So what exactly are we, as parents, so worried about as our kids move into this age of activity?
Here's Little Nio demonstrating his skills at climbing stairs. He's been climbing stairs for several months now, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's any good at it, or that he's mastered this task. We live in a 3-storey row house, which means lots of stairs — which in turn translates into lots of opportunities to fall down.
As if climbing up stairs is not enough to worry about, there are the various pieces of furniture that offer the same opportunities. Specifically the opportunity to climb... and the possibility of falling down. Here's Little Nio clambering up our couch in the family room. Now we don't mind that our Little Nio falls down and learns what it means to pick yourself up again, but there are some falls we learn from and others we might not be able to get past.
And then of course there is the attitude. It is best seen in that spark of adventure, mixed with a dash of mischief and a streak of defiance. Little Nio has all these qualities in generous measures.
Another worry is that kids at this age will want to touch everything and test how strong they are... and more often than not these tensile strength tests result in some things getting broken. Here's Little Nio sitting on top of my computer workstation, with lots of stuff he shouldn't be touching... all within easy reach.
I figured that if he's able to satisfy his curiosity, he might not be too inclined to explore this place too frequently. I may be very wrong in this assumption though.
And then there are the social skills of two-year-olds, which are still very much in their formative years.
On Makha Bucha day, we decided to take our son to visit a temple. Above is photograph of a temple very near to our village. Even though Little Nio is baptized a Catholic, there is absolutely no reason why he cannot pay his respects in a Buddhist temple. We thought that it would be good for him to imbibe a spirit of calm within the walls of a holy place.
Here's Little Nio with his Mommy and his aunt, Pa Kut. It looks like he's more curious that anything else.
At the first opportunity that presented itself, Little Nio decide to start climbing up to the Buddha images. We were able to pull him down before he got too high up and before any offense was made, or even before anything got destroyed. I guess he thought he would get closer to his Buddhist roots.
One skill that our young man has been able to master is the art of stuffing face. Little Nio has never been picky with his food. He eats fruits and vegetables, and will try anything at least once just to find out what it tastes like.
After the temple we all went over to this community shopping area called Bon Marché, where we sat down to enjoy some snacks at Daddy Dough. You can see that Little Nio has no problem devouring doughnuts.
Another worry we have as parents moving into the terrible-twos, is that Little Nio has no fear. So things like going very fast and the possibility of a nasty spill are no deterrent at all.
Here's Little Nio on his little red toy car zooming past the dining table, he takes sharp turns at every corner without flipping over and makes this room a mini racing circuit.
The weather is getting warm again, and we find ourselves drawn to the poolside in the afternoon. Little Nio loves the water and he is not at all afraid of getting wet or the possibility of swallowing too much water.
Little Nio can be quite a handful, but he has good fun in the swimming pool and really enjoys himself. The exercise is good and it helps tone his muscles and starts to give him better coordination.
Later in the evening, we went out to dinner to meet up with visiting Fraternity brothers from the Upsilon Sigma Phi.
Here we all are gathered around a table at Silom Village, from left-to-right: Franco Navarro '87, Nio Navarro (Batch '25?), Tong Puno '65, Louie Kierulf '68, Ray Orozco '65, Benny Fulgencio '65 and Doy Santos '75.
As you can see here, Little Nio is more interested in dinner than in the fellowship with our distinguished visitors, comprised of the the incumbent president and board members of the USPAA (Upsilon Sigma Phi Alumni Association).
Here we all are again, this time joined by my wife, Kanittha. We had a great evening together, but unfortunately Little Nio was distracted by the dance performance on stage that I was unable to fully enjoy the fellowship with my brothers.
So those are the things we have to be aware of as Little Nio grows up and into the "Terrible Twos".
