One Giant Leap Ahead

There are times when my little boy truly amazes me, and then there are times when I feel like all my teaching, coaxing, suggestions, and lessons are fruitless.  For the past few months, Little Lewie has been, well, Little Lewie.  On some days, he'd learn new words to add to his vocabulary, and then other days, decide that he's going to return to his "baby talk"--babbling a mile a minute in his own language.  On some days, he'd be Mommy's perfect little angel, listening to my requests and letting me bartar with him.  ("Okay Lewie, if you're good in the store, Mommy will let you have a cookie in the car," or "Okay if you're good for me in the post office, we will go to your favorite park to play.")  On other days, Little Lewie will take a screaming, red-faced, full blown temper tantrum, keeping me from being able to pick him up, let alone strap him in his carseat.  

Yes, to put it mildly, his progress or milestones have seemed to flipflop.  There have been some days that I see him inching to the three year-old mark, and then other days when his tantrums remind me of his outburts a year ago.   I never know when I'm going to be excited, frustrated, or simply ambivalent to it all.

This weekend, however, Little Lewie moved toward the three year-old direction again, and I was left amazed at how much he seemed to do and comprehend all at once.   Over the past couple of days, he started saying more words, including (finally) his own name.  Oh, he won't say his name if we ask him, but oddly enough, I caught him calling out "Lew" to my husband.   Instead of calling him Daddy, he decided to grab his attention by referring to him by his real name.   As I shouted, "Lew, can you come over here for a second?"  Little Lewie decided to help me..."Lew...Lew!"

Then, my little boy (for lack of better words) went poopy in the potty.  I was shocked!  We hadn't even started potty training yet, but I do have a small potty in the bathroom that I've shown to him once or twice.  On Sunday morning, I asked him if he was "going poopy" since he sure smelled like it.  Then, on his own, he ran to the bathroom, moved his small potty away from the corner and sat on it.  I explained to him that we had to take off his PJ's and his diaper first, and then I let him have some privacy.  After two failed attempts, the third time was a charm!  He called for me to come to the bathroom because he "went poopy", and sure enough, he did!

Oh, by all means, my little boy isn't potty trained yet, but I'm shocked at how much progress was made this weekend without even any pushing, coaxing, or bartaring on my part.  Yes, this weekend, I've learned that all my teaching and parenting may actually be fruitful after all.  The learning will just appear in Little Lewie's own time, not mine...

Have you been amazed by any milestones lately?