Toddlerdom

Ben has always been pretty good at saying "Ta Ta" when he is given something but yesterday he really surprised me by turning around and saying "Thank you!". I was a little taken aback to be honest and a tiny bit disappointed that his baby words are on the way out which signals that my little son is no longer a baby *sigh*. I finally have to admit he is a fully fledged, very willful but wonderful toddler. This in turn started me to question what age a toddler is still a toddler and when exactly are they considered a little boy or little girl so I consulted google and here is what I found.
According to Wikipedia, A toddler is a young child, usually defined as being between the ages of one and three. I have to say I am pleased that Ben can still officially be termed a toddler - I am only just getting used to him no longer being a baby and yes, I do know according to this he has been a toddler for over a year already but it has taken me awhile to accept it. As I read on I found this article really interesting. I am a firm believer that children do things at their own pace and hit the expected milestones when they are good and ready but I also think it is important to be aware of the expectations and I have to say the overview table in this wikipedia article sums it up well so it is definitely worth a look if this is something of interest to you.
It is crazy how fast and how much babies and toddlers learn and achieve in their first few years, no wonder they need at least one nap during the day! I have found when you are around your little one everyday, it is sometimes easy to take what they are doing for granted and not always recognize that they are actually exhibiting increased development in areas and little things like hugging a teddy to show affection is an emotional development milestone, as sorting toys is a mental milestone and turning pages in a book is a physical one. There is so much happening so quickly - it really is a very special and exciting time.
I love playing with Ben and watching how he plays with his toys. I have noticed recently that the way in which he plays with some of the toys he has had since he was about a year old has changed quite a lot. He now wants to tell stories with them, it is like his imagination has sprung into action and he puts things from various play sets together and there is a lot more fantasy play. His plastic Upsy Daisy makes imaginary cups of tea and cakes in his rocketship kitchen for us while the little rubber duck bath toy rides up and down the lift of his whizz around garage. He has created a little jungle on our lounge window sill where his giraffe munches on my bonsai tree, the hippo observes and the lion roars. There is no limit to Ben's imagination and everyday there is a new fun fantasy world created. I love it!

Ben and his jungle