Everett does things from time to time that would be far funnier if he was someone else’s child, like chucking his sippy cup out of the car once the milk is gone, or throwing his snack cup and then commanding one of us to “get it” while it is still in midair. He is now about 21 months old, but it feels like he is already two. We say this based on descriptions from books and other parents about the “terrible twos”. Our perception is that when he first started speaking he marveled at his newfound power to get what he wanted using words alone. But after a while he realized that his ability to describe what he wants can stretch far beyond the boundaries of what is possible and acceptable, and this leads to two results. First, he does not like it. Second, he doesn’t yet have the capacity to handle the flood of emotions that quickly follow. At such times it is tempting for us to treat him as a small adult and to try reasoning with him to calm him down. However, we are slowly overcoming this habit.

Another possible sign of the terrible twos is general bossiness. Everett now stands in the driveway and gives orders to the birds like “Birdie, eat some treats!”. A few days ago Melissa gave him some cooked lentils to eat. He poured them onto the driveway and then marched up to the giant oak tree in our neighbors yard, pointed to where he had dumped them and said “Squirrel, eat some beans!”. We tolerate a certain amount of this kind of behavior, such as when he is playing the music toy in the kitchen and telling us to dance, or ordering everyone to wear their napkins on their heads while eating dinner. So far he doesn’t require a lot of disciplinary action, which is good because it allows us lots of opportunities to enjoy family time. His language has now become detailed enough that we have a window into his inner world, part of which includes imitations of us. Apparently we must say “So” and “Ok” a lot when preparing to do things. Another part of his inner world is his imagination. He recently started telling us facts about The Big Fat Turkey, such as “The big fat turkey is taking a nap” or “The big fat turkey is sitting on the house”. Neither of us is exactly sure who this turkey is, where he came from or what kind of interesting life he leads, but we do feel confident that Everett will keep us informed.