Terrible Twos

Terrible Twos: Fire in her belly

By Pip Jones, May 23, 2012

The funny thing about the name of this column is that Ruby has never really been very Terrible at all. As far as big tantrums go, hers have been so few and far between I could probably count them on, oh I don't know, half a hand.

Terrible Twos: Our invisible snail

By Pip Jones, May 16, 2012

We have another invisible creature in our house. Some time ago (and still now, once in a while,) Ruby's big sister Ava introduced us to her invisible kitten.

Terrible Twos: Hamming it up

By Pip Jones, May 9, 2012

Ruby seems to have realised, just recently, that within her lies the potential to alter people's behaviour towards her. She has discovered play acting.

Terrible Twos: The genius

By Pip Jones, May 4, 2012

We all have moments when we believe our Terrible Two is bordering on genius, and it's a lovely feeling, the pride welling up when you see them doing something amazing.

Terrible Twos: The dandelolly

By Pip Jones, Apr 25, 2012

I'm happy to admit I'm not the best gardener in the world. I try to do a good impression of a good gardener, by pulling up things that look like weeds (might not be) but meanwhile I am often failing miserably at remembering to water some plants or trim (no... prune, prune!) the dead bits off others.

Terrible Twos: Hats off to (everyone else's) Easter bonnets

By Pip Jones, Apr 11, 2012

Our terrible twos columnist talks about the panic of forgetting a fancy dress costume for a nursery event. Although it turns out, that was the least of the nursery’s worries

Terrible Twos: My little basket case

By Pip Jones, Apr 4, 2012

Like any mother of a two-year-old, I regularly find myself gazing at Ruby and thinking "oh my goodness, you are unbelievably gorgeous". And she is, she really is. So I can't help but wonder why she feels the need to wear a bin on her head.

Terrible Twos: May I have your attention, please

By Pip Jones, Mar 29, 2012

I have written a little about Ruby's evolving language skills here before, but I realised yesterday that she's not only learning new words all the time, she is also learning how using them a certain way can get her exactly what she wants. To start with, I'll explain that Ru's most overused word, bar none, is: “Cuddle?”

Terrible Twos: Deal or no deal?

By Pip Jones, Mar 21, 2012

Other than the very impressive manoeuvre of stuffing an entire purloined fairy cake into her mouth before I can stop her (which she became proficient in ages ago), I think there's one skill that Ruby has nailed particularly early.

Terrible Twos: Say it again

By Pip Jones, Mar 14, 2012

Perhaps, once they have become quite confident communicating verbally, there comes a time when two-year-olds realise they just love the sound of their own voice.

Terrible Twos: Mixing it up

By Pip Jones, Mar 8, 2012

I find it so lovely observing Ruby piece the world together bit by bit. Rather like in the film, when Bambi is learning how different things behave and he confuses a butterfly with a flower, I see Ru learn the principles of one particular thing, and apply them to the next thing – only to learn that thing behaves completely differently.

Terrible Twos: A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

By Pip Jones, Feb 28, 2012

Unlike my family, I am very restrained when it comes to yummy treats. What I mean is, I have a 'stop' button, whereas Ruby, Ava and their daddy do not. Consequently, I am the treats police.