The Mind of a Two-Year-Old
I'm always amazed when I read articles or hear a tidbit of information about babies and toddlers and how they are learning so much at this point in their lives (i.e. for my child, the age of two). I remember when Carly was first able to follow an instruction of mine, "Please go get your shoes from your room." Not knowing if she understood me or not, I saw her disappear from the kitchen and run down the hallway. Curious to see what she would bring back, if anything, I waited for only a few seconds. Then, I heard the scampering of feet coming back down the hallway, rounding the corner, and lo and behold!--she held her little shoes in her hands. Wow! And, that was MONTHS ago. So, I know I shouldn't be surprised at how much she can comprehend and how much she understands.
Fast forward to the present day: we were driving to Target earlier this week (is it just me, or is Target sometimes a "get-away" when you just need to get out of the house?) to buy some groceries. We were driving through a school zone, past a junior high in our neighborhood. I told Carly, "Look! The kids just got out of school." I glanced in the rearview mirror and watched her little face react to that information. She was peering intently at all the kids on the sidewalk, looking pensively towards them, as if she would like to be a part of the "play group." I would have loved to have known exactly what she was thinking and processing.
About 30 minutes later, with our grocery cart bogged down with items, I'm double-checking my list to see what I've forgotten. We've stopped in the canned vegetable aisle, near the "special Valentine section that has been displayed since the first part of January." (Again, is it just me, or do they bring out the holiday items earlier every year? Maybe it would be easier for retailers to display ALL the holiday items ALL the time--so you can browse through Valentine, Easter, Halloween and Christmas goodies all year round. . .I digress--that's for another post, another day.) So, I'm glancing through my list and I hear a mom with her two kids looking at the boxed Valentine cards. They pick out their treasures and the mom says, "Ok, now all we have left to get is marshmallows!" They head towards the baking aisle and I round the corner to the produce section to get carrots (I knew I forgot something!) Just a few minutes later, Carly is telling me something. Now, I need to mention that sometimes it's hard to decipher exactly what my child is telling me. Sometimes, after repeated attempts to decode Carly's language, my response is "Wow!" or "That's great, honey!" But, most of the time I can understand at least a handful of words in her two-year-old sentences. I stop looking over my list again, look down at my daughter, and hear her say, "I want marsh-mawwows, Mom." I had to laugh. I had no idea she even heard the conversation between the other mom and her two kids (note to self: a reminder to be extra, extra careful with the words that come out of my mouth around my daughter--even if she is in the other room--she hears more than I know!)
Call it being a first-time mom, call it a moment of weakness, but I turned that cart around and went to find one more forgotten item on my list: marsh-mawwows.
Fast forward to the present day: we were driving to Target earlier this week (is it just me, or is Target sometimes a "get-away" when you just need to get out of the house?) to buy some groceries. We were driving through a school zone, past a junior high in our neighborhood. I told Carly, "Look! The kids just got out of school." I glanced in the rearview mirror and watched her little face react to that information. She was peering intently at all the kids on the sidewalk, looking pensively towards them, as if she would like to be a part of the "play group." I would have loved to have known exactly what she was thinking and processing.
About 30 minutes later, with our grocery cart bogged down with items, I'm double-checking my list to see what I've forgotten. We've stopped in the canned vegetable aisle, near the "special Valentine section that has been displayed since the first part of January." (Again, is it just me, or do they bring out the holiday items earlier every year? Maybe it would be easier for retailers to display ALL the holiday items ALL the time--so you can browse through Valentine, Easter, Halloween and Christmas goodies all year round. . .I digress--that's for another post, another day.) So, I'm glancing through my list and I hear a mom with her two kids looking at the boxed Valentine cards. They pick out their treasures and the mom says, "Ok, now all we have left to get is marshmallows!" They head towards the baking aisle and I round the corner to the produce section to get carrots (I knew I forgot something!) Just a few minutes later, Carly is telling me something. Now, I need to mention that sometimes it's hard to decipher exactly what my child is telling me. Sometimes, after repeated attempts to decode Carly's language, my response is "Wow!" or "That's great, honey!" But, most of the time I can understand at least a handful of words in her two-year-old sentences. I stop looking over my list again, look down at my daughter, and hear her say, "I want marsh-mawwows, Mom." I had to laugh. I had no idea she even heard the conversation between the other mom and her two kids (note to self: a reminder to be extra, extra careful with the words that come out of my mouth around my daughter--even if she is in the other room--she hears more than I know!)
Call it being a first-time mom, call it a moment of weakness, but I turned that cart around and went to find one more forgotten item on my list: marsh-mawwows.
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