It started with the superheroes. Ivan declared Green Lantern and Hulk to be the Green Team. Then they let Joker join. Soon he had green dinosaurs, plastic food, trolls, stuffed animals, vehicles and his water bottle. He put on his hat with green on it so he could join Green Team.
Ivan has gotten very into imaginative play based on favorite videos and books.
I have used his desires to motivate him to leave the house. Ivan would not leave home to get his sister. However, Linny would put on his shoes and get in the Flyboat (car) because the Wonderpets need to go to preschool to pick-up Ming Ming (Ezri) and rescue a baby frog.
He often corrects his grown-ups when they mistakenly call him Ivan. It goes like this.
A; Let’s go, Ivan.
i: You mean Spider-man.
A: Right, let’s go, Spider-man.
Dynamic Duo Inverted
This is a list of some the dynamic duo alter-egos that I have running around the house these days when Ezri and Ivan play together.
Annie (or Sludge) and Nate the Great (Amanda gets to be Rosamund)
Dora and Boots (a parent is usually Swiper)
Daphne and Scooby Doo (Eric is usually Shaggy. Amanda gets to be a monster.)
Pinky Dinky Doo and Little Brother Tyler
Henry and Annie (Amanda gets to be the drooly dog Mudge)
Twilight Sparkle and Spike the Dragon
Dot (the Warner Sister) and Yacko (the Warner Brother)
Pinky and the Brain
The Pink Flash and Spider-man
Sully (or a Pink) and Mike Wazowski (Amanda gets to be Dean Hardscrabble. Eric gets to be Randall.)
Cow Mom and Cow Baby (Amanda gets to be Cow Grandma)
Ming Ming and Linny
Uniqua and Pablo
Sunflower the Robot and Basil the Robot (Amanda is Dandelion the Robot and Eric is Creeping Charlie the Robot)
Katerina Kittycat and Daniel Tiger
Big sister ninja and Little brother ninja
Elsa and Olaf (Amanda gets to be Sven or Anna.)
Starfire and Robin (Amanda gets to be Raven.)
Underdog and Sweet Polly Squirmbread
Ivan and Ezri like to turn Ezri’s bed into a puppet theater for performances.
And, in an attempt to be fair, Eric tried to fly the bigger kid.
Was it Baby Cory?
Or Ivan?
Ivan is getting pretty good at helping put together puzzles.
This Dinosaur Puzzle is a recent favorite. He likes to “ROAR” as he works on this one. He says, “I did it!” and raises his arm in triumph whenever he gets a piece in. So, puzzles are not a quiet activity for Ivan.
Here he’s at work and roaring.
Here is an “I did it” moment.
Another “I did it.”
Here he is posing with his completed effort.
He likes breaking the puzzle apart, so it didn’t last long on the floor before we’d broken it back into pieces.
Bucket and watering can are used to fill this whatever-it-is that I found at a garage sale.
The toy ponies have a waterslide. Ivan and Ezri are splashing together peacefully. Previous morning squabbles are forgotten.
What’s this a disturbance in the peace? Plenty of water and plenty of ponies, but only one super awesome ladle.
Ezri “I need to use that to make the waterslide for the ponies.”
Ivan “No mine. NO MINE.”
Ezri “Ivan, I need it!”
Ivan doesn’t need a ladle if you give him a hammer. Peace returns. Well, peace and a whole lot of splashing.
Ivan believes that he can do anything his big sister can. And he’s ready to try.
Yesterday at the park, Ezri was on the swings. Ivan was in the baby swing and was getting fussy. He pointed at the empty big kid swing next to Ezri. Eric held him on the swing and his smile got huge. He wanted to swing in the swings Ezri uses. It did not matter that he would fall out if an adult did not hold him there.
Here he is on Ezri’s stepstool helping with the dishes.
He loves climbing and he loves climbing this stepstool because Ezri uses it all the time. If she can climb it, so can he.
Ezri was picking grape tomatoes from our garden and eating them.
Ivan crawled over and into the dirt and picked a green tomato and proceeded to eat it.
If Ezri can do it, so can he.
Ezri was throwing the target ball of our bocce set.
If Ezri can do it, Ivan wants to. Here’s his attempt.
Here are Ezri and Ivan working on a crayon project together. Ivan was actually holding crayons and making marks. He is smart and talented and as the second kid is trying things earlier than our first did. There are two reasons for that. This first is that we already have the things for a toddler in the house like crayons, sippy cups and stepstools. The second is that he has Ezri as his example of what is possible. Seeing me do something does not convince Ivan he can do it. But if Ezri can do something or eat something, Ivan wants to as well.
This crayon project time fell apart when Ivan started eating the green crayon and Ezri got upset about the possible loss. The green crayon still works with teeth marks.
The backyard wading pool is pretty darn fun.
This week featured baby’s first ear infection.
Ezri did a great job helping take Ivan to the doctor.
Ivan has been loving playing with all kinds of rolling balls lately.
He does something I call “baby soccer” which involves following a rolling ball and then knocking it until it rolls more and crawling after it again.
He has discovered that some balls bounce. Tennis balls are a current favorite. This means mostly that he will throw anything round towards the ground to see if it bounces. Look out oranges!
He is a super crawler though showing no sign that walking is something he needs to do.
He can get where he needs to with crawling and loves to climb over anything in his path.
He is also enjoying getting everything out of the toy box, kitchen cabinets he can reach, Ezri’s art supply bin, and any other container he’s allowed to unpack.
He discovered how to unwind the toilet paper roll and really likes taking paper and tearing it into confetti. His sister leaves him dirty tissues and it’s like his favorite present. We are working on getting all dirty tissues to the trashcan, but a few strays seem to always be about.
Ivan has outgrown his infant bathtub and now bathes in the big tub, but his old bath tub is a great indoor splash pond.
Ezri got out her plastic fish and fishing polls. She added water to the pool and a nearby bowl (the small pool). When the fish got hungry, I let Ezri feed them cheerios. Ivan enjoyed fish tossing, water splashing and eating soggy cheerios. This worked well for siblings to play together which was really nice to see.
Ivan has decided he can ask for whatever Ezri is eating by banging the table. Last week he tried and really enjoyed macaroni and cheese. Hard-boiled egg was not as much his thing. He likes oyster crackers and cheerios. Yogurt remains his favorite food. Last week I had this idea I could get a yogurt parfait and then feed him baby food while Ezri was in class. He looked at me pointed at the yogurt and pushed the baby food onto the floor. Sometimes it is hard to figure out what Ivan is trying to tell me. Other times it is clear. We shared the yogurt parfait.