Early Indication of Turning Two

I usually work on this blog across the span of a week, slowly and meticulously building it into the Pulitzer prize worthy blog that you have come to enjoy almost every week (unless I am away on a speaking engagement). This week we are going to do things a little differently. I am going to pound out a blog in the span of a half hour, ignoring standard conventions such as proper punctuation and spelling (unless my trusty assistant—otherwise known as spell check—catches my error). There could be two reasons I am doing this. The first could be because I want to be more spontaneous, creating a blog with an edge; what my former colleague used to call gonzo journalism. The other, and the more likely reason, is that I didn’t get to it this week, and here it is Sunday, my unofficial deadline, and I have nothing. That reason would also explain this long, pointless introduction.

This week Zoe has not been sleeping well. Actually it’s been more like two weeks. It began with an illness that brought her into our bed. It also has something to do with our bedtime routine that we have vowed to change, starting last night. Normally we bring her into our bed, give her some milk, read her a stack of books, and then let her fall asleep in our bed. Once she is asleep, anywhere from ten to thirty minutes later, I will carry her asleep into her room. Lately she will either wake up the moment she touches her mattress, climb to her feet and commence crying. Or she may wait an hour or two before waking up. Either way, our nights are filled with Zoe. Last night was the wake on contact version, so instead of letting her cry for an hour (as we did the previous night) or pulling her into our bed to get her back to sleep (two nights previous) we sat in her room and spent about an hour calming her down and getting her lay down. When we left she cried for about ten or fifteen minutes, but then slept until six-thirty. Obviously we can’t sit with her for an hour every night, but her bedtime routine will now take place in her room. Obviously I will keep you informed as to our progress (as long as you check back here frequently).

Zoe has developed another habit, which we think she learned from her friend Tallulah. She has started stating that objects are ‘Mine’. This is normal in children her age, and someone explained that is actually a good thing. This statement of possession is paired with her other favorite word, ‘No’. She is not too empathetic yet. For example, she may state that something is ‘mine’ but if we ask her if we can have it she will hand it over. And as for ‘no’, she will often use it before she has even absorbed the question. For example, if we ask her if she wants a cookie, she will first say no, then realize what we asked her and say yes. This only means that I ask her what she wants as a matter of protocol. Ultimately she gets what I give her.

Recent photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/dbglass/ZoeMichel20thMonth
Buy the book at http://blurb.com/bookstore/detail/193034