My almost-two-year-old (Pumpkin) looks like she’s two and a half and talks like she’s three !

Here’s what my BabyCenter update had to say about this incredible phase called Toddlerhood :

Your baby was born with about 100 billion brain cells. That’s amazing enough – but what’s happening now that she’s a toddler is almost more so. Each of her brain cells is sending out and receiving electrical impulses called signals, which (with the help of brain chemicals like serotonin) create connections. Repetition turns these connections into the networks (often called wiring or circuitry) that allow her to think and learn. By her third birthday your toddler’s brain will have formed about 1,000 trillion connections – about twice as many as you have!

Your toddler’s a natural "imaginator" – all children are.  Almost anything can be a prop for imaginative play. Towels become turbans, plastic beads become precious jewels, old bathroom rugs transmogrify into magic carpets, and that moth-eaten collection of stuffed animals transforms itself into a rain forest, animal hospital, or farm.

Believe it or not, the best props for imaginative play are often generic ones. Since most of the action takes place inside your child’s head, detailed costumes – such as those specific to particular movie characters, for instance – aren’t really that helpful. A Batman suit can only be a Batman suit. But with a plain hat and towel, a child can be a lot of different characters.

While I may not have known the science behind it (until now), I was already making all possible effort to ensure that Pumpkin grows up with an active imagination.  But, with such a vast treasure-trove of information out there for parents, today, things can only get better!

It’s simply amazing to participate in the development of a child.  I hope each of you get the opportunity to experience it, some day…