The Ins and outs of Toddler life

Since Clark has become a Toddler (I feel like he became a Toddler once he got those molars at about 15 months) I have become fasinated by him.  I mean he has always been fun to watch as he grows but there is something that is so fun about this age that he is in now.  I see Gemma growing as a baby, squawking, cooing, generally being a sweet baby girl, and then her "Toddler" walks into the room and she lights up.  He genuinely makes her laugh, and he seems just as fascinated by her.

Back to Mr.C though. Lately I've loved watching him eat.  He can be really fussy one day and then the next day he is stealing broccoli off of my plate (he takes after me in that regard).  The little bites of food, and the occasional dancing in his chair, the way he takes his time to figure out what he wants to eat.  I get frustrated at times when he won't eat certain things, but other times I sit back and just watch as my little boy eats his food, bit by bit and stops once in a while to ask for more of something.  He hangs out by the fridge a LOT, grazing on food all day, grabbing whichever food he sees in there that catches his eye, occasionally looking up and beyond eye level and seeing his favourite fruit just out of reach, he points and asks for it.

Now when I say "asks for it" I don't mean that he talks, he mumbles, a lot.  He doesn't have a lot of real words yet, he says "Blue, boat, choo choo (train), mama, dada, yes, no, truck, read" and a few others but I'm not trying to get too concerned about his unwillingness to talk.  He clearly understands me, he will make the same noises as we do (when we say Gemma he say Mmm Mma) but it seems like a lot of people keep getting into the habit of telling me he should be "talking by now".  I'm not sure at what point I need to be truely concerned, but I just have to wonder why people think that "He should be talking, he should be potty trained, he should be in a big boy bed etc" by now.  I dont know if he needs to be fully talking or speaking sentences, my pediatrician said to come back in 6 months (after his 2 year appointment) if he really isnt moving along in his speech, but to me, he seems to be doing ok.  He understands us when we ask him to do things, he will clean up after himself (sometimes), he will bring Gemmas pacifier to her if she needs it, and he will ask us to read to him if he brings us a book. He isn't ready to be potty trained, he won't tell us if he has messed up his diaper, and sitting him on the potty has only really caused him to chill out there, and then go bm in his diaper once it's back on.  I don't think I'm even that concerned about his crib.  He hasn't tried to climb or or scale the side of it, he is content to hang out in his crib, jumping up and down before, during and after his nap, the Dr said that if he's happy in there, keep him in there for a little bit longer.

I know my mom said that I was "potty trained at 21 months", but was I really, or is that a wonderful memory that has been made up as the years went by.  I am also a girl and by all accounts everyone says girls are easier to train.
I suppose I shouldn't get too worried about what people think, most of the people who are giving me "advice" are people who I have met in passing, and don't really know how my life, or my kids are. 

For now, I will sit back and watch my toddler, eating his strawberries, playing with his trains, and sitting by himself on the couch "reading" a book to himself (seriously, it's adorable).