Levi is such a tactile little boy. He mushes his food. He tears paper. He eats dirt. And sand. And mulch.
He pushes and shoves and bites and hits and takes what he wants. He spends half his day in time out.
He’s definitely action-oriented.
He’s a smart thing, he really is. He learned to talk at a remarkably young age, and he talks really well! Sometimes…
Earlier this morning, I couldn’t find him.
Me: Levi!
Levi: (Muffled) Mama! I in da cwoset!
Me: Are you in the closet?
L: Yes!
Me: Are you stuck?
L: Yes!
Me: Would you like out?
L: Yes!
It was a very well communicated conversation for a two-year-old, I thought.
But then, five minutes ago, while cleaning his abominably messy diaper:
Me: Do you have poopy on your hands?
Levi: (Hands in mouth) Yes.
Me: Are you eating poop?
L: Yes.
Me: Does it taste good?
L: Yes.
Me: (Sigh) Levi, are you an elephant?
L: Yes.
Not so much with the communicating. Just brainlessly saying “Yes”. I’d better never introduce him to ESPN or his future wife’ll hate me…
He also makes me laugh more and laughs easier himself than my other two. It seems he is free from the burden of thought – well, forethought and afterthought. He lives in the moment.
Olivia is observant, silent, and thoughtful. She won’t try anything unless she’s sure she’ll succeed.
Benjamin was not too terribly different: contemplative, communicative, and sensitive. He doesn’t like change. Or messy.
Levi is tactile, action oriented, smart when he wants to be, capable… In some ways, he is so different from my other two, I find myself simply staring at him trying to figure him out!
Obviously, I’m more like the older two…
Does anyone else have a little boy (or girl) like this? Any lessons you’ve learned that you care to pass on? I’d definitely appreciate them!
Oh my word…. our youngest one’s must be identical twins separated at birth. Ha ha ha. It sounds just like Layla. She has no problem getting into anything. Touching anything. Doing anything. Climbing on anything (except she doesn’t climb out of her crib)… Shocked!
Just yesterday she thought it would be great to climb up on the table and get the bottle of clear polish (not just any normal polish… polish that tastes terrible to sway off fingernail biters…(Kenzie)) and pour it, most of it, all over her. I couldn’t hardly get it off with fingernail polish remover. So all day she kept spitting cuz she would put her fingers in her mouth.
SERVED. HER. RIGHT.
Except then, I tasted that crap all day long. Even when I picked up a carrot to eat it… the stuff went onto the carrot and tasted like a nasty bitter chemical taste.
I mean let’s see what happens when we put a kleenex in a candle.
Or, I wonder what Desitin looks like all over?
Or, why should I pee in my diaper when I know I shouldn’t? Well, since I’m in my crib and my parents won’t let me out…. I’ll just take off my diaper and pee on the mattress. Why not, right?
And, sand tastes better when I pour water on it then dry.
Screams all the time.
Very active.
Likes attention.
Sticks hands in water or milk while eating dinner on occasion.
At least she eats well most of the time.
Constantly find her in the bathroom washing herself with handsoap.
Obsessed with getting into my purse and eating my gum.
Always know when brother or sister are picking on her or doing something they are not supposed to (she is screaming).
Loves tearing things apart.
Sound like your little man?
I think so!
I often ask myself the same ?. What do I do without losing it? I would love answers too!
It seems to me every family has one person who is the wild child (and sometimes it’s one of the parents). Toadie is my wild child and I wouldn’t trade him for the world. I sometimes feel he is the physical embodiment of the feelings I have to bottle up and control because I’m an adult. I will tell you I have learned a few things about parenting him, though I am a far cry from perfect.
1) Be consistent. While this is true for every child, I’d recommend this not only for discipline but for things that may not be so obvious. For example, Levi puts his hands in his glass. If this is a behavior you don’t mind, ignore it. Consistently. However, if it is something you don’t want him doing teach him not to and make sure you praise him consistently when he doesn’t. Otherwise he’ll just think it was a one time thing.
2) Teach. You once wrote a post on potty training that brought up a very good point. Children who have never been taught something don’t know how to do it, even something as rudimentary as unbuttoning pants. This applies really well to other areas though. Toadie hasn’t a clue how to be quiet, but I have taught him to whisper by showing him and practicing with him.
3) Talk to him. I know it seems like he mindlessly was saying yes, but I think you would be surprised. It may be he knows perfectly well that saying yes would cause you to sigh and he finds some satisfaction in getting that reaction out of you. Like you said, he likes attention and saying something ridiculous gets some kind of attention. I talked in short sentences to Toadie about an ongoing problem of kicking when he tried to snuggle with me in the morning. For the longest time, he aped what he heard and did nothing different. Then one day he kicked and spontaneously said, “Oops, sorry, Momma. No kicking, it hurts Momma,” and stopped.
I’m not an expert, but these things have worked best for me. Above all, be patient and pray. I don’t have to tell you what you already know about him being a blessing, so I will remind you that you are a large part of his world and that is a blessing too.
Would like to know mom
Your first two children sound like they are MIRROR-IMAGES of my first two. My third is on it’s way in a few weeks and your post has sufficiently scared me to pieces – especially since I, like you, am just like my first two 🙂
Oh, I don’t want to scare you! Really, three children of different personalities are a marvel to watch. It just takes some work to get them to play well together at times… 🙂 But my action-oriented boy really brings my sensitive/observant little boy out of his shell! The more kids, the more well rounded everyone becomes. 🙂
You may recall, when you had just the first two, my consistent questioning of you about “how do you get them to be so quiet and content and calm?” I was always so amazed to see you with them in tow, and it seemed so effortless, so easy to instruct them. But now that you have a child who is a bit more rambunctious, you can understand how envious I was that your kids would sit nicely and play nicely and do quiet times nicely, while I was kind of pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to keep my boys in line. You are doing a wonderful job, and have wonderful children. I miss being able to see you in person.
I got asked that all.the.time, and I thought I could dole out the advice! I was PROUD!
I WAS SO WRONG TO BE PRIDEFUL OF MY CHILDREN! It wasn’t ME being SUPERMOM, it was just my children’s particular personalities! Now I have a wild one, and I know God is using this time in my life to remind me Who I need to turn to, because me, myself, and I just ain’t cutting it!!
Miss you too, Nancy! When we came back from San Diego, the high chair you had given us was covered in mold. 🙁 Made me sad. I ran it through the washer, but I think I’ve done that a few too many times and it’s a bit torn up and hurts his legs. Oh well, he’s two now. Time for a booster. But I loved remembering you whenever I saw that highchair! (And the funny story behind why I needed it!)