The Pacifier Elf

Peter is officially two-and-a-half now, an age which I still maintain is about as rough as it gets. He is a whirling ball of energy and emotion, but his verbal skills are beginning to catch up. Recently, he's started to develop very real fears- of ants, worms, thunderstorms...and a few other odd things that I can't remember. He screams at the top of his lungs and his little body shakes, and it's really sad. He must have learned that his fears get him immediate attention though, because now he's "too scared" to go to bed...ever. I've sort of given up on enforcing nap time, even though he desperately needs one. And sadly bedtime doesn't make up for lost nap time sleep, as he sits in his bed and cries for what seems like forever, finding any excuse he can to avoid the inevitable.

Peter is very aware of others, and sensitive to their feelings. Benjamin knows he can take advantage of his kindness, and Peter usually lets him. The other day, Peter noticed a scab on my arm and told me that I needed a band-aid to fix it, or that we'd just have to get a new mommy. Ok, maybe he's not always sensitive to other's feelings. 

So I was refreshing myself on pacifier weaning tactics the other day, thinking it was about time we pulled the plug. I (re)learned that older children who regularly use a pacifier develop a gap between their top teeth and their bottom teeth, which I admittedly hadn't even noticed in Peter until just now. 

That was enough to convince me, so we started telling him about the "Pacifier Elf," who is one of Santa's lesser known helpers. After a few days, he was ready to leave all of his prized pacifiers outside his door for the night, in hopes that the Pacifier Elf would bring him something fun in return. Silly Pacifier Elf didn't take into account that there were violent tornados in the area that night (that coincidentally ripped up our airport), but he was on a mission, and didn't want to disappoint that trusting little boy. Peter loved his new Spongebob ball and Buzz Lightyear flashlight, and was even kind enough to share his spoils with Benjamin. 

He seems to be a sponge. I don't feel like I've been as diligent in teaching him his alphabet or numbers as I was with Benjamin, but it seems to have made no difference. He knows all of his letters and can identify the letters in words by the sounds they make. He also continues to be very musical, and can carry a really nice tune! He has days where he gets very inquisitive, and will ask "why?" over and over again. It can get frustrating at times, especially when I've explained something as thoroughly as I can. When he's finally ready to move on though, he'll say, "Ohhhh, I get it!" 

My Mom always used to say that it's a good thing two years olds are so cute, or there wouldn't be any left. In Peter's case, I couldn't agree more!