Don’t get me wrong.

I love all of my grandchildren, at every age they have traveled through.

But there’s something special about a 2-year-old.

For one thing, it’s their excitement about the world. When was the last time I even noticed a plane flying in the sky? Yet, Asher, my just-turned-2 grandson, not only hears the airplane but also sees it, wiggles and points, laughs and shouts, “plane! plane!”

It’s watching them with amazement as they understand exactly what you are saying, but can’t say the words themselves.  Try saying “Asher, it’s time for a nap,” and you’ll see him run out of the room saying, “No! No! No!”

Or seeing their personality traits develop. Like when Asher’s sister was sweeping up some spilled sand, and Asher ran to get his own little broom to help.

It’s seeing their preferences come to life. Last weekend, I was serving Asher breakfast. I placed some scrambled eggs on his highchair tray, and he promptly shoved them away while saying “no.” I gave him some goldfish crackers, which he loves. Again, it was a push-away and a  “no.” Hmm. I asked him what he wanted, and he told me “nana” which is Asher-speak, and probably most baby-speak, for banana. He was happy.

It’s after bathtime when they are squeaky clean and smell so fresh. When they want to run around naked and have you chase them to put on their pajamas – because it’s just fun.

It’s walking into their bedroom in the morning and seeing them smile and raise their arms to be picked up when they see you.

One of the very best things about a 2-year-old is that they still let you rock them to sleep. I spent last weekend with our son and his family, so I was able to put Asher to bed at night. One night his parents went out on a date, and Asher was a bit sad about not being able to go along. When it was time for bed, I changed him and then sat down in his bedroom rocking chair to follow the exact nightly routine his parents follow. He sat on my lap, we rocked, and I read a book to him while he turned the pages. Then he turned around in my lap, so he was facing me, laid against my chest, and put his head on my shoulder…. This.

After wiggling and getting comfy in my lap, Asher was ready for a song. He was a little tearful, so the first thing that popped into my head was “Hush, little baby, don’t say a word…”

Do you remember the rest of the words?

“Hush, little baby, don’t say a word.
Mama’s gonna buy you a Mockingbird…”

When I got to the 2nd line, Asher put his hands on my chest, pushed away from me, and with tears in his eyes, he looked right into mine and said, “Mama, Mama.”

Oh, my gosh. Why didn’t I think to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Jesus Loves Me?

I quickly changed my tune (pun intended) and he calmed down and was ready for bed shortly thereafter.

If your mind goes blank when it’s time for you to sing a nursery song, Pampers.com has a list of 25 Lullabys to sing to a baby. And do you know “Hush Little Baby” is song #4?  When I first saw that I wanted to send them a link to this post. But after reading the entire description, I see that they included this:

The melody is easy for any parent to master. In addition, dads can sing it, too—just switch out “mama” with “dada.”

I think they should add “grandma” to that sentence too. Or maybe I just should have thought of that on my own. Next time I certainly will.

Nah, I think I”ll stick with Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It’s just safer.