn.

- Understands descriptions (e.g., big, soft) – Big, soft, tall, little, hot, cold, colors, hard, scratchy, dirty, old, she knows them all.

- Starts to recognize ABCs – She know 18 letters by sight or sound and at least one word for each one.

- Balances on one foot – No problem for Molly

- Brushes teeth with help – She only needs help to get the toothpaste on the brush and then she goes to town.

- Draws a circle – I don’t know if she can do that yet

- Puts on a T-shirt – Can’t do this.

- Names one color – Ha!, she knows blue, purple, red, green, orange, yellow, and almost black, white, and brown.

- Names one friend – “Molly want did you do at school today” I say. “Look at Aden …Play with Skyler…music with Ms. Lorraine” she says. She was playing with some empty bottles in the kitchen and said “Austin’s bottle (she left it there weeks ago)…called Austin on phone now”.

I don’t want to say that Lindy and I have raised the perfect child, but it is quite possible that we have. Well, maybe once she lets us puts pig-tails in her hair without a fight.