"Ow! Dat Hurt Me!"

Hobbes technically turned two on March 19th, but today he decided to definitively assert his "two-ness." There have been hints of it for the past week or so, but today left no doubt. Somehow, Calvin seemed to skip much of the mischievous scheming of the two's, but I should have known Hobbes, with his charming looks and adventurous personality, would be another story.

I left them playing today, as I often do, while I put away some laundry. Calvin headed off to the bathroom and Hobbes toddled after him. Seconds later, I heard, "No, Hobbes! Mommy! Mommy! Hobbes is trying to put the cars in the potty!" Fortunately, Hobbes loves following his brother enough that he ran out of the bathroom after him, cars in hand and full confession ready.

At another point, I heard Calvin yelling, "No, Hobbes! Don't tear the book!" I ran in to see Hobbes almost ready to tear the pages of a book. When I told him we don't tear books, he looked back at me, turned around, and started to tear the page. I quickly grabbed the book from him and gave him a time out.

Those are just two of the many instances of testing the boundaries or looking for trouble today. Let me just say that I am thankful Calvin is so conscientious and that his brother copies everything he does at this stage. Otherwise, I would be in much worse trouble. I dread the mornings when Calvin is at Chinese school, and the nights where he falls asleep before Hobbes, like tonight. Currently Hobbes is out of his bed, playing with toys and heading for an unpleasant encounter with Daddy.

The most classic two-year-old moment of the day happened just a bit earlier. Hobbes was is in his bed looking for an excuse to get out. He managed to hurt his lip somehow, and screamed, "Ow! Dat hurt me!" When I went back to settle him down, he began banging his head against the rails, and crying, "Ow! Dat hurt me!", then looking up calmly to see if that was a good way to get out of bed.

If he thinks faking injuries is a good way to get out of going to bed, this kid is gonna be trouble. He might not be the only one who goes through this stage screaming, "Ow! Dat hurt me!"