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Here are some things that might be helpful for those of you who have or will have a 2YO.

• You can always brush a 2-year-old’s teeth.

  If he likes the toothbrushing process, then you’re good because he cooperates.

  If he doesn’t like the toothbrushing process, then he cries. And when he cries, he opens his mouth and you are free to brush his teeth.

  Now when he turns 3, he might learn to clamp his mouth shut to thwart the attempt at hygiene… But don’t tell him that yet, please.

• Don’t pour as much into a cup as you think he can drink.

  Rather, pour as much into the cup as you want to clean off the floor.

• Don’t try to argue with him.

  He will be more persistent than you.
  Example:
  2YO: Where bumblebee go?
  Parent: It’s not a bumblebee – it’s a fly.
  2YO: Where bumblebee go?
  Parent: It’s not a bumblebee – it’s a fly.
  2YO: Where bumblebee go?
  Parent: He flew out the window. Look there’s a fly over there!

  The goal is to redirect his attention.

  Or outlast him until his nap time.

Long-time readers of this blog may remember that Alpha’s bottom teeth did not go willingly. He had his baby teeth and adult teeth together for a while. In electrical terms, it’s similar to a make-before-break switch, as opposed to the normal break-before-make switch everyone else has.

It turned out that his top teeth have the same propensity.

I hadn’t realized it before this happened, but I was looking forward to having a child with that adorable smile where the top two front teeth are missing. Sadly, I have been denied that stage.
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In case you’re interested in my child’s schoolwork:

100 Days

There was a big celebration of making it through 100 days of school. Here is one of the items from that time:

I like that he wants 100 books and 100 carrots. How many kids would say that?

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Let me set the background by saying that the last time the kids had a week off school, a couple of them got the flu. My wife had activities planned throughout that week that she had to cancel, since most of the activities involved seeing other families. So instead of a fun week of doing stuff, my wife had the joy of staying at home with sick kids.

That was months ago. Today is the first day of the next school break. Of course we were wondering if anything would happen to prevent this week’s lot of planned activities.

Sure enough, Beta woke up Sunday morning looking like this:

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One of the pieces of schoolwork that Alpha brought home this week was a March calendar. They were given a number of events that would be happening in March and they filled them in.

Click on the picture for the full thing.

What I noticed first was that the school (or his class at least) celebrates Dr. Seuss’ birthday. I never knew when it was. Now I know, although I don’t know what good that does me.

But the second thing I noticed was his editorial note on March 9 – a day of no school. He drew a frowny face to denote his sadness at the prospect of no school.

I remember liking school. I liked summer break, but I also enjoyed the start of fall and going back to school. I could start waxing nostalgic here, but I’ll skip it. All that to say this: Alpha really does like school.

Beta, on the other hand, has been sick this week. He missed preschool on Monday. Tuesdays he doesn’t have preschool anyway. On Wednesday his cough was still prevalent, so we told him that he would be missing preschool again.

His response?

“Yeaaaa!”

They may look similar, Alpha and Beta, but looks can be deceiving.

Here’s an update on our kids’ Zhu Zhu Pets (ZZP).

First of all, we added another ZZP to our family, since Gamma didn’t get one for Christmas like the older two did. So now they each have one and everyone is happy, at least in that regard. No picture for this one.

Second, we went to my parents’ house one fine weekend. It just so happens that my parents do not have hamsters, but they do have guinea pigs.

The guinea pig liked having company, but it thought the ZZP was rather rude.

Third, some of my siblings (and their families) also were at the homestead that weekend, which meant the cousins’ ZZPs (or ZZP cousins) were also there. Not only did they bring their ZZPs, but also they brought their ZZP habitat (or track or whatever you want to call it).

We have a few of the circle rooms. Much cheaper on eBay or craigslist.

Last, the one ZZP accessory of which a parent should be especially wary is the hamster wheel.

It looks nice and all, but I believe the ZZP wheel was designed and sold by the battery companies. Think about it. A wheel makes sense for a hamster, so they can use their muscles and stay healthy.

But what purpose does a hamster wheel serve in a battery-powered toy? All it does is cause the batteries to be replaced often (it would be daily if we didn’t impose limits – the kids would leave them running on the wheel indefinitely).

Now a hamster ball – that could be entertaining. But a wheel?

Here’s another winter weather update.

Sled Runs

Our neighbor was nice and plowed all his snow into a pile. Our kids like using their sleds on that snow pile. Not the best (about 4 feet high), but it’s quick and convenient. Plus they don’t have far to walk to carry the sled to the top of the hill.

Normally, they’re out there after school and when I get home from work I’ll watch or help them until dinnertime. One day I arrived in time to hear Alpha describing all the options – the runs from the top of the pile.

• Disaster
• Daredevil
• Tiny Terror

They’ve never been skiing, so I don’t know where he got the idea to name the different slopes. Maybe he has a future in marketing.

Gloves

What to do if your glove falls off in the snow?

If you’re a one- or two-year-old, your best bet is just to sit in the snow and cry.

Sledding Devices

Alpha has a favorite sled, which he likes to use. We bought the family a new sled, and Beta promptly claimed it as his. Since Alpha had already claimed his own, and since Gamma didn’t really care, Beta’s claim stuck.

But before all that, Beta was trying different sleds, including this:

Yes, he sat on the shovel and slid down the hill. It worked, mostly.