Only a Mother

I'm not usually a bragger, but when it comes to my kids, watch out! I am one proud Mama!

Tonight I was catching up on some email and had a chance to read an article on babycenter.com, a website I've used a quick-reference tool for the past couple of years. The article was about "Milestones Between 25 and 30 Months".

Here is a chart that was in the article:

Child's Age	Mastered Skills (most kids can do)	Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)	Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
25 and 26 months	• Stacks six blocks • Walks with smooth heel-to-toe motion	• Uses pronouns (e.g., I, me, you) • Washes and dries own hands	• Speaks clearly most of the time • Draws a vertical line
27 and 28 months	• Jumps with both feet • Opens doors	• Understands descriptions (e.g., big, soft) • Draws a vertical line	• Starts to recognize ABCs • Balances on one foot
29 and 30 months	• Brushes teeth with help • Washes and dries own hands • Draws a vertical line	• Draws a circle • Balances on one foot	• Puts on a T-shirt • Names one color • Names one friend

I started reading through the chart to see what Anders can do and what we should be looking for in the next few months.

Here's how we "measure up":
Stacks 6 blocks (try 20+ regularly)
Walks smoothly (he's running at full speed with no trouble)
Uses pronouns (sometimes...mostly it's "Anders do it" or "Mommy do it")
Washes and dries hands (ok, so not so great in this area--it's tough to get him to do it, but he can when we force him--typical boy--would rather be dirty than clean!)
Speaks clearly (yes, it's a little scary what he can repeat, too)
Draws a vertical line (not sure about this one--we don't sit still long enough to color)
Jumps with feet (yes, all the time, off of couches, curbs, chairs, etc...)
Opens doors (yes, sadly, and can undo the lock on the front door...thankfully we have a screen door that is impossible for adults to even open!)
Understands descriptions (yes and yes)
Starts to recognize ABC's (ok, so here's my real bragging--he knows ALL of his letters, what sounds they make, can recognize them all over the house, when we're driving, etc...and he knows the ABC song all by himself)
Balances on one foot (yes)
Brushes teeth with help (yes)
Draws a circle (see "draws a vertical line")
Puts on a t-shirt (for the most part)
Names one color (yes--quite a few with about 75% accuracy)
Names one friend (also a bragging point for me. He knows, recognizes and can name 50+ people in person and/or in pictures. Sometimes at night while he's falling asleep we here him going through his "roladex" of people. He can also put families together--if we name one member of the family, he names the rest)

And these are what he's supposed to be doing by 30 months. He just turned 24 months on Saturday!

Here's my conclusion: either Anders is WAY advanced or this chart's expectations are really low.
We'll go with a combination of both.