We didn't really have a Terrible Twos phase to speak of. Nothing that really stood out. So maybe skipping that part has made the next stage 10 times worse. The dreaded..... THREENAGER!!!
Dexter is a confident, free thinker. And now he is using that against us. His new favourite word is no! His new second home is out in the naughty corner. We've used it more in the past few months than we did in the years prior. He loves pushing the boundaries with us. But the reality is, that is the only way for him to know where the boundaries are. It's all part of one big-ass learning curve.
And whilst he is getting really good at testing our patience, he is also blossoming in lots of other really positive respects....
So, a few months ago our beautiful daughter Rayna came into our lives and Dexter was left adjusting to life with a new sister. No longer was he an only child. The baby. Now he had to grow up, learn how to share, be more patient, wait his turn. And over the last three months he has demonstrated all of the above, ten-fold! He is an awesome big brother. So caring, considerate and loving.
It's hard not to feel like sometimes he is getting brushed off or pushed to the back of the queue when it comes to getting my attention. But he gets it. He totally gets it! He doesn't make us feel bad about it or punish us for it. And he has never shown a shred of jealousy or resentment towards her. We couldn't be happier with how their bond is developing right before our very eyes.
And in-keeping with his new role as the grown up big bro, Dexter's has undergone a lot of growing up these past few months.
Dexter's room had a makeover last month. Our (not so) little giant (at 3ft 3in tall) was outgrowing his toddler bed and babyish theme in his room so it was time to upgrade to a full size single bed and a more appropriate décor...
Having a bigger bed means we get to snuggle in together at bedtime now for stories. It's my new favourite part of the day when we get to cuddle up with a couple of books and share huge hugs & kisses before sleepy time. (He's always telling me that I have to stay there and sleep with him for the night haha)
After Easter, Dexter left his old nursery at Waters Edge and moved to the nursery that is part of the primary school we hope he will be attending next year. It is more conveniently located to utilise the free hours he is entitled to and being able to go four afternoons a week means he isn't stuck at home with mama and bebe all the time. And let me tell you, he LOVES it! He settled in right from the word go, made new friends on the first day and looks forward to going every day.
Dexter is learning so much every day. He amazes us with how much he understands. He is doing so well at developing his speech. When kids say something incorrectly, if it's cute it can be easy to ignore, but we have always made a point of trying to encourage Dexter to pronounce things correctly and recently he has really been trying hard to apply this in every day conversations.
He asks a lot of questions.....
Mostly 'Why?'.....
All. The. Time.
It drives us crazy sometimes, especially when it's an infinite line of questioning. Even when things that don't have an answer to the question Why?. When things just are because they are!! But again, this is all part of his learning curve of life.
And I can't quite pinpoint when it happened, but at some point Dexter decided that it was time to phase out the mummy/daddy and start dropping in a few mum and dad's. Shane is ok with this (although he said Rayna has to call him daddy until the day he dies haha). I, on the other hand am not ready for this and keep telling him he's not allowed to call me mum, it's mummy. Most of the time he'll still call me mummy now :) haha
So yeah, our handsome devil is a little older, wiser and more responsible. He is (for the most part) such a polite, well-mannered and charming individual and we couldn't be prouder of the young man we are raising. Hopefully it means we are doing something right ;)
