Mama-Come-Lately

You think everything can be fixed with tape or new batteries, even things that don’t take batteries. You also seem to intentionally rip the flaps on your lift-the-flap book so that you can help Mama fix it with pieces of tape that end up anywhere but on the rip.

You are increasingly resistant to diaper changes, often announcing “no diaper today” during the first change of the day.

You are inclined to pinch or scratch Mama (and to a lesser extent, Daddy) when you are tired, sick or wound up. This earns you a stern “you may not hurt Mama” and a short stretch of being ignored.

You have developed a strong distaste for the changing table, but a simple change of venue (a/k/a changing you on the floor or in the living room) has you happy about getting clean again.

You were recently scared away from a piece of playground equipment by an older boy who rushed up as you were getting on it. After that, you whined “no” at every kid who came within 15 feet of you — including infants in strollers.

You got to know your cousins during a recent visit. By the end of it, you were kissing one of them, and letting both of them hug you.

You grew to like your uncle Dave so well during that same visit that you were demanding his finger by the end of it. His willingness to hoist you over his head a dozen times in a row may have had something to do with your esteem for him.

You experienced your first fist bump — with your doctor, during your two-year checkup.