This Boy, Right Now

I am overwhelmed, beginning this post, with the goal of recording what my two year old son Rafael is like right now. The funny, amazing things he says...the things he likes...our relationship. I haven't written a growth update in longer than I would like to admit, I guess because you don't realize the leaps and bounds your child makes in the every day, but rather, looking back at how he used to be compared to today. 

A friend said to me, "I hope you've been writing down everything Raffi says," and I did feel sad admitting that I hadn't. Not at all. The thing is, Rafael is verbally so advanced, and it all went so quickly, that I wasn't really able to!

But here, I'll try to make up for that in a small way.

He holds conversations, forms whole sentences, and asks people how they are doing. He also likes to ask people where they were, and where they are going. 

He tells stories about the day, and is beginning to grasp the concept of 'yesterday' and 'tomorrow.'

A few days ago he began saying "I" instead of his name, as in, "I want milk" instead of "Raffi want milk." 

He says "Ich hab dich lieb" ("I love you").

He says 'bitte' ('please') and 'danke' ('thank you').

He understands English, and speaks a little bit of English, although he usually answers in German.

He understands emotions like sad, angry, and happy. Lately, when his father comes home, he says, "Ich freu mich!" ("I'm feeling happy!") Or "Ich bin so glücklich!" ("I'm so happy!")

He uses difficult words like "Sauerstoffmaske" ("oxygen mask"), "Rettungswagen" ("ambulance"), "Kompliziert"("complicated"), "Konzentriert" ("concentrated"), "Lokomotive" ("train"), "Begleiten" ("accompany"), "Reparieren" ("repair")....

He can count to 10 in both English and German.

He knows the entire lyrics to many songs and sings often.

He knows the order in which songs in an album come. In other words, he always knows what song is coming next.

He knows the names of all of his friends, all of their parents, and all of the local dogs. When he meets someone new, he always wants to know their name. 

He knows the names of all of the rooms in our home. If he asks where a toy of his is, and you say it's in his room or the living room, he knows where to look.

He knows about death. We found a dead pigeon, and a dog we knew died. I tried to explain that being dead means you go to sleep and don't wake up. I wasn't really sure how else to explain it to a two year old. He sometimes says things like, "The pigeon died. Mama did not die, and Papa did not die. I also didn't die." 

He remembers who gave him gifts. Even months later, he'll pick up a toy and say who gave it to him.

He understands big and small, up and down, light and dark, inside and outside, loud and quiet, near and far, old and fresh/new, and right and left. 

He adores his cousins, who are 3 and 6 years old. He asks about them all the time and loves spending time with them.

He sleeps in his own bed and room. His father reads him three books at bedtime and then he gets a bottle. Lately he prefers to have me put him to sleep, and my right arm always has to be naked so that he can stroke it while he falls asleep. Sometimes he doesn't say a word at bedtime, and other times he goes on and on about his day. 

Some funny things he has said lately:

About a mean-looking jack-o-lantern we saw on a walk: "That pumpkin is scolding us!"

About his uncle's cast after he broke his arm: "You have a huge band-aide on!"

About his babysitter's hair when she arrived with her hair up for the first time: "Tina, you have a new haircut!"

To me yesterday: "I'm very big, Mama. I'm already as big as you! You're very small." 

To a woman who was walking her pug: "Where is your second dog?" This is funny because almost everyone we know has two dogs, so he seems to think dogs only come in twos!

About a bald man jogging by: "That man is wearing a helmet." 

Rafael's father told him he had to head to the office. Rafael said he wants to go too. His father said, "You would be very bored there, I just sit at a computer." Now Rafael says often to me, "Papa is at the office, sitting." 

Yesterday at the zoo, there was an announcement saying "Attention, little Tim is looking for his father. He can be picked up at the information booth." Rafael was very concerned and kept saying to me, "The father is lost! The child lost his father!" I had to tell him again and again that everything was fine, and the boy had found his 'lost' father again.

Raffi's favorite thing to do in the evenings is crank up the heaters in his room and then run around naked until bath time.

Every time he hurts himself, he demands a band-aide, even if he isn't bleeding. And when he gets upset and cries about something, he says he wants to lay down and sleep.

He asks a million questions, especially about what we just did, or what we are about to do. He makes me repeat very often who we saw, where we were, what we did, what happened. Or where we are going, who will be there, what we will do there. Sometimes it can be exhausting how many questions he asks!

I am sure after hitting 'publish' I will remember many more things that this boy says and does. I am glad I finally recorded a few of them...I know I will be so grateful later, looking back, remembering this point in time. 

xoxoxo Love from a very proud Mommy.