Pinay Mom on Motherhood, Etc.

At two-and-a-half years old, Angel can already name the whole gang even if he cannot pronounce all their names just yet.  He still calls Thomas the Tank Engine “To-neau” and he can distinguish between the 5 of th 8 he already has.  He is so attached to Thomas that he always falls asleep in bed clutching one or two or three of the little toys instead of one of his bears.  His Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs are all scratched up because he would operate the DVD Player himself, watching one of the three over and over again.

For Halloween, Alan and I got him a Thomas the Tank Engine Costume at Party City which we are hiding from him until a day before Halloween because we’re afraid he would want to wear it everyday.  He wore a donkey suit for his first Halloween, and last year, we didn’t get him a costume.  This year, Alan is going home early to go trick or treating with him, even if only around our Courtyard.

We also found out that a live event where kids and parents can ride an actual Thomas the Tank Engine train is happening in the tri-state area called A DAY WITH THOMAS.  We’re already planning a weekend drive to Connecticut on one of the two weekends Thomas will be there.. All aboard!

Cross posted on Pinay New Yorker 

Eversince I could read, I remember seeing this poem on a wall hanging in our room.  We eventually lost it through the years but today I googled it and found its complete text here.  I thought it might be something worth sharing with fellow moms like me because when I was a kid, I found it insightful.

Children Learn What They Live
By Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Copyright © 1972 by Dorothy Law Nolte

My little guy is developing a mind of his own.  Just to illustrate, we had rehearsed him in the last few months to answer the question “How old are you?” with his age — “Two.”  We were so thrilled when he managed to figure out that the question should be answered by that.  We weren’t concerned if he knew that two is one and another one.. or that it comes before three.  It was such a joy to hear him answer automatically each time we asked.  Of late, he has taken to playing games with us.  If you ask him how old he is, he will look at you impishly and say “three!”. 

It might just be the biased Mom in me which now presupposes he has a concept of “3″ following after “2″, and that he actually knows he is “2″ but he just wants to be “3″.  Whichever reason he may have, it’s a very juvenile game but it speaks of how he thinks.  I know this is not unusual for kids his age, but it’s remarkable how this two year old brain is starting to think the way he thinks.