She Will Achieve Great Things

 

This child. Our child. Our sweet Little Pumpkin. (Which, if you read this post, you know she is not all that innocent and sweet all the time!) Maybe I am completely unfamiliar with just how much she should be achieving at this age. But, lately I feel like she is a bit too smart for not even being two years old! Or, are we being biased, and deep down extremely proud, in thinking that she is very smart when in reality, she is achieving all the same things that other not-quite-two kiddos are doing? Trust me, I know that all kids develop at their own rate, so you can't put them into a cookie-cutter stereotype, but I think Little Pumpkin could maybe slow down just a bit! At her current rate, I do believe she is going to achieve great things in her life! Allow me to share some of her most recent achievements, and then you can tell me, "Oh, that's normal for her age! She's just a normal kid like everyone else!"

First up: Opening doors. Not the easy, lever-style door handles that you can open with your elbow; legitimate door knobs. One day a couple of weeks ago, I had somehow managed to visit the bathroom without Little Pumpkin, and she was distraught over being left behind. I heard her come fussing down the hall, and then it was quiet. Next thing I know...

"Hiiiieeee!!!" The latched door swung open and, with great cheer, there was Little Pumpkin on her stool (which is really a table for her little chair) swinging in to greet me. All by herself. And the rest of my bathroom experience included her repeatedly closing and opening the door, swinging in with, "Hiiiieeee!!!!"

We had known the door opening ability was not too far off as she would stretch to try and reach the door knob, but could never quite reach them to get a good enough grip to do more than just jiggle the knob. Ever since that day in the bathroom, either she has physically grown, or her confidence has grown, because she can now miraculously reach all the door knobs, and open them. Without a stool.

The other recent activity, which really did kind of blow my mind, was turning on the kitchen sink faucet. It is no secret that this girl loves water. I think she would play in water all day if she could. Lately, I have been letting her play in the second sink whenever I wash dishes. She always wants to play in running water, though, and has been stretching to try and reach the faucet. But, once again, she is too short. And, I wouldn't allow her to climb onto the counter to reach it. (Trust me, she tried.) She would try to compensate by pulling the sprayer hose down to her side of the sink, but that doesn't magically turn on the water.

One afternoon, I had set her up to play in the sink so that I could maybe make supper without having a very willing helper attached at the elbow. After a short while, I thought I heard the faucet running and briefly thought, "That's weird." I turned around to check and what did I see....

There was Little Pumpkin filling up her bowl with water. I was a bit confused as to how she had gotten the water turned on. I went over to turn it off and told her, "No more water." Then I went back to what I was doing. And, it happened again. This time, after I turned off the water, I backed up and waited to observe this new phenomenon. She couldn't physically reach the faucet handle - she's too short. So how is she turning the water on?

This is what I observed: Little Pumpkin picked up her big green bowl that she had just filled with water, and dumped it out. And then.....

She turned the bowl upside down, lifted it over the faucet handle, and pulled it towards her to turn on the water!!! Guys, she's not even two yet; should she really have this good of analytical thinking skills?!?!

Since that day, she has continued to try and s-t-r-e-t-c-h to reach and turn on the kitchen faucet, but can't quite get it. And then she turns to her new method for leverage:

Just hook it....

...and pull.

11 months old

Little Pumpkin has always been very ambitious, in my opinion, even in the basic things such as crawling, pulling herself up, walking, climbing, etc. She started trying to climb in the pantry when she was about ten months old. This summer she has gotten exceptionally good at climbing the rock wall on the swing-set, and walking up the slide. All by herself. Not only is she a very determined little lady, but she really does seem to have some good analytical thinking skills that she puts to use to achieve whatever she sets out to do. Such as the activities mentioned above, as well as: The kitchen rug keeps her from being able to scoot the chair up to the sink, so before she brings the chair over she pulls the rug out of the way; Using her booster-seat chair for additional height to reach the upper cupboards; Using the round cabinet knobs as a foot-hold to climb high enough to turn on the bathroom sink faucets (of which she has been instructed not to do either of those actions...). She never ceases to amaze us at the activities that she chooses to do, and finds a way to achieve. And, maybe all of these feats are very normal at all of the ages she has achieved them. Even so, I think this Little Pumpkin has the drive, and ability, to achieve great things in her life. And every time that I observe her in action, I am reminded that I can either help to hone her skills and pursue those things that she sets out to do in life, or I can hold her back and dampen her spirit, her confidence, and her belief in herself.

That is a daunting thought. I have to remind myself multiple times every single day that my every action, every training moment, every activity,  every reaction, and every word I speak will play a part in how she continues to develop, grow, and pursue life from now through adulthood. Not just in the every day routine of life, or work, or play, but also in a spiritual walk of faith in Christ that I hope she will choose to pursue. I do believe that Little Pumpkin has the potential to achieve great things, whether it's in a hobby, a job, being a friend, being single or married, or pursuing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. But I, as her parent, have the great potential to be one of the biggest influences on her life. I have the opportunity to guide her, encourage her, and help her to channel all of her God-given abilities - drive, determination, analytical thinking, kindness, generosity, chatter-box vibrancy, and much more - into whatever she does. And, even though it feels like a very daunting task, and that she is achieving way too much, too fast as a toddler, I want for her to achieve great things. It is my hope and prayer for Little Pumpkin that she will always achieve great things in every aspect of her life!