
The latest verbally informative bits of communication coming from from the Buddha though are very helpful to us - probably more so than anything else he's said to date, really...
Atm the moment he is busy dividing the world into two categories; the one where he proclaims his favour, "I LIKE this, it's yummy/funny!", and the other one where he proclaimed his disfavour, "I DON'T like this!!!"
Sometimes, when his mouth is full and he can't physically talk, he merely pats me on the forearm and once he has my eyes, he gives me the thumbs up! He persists in giving me the thumbs up and bringing my attention to this until I respond correctly, which is to return his thumbs up!

Oh, and I have a "thing", you know, one of those "things" that is a secret game between you and your toddler that makes almost anything and everything better! Our thing is to sing songs and nursery rhymes, and we have quite a repetoire going, and if he is frustrated or getting cranky, and especially on busy busses going to and from the boys' school, I will go through our current list of titles, until he says yes. So, it'll go something like,
Me: Do you want me to sing you a song?
B: Ye-es (in a sad little voice)
Me: Ok, what about the rainbow song?
B: Nuh
Me: Humpty Dumpty?
B: Nuh
Me: Incy Wincy Spider?
B: Nuh, Frog!
Me: The Frog Song?
B: Yes!
And then I'll get in right close to his ear and sing the frog song so only he can hear it, and after he might like more songs, or he might feel better and not need more songs, but it always makes things better!
It's great having a "thing"!

One unexpected positive I hadn't considered is that Erik and Luey are really keen to help Bryn figure out how to use the potty. And of course, anything they want to do is WAY COOL with him! And I have two more sets of eyes to spot accidents (well, on the weekend). I'm feeling confident that this will be a relatively easy transition for Bryn, compared to either Erik or Luey (who were both twice his age before they stopped using nappies during the day...
I had been thinking about Bryn going to some form of daycare or something once he turns three, partly because I'm hoping to have #4 around then, and I would love to have a two-three hours a week alone with the baby. I really enjoyed having Bryn to myself a lot more than I did with poor little Luey... Anyway, of course, having anyone else care for my baby is not something I've EVER done before, and so I've been umming and ahhing over it a LOT... Then, this week, it turns out that Jayne is applying for a casual position as a daycare assistant at the NH that we have our playgroup at. If Jayne does this job, then I could put Bryn in care there knowing that he already knows Jayne really well, and Sienna too (he loves Sienna) and that if he was upset Jayne would not only be very sensitive to him but would tell me honestly! It would be a perfect way to find out if he'd be ok with this sort of arrangement, and until the baby arrives, I could use those morning to be a class helper in Erik and Luey's classes, just one street away! So, everyone would benefit!