The Baal Teshuva Diaries

 Two year olds are insane.  I know this isn't exactly late- breaking news.  My 2yo son started camp yesterday.   It's great to get him out of the house. But, he comes home from camp at 2:45, not having napped.  I am not putting a two year old down for a nap at 2:45.  I don't want to be dealing with said two year old at 10pm.  Been there, done that. My first was anti-sleep. I didn't sleep for the better part of a year and blame a lot of blog posts here on sleep deprivation.  Anyway, 2 YO, let's call him Dov, has a fun feature.  The more tired Dov gets, the more hyperactive he gets. And the LESS coordinated he gets.  As a former toddler teacher I know that this is not exactly a unique feature.  Other two year olds have been doing this since time immemorial.  Just not my first two year old. And so, therefore, not the model that all other two year olds must be compared to.  Anyway, those of us keeping track, my first is three....

 My toddler has a new skill.  And it's actually a useful one! *  This morning while she was dumping out my purse, as one does, she came across an old lesson plan I no longer have use for.  It was all crumpled up.  She brought it over to me, waving, because she loves paper.  "Can you put that in the garbage?" I asked.   Miss nineteen months and not all that verbal, looked at me, ran straight into the kitchen, opened the garbage, and threw out the lesson plan.  I praised her and rewarded her with her favorite thing "Nana".  It means banana.  Jokes on my mother in law, who insisted on being called "Nanna".  If you guys had just let us make you bubbe and zaide like we wanted, this never would have happened.   Anyway, it's a big deal.  Now we have two people in the house who occasionally throw their garbage out.   This is a parenting blog now.  (*most of her skills are havoc-based)