Talon's conversation skills are taking quite an impressive curve. He starts by sitting down, clasping his hands together and saying, "So guys..." A couple mornings ago after pouncing on our bed at 6am, he states "So guys, I don't have a sister..." We said 'No, you don't. Do you want one?' He said, 'Um, no, I don't want to trade my baby brother.' Good answer, kid. He asked us our opinion on which train we liked in the Thomas the Train magazine. The child care girls at the gym often tell me that Talon is so helpful to Lincoln, looks out for him, stays with him when he's sad and is overall a sweet kid. (He has his moments for sure!) It's nice to hear they are kind and brave people when I'm tired and bored hanging out with limited-language, verbally-unskilled toddlers.
Lincoln pooped on the potty again yesterday. Celebrations all around; one little cute turd.
We have a video of Talon saying all sorts of things at 20 months and Lincoln has weak enunciation. He says, Ah, me, mama, dada, yah, get down. I won't say Lincoln's speech development is delayed because he's not 2 years old (when they become officially delayed if certain milestones not met) yet but it's looking like calling for an assessment will be on my radar in the next couple months. In Lincoln's defense, he signs more than Talon. And frankly, Talon never signed at all. Talon knows what Lincoln wants and will speak for him sometimes (not helpful, T, thank you). Lincoln knows exactly what is going on and can follow directions that involve more than one step. His body awareness is fantastic, very agile and very strong. He understands a plethora of words - just can't say anything back yet. So far the pediatrician and I are holding on that he's just choosing to not speak because he hasn't had the need.
I never knew this about myself until I had toddlers but I'm not really that good at playing with them. I often find myself wishing they were older, potty-trained and able to tie their own shoes. I still adore, absolutely adore, watching their little 1 and 3 year old butts wiggle all over the place. But it'd be much more interesting to go on adventures and talk about the great world around us. We will still do that...just not now and it's frustrating. The boys are in a developmental stage that I find slightly annoying. Toddlers are completely irrational and I have little patience for their breakdowns. I don't show it in my face or body language. In fact, I usually try to go the complete opposite to off-set myself. In my head, I'm gritting my teeth, waiting for it to pass, trying to talk them through their crazy toddler world. Talon threw a screaming fit at lunch the other day. He kept getting in Lincoln's face and Lincoln was squealing for him to stop. I told Talon to stop and he gets all defensive, hitting the table, whipping his hands around. I said, "I understand you're mad but it is NOT appropriate for you to hit." He screamed, I carried him outside and we sat in silence until he was ready to speak but not before I tried to physically get him to sit down. All he wanted was to get away from me so I just let him sit on the other side of the space. De-escalation was key for him; not trying to talk or yell or reason because at this point, he's already shut down. We breathed, I explained, we re-directed, we went back in, all was better.
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