The cusp of two is such a magical age. New words every day. Stories emerging through play. Capable little hands working alongside me. Limits tested, physical challenges accepted. Favourite stories asked for by name.
I’m breathing a sigh of relief that Birdie is approaching two years old, and finally able to communicate with us better. I find it hard to have tiny, fragile babies with mysterious needs, even when they don’t have health complications or serious illnesses. Of course, I’m pining a bit for newborn days, but with Birdie the first year of his life was really a blur of worry and stress. I’m a little sad to see the baby days well and truly disappear, but I am celebrating my amazing toddler and loving the phase we’re in.
Birdie really plays with toys - something A has never done - and I’ve taken such delight in choosing a few gifts for his birthday. His likes are so definite: anything with wheels; dolls and soft toys; and things that fit together or connect. Recently he’s loved challenging physical play, like jumping on the trampoline and figuring out the climbing frame. We have lots of learning materials and plenty of building toys, so I wanted to choose a few things that would really spark his imagination.
We would usually opt for an experience rather than a gift for birthdays, but that’s not possible at the moment, so we’ve selected a few ‘big’ toys for him that we can use in the garden and in different rooms of the house.
His love for tractors continues unabated, so we’ve chosen a 1:16 scale Bruder tractor and tipping trailer, with a harrow attachment. All of the Bruder trucks and tractors are realistic and have interchangeable parts, and I know he’ll love gathering up grass and tipping it out. I’ve also gotten him a Brio front loader for his train tracks, and a small car with a hitch and a caravan, since he likes connecting things, although I’m already a bit disappointed with the quality of these.
I’ve also bought a new Wobbel board for Birdie. We had one for a while when A was two, and he never used it, so we moved it on to make space for other toys. Birdie plays completely differently and he’s loved using friends’ boards, so we figured lockdown was a good time to replace it.
He has been talking about rabbits and pigs a lot - his favourite stuffed toy right now is a small pig, and he is usually carrying around one of his small wooden Ostheimer rabbits, so we’ve gotten him a Maileg rabbit and a wooden spotty pig. He uses his soft toys and wooden animals in all sorts of games, and we keep a basket of each downstairs and in the boys’ bedroom. Now that he’s two, he’s also got his very own pair of preschool scissors.
We’ve also gotten a peg geoboard with rubber bands. Both boys will use it, I’m sure, so I’ve opted for a larger size than I might usually prefer for a young toddler. After he learns to stretch bands around the pegs, I’ll make simple shape cards.
Our plans for his special day are simple: making a a cake together, playing with his new toys, and video chatting with grandparents. It’s all a toddler needs to feel special.