a wild child with soft skin

So Maddox is 20 months old and time is flying by.  He seems to be approaching the "terrible twos" and has a new scream/screech that he uses when he wants something.  After the screams, he throws tantrums.  But he seems to get sad more often than mad.  He puts his face in his hands and hunches over as he cries very dramatically.  Or he'll run to a corner and cry or lay on the floor face down and cry.  It's very sad and that's exactly what I say in a sympathetic voice, "oh, that's so sad."  I want to acknowledge how he is feeling while at the same time hoping he realizes that unfortunately, his very dramatic tears don't let him play with knives or stand on top of the table.  Now to be clear, Maddox does get mad.  And when he gets mad, he hits and kicks and throws things.  Mostly, he throws things.  And it drives me crazy!  I had to clean up a box of cornstarch that he threw all over the kitchen, apple juice when he threw his sippy cup, water when he threw a vase of flowers, cheese puffs, cheerios, peaches and the list goes on.  I just have to remember that it's not the end of the world and almost every mess can be cleaned up.  But it still drives me crazy.  And after he throws something, he runs.  And he is one fast runner.  Maddox has recently developed an obsession with kitchen utensils his favorites being can openers and spatulas.  For some reason, he loves them.  Allan decided that Maddox is no longer allowed to play with can openers because when Allan was cleaning the couch the other day, he cut his finger open on the can opener that had been shoved in between the cushions.  Poor Maddox was devastated but has seemed to be satisfied with the spatulas.  Maddox is very much loved by his nursery leaders.  They told me last week that he is by far the wildest kid they have ever had and that my house must be a mess because he destroys everything in his path.  They said that he rips pictures off the wall and reaches things off of cabinets and tries to unstack the chairs.  But they love him and recognize that it's because he's curious and has so much energy.  His nursery leaders also said that he is the most affectionate kid they've ever had and loves to be held.  And that he has very soft skin.  Ha ha.  A couple weeks ago, Maddox gave us quite a scare.  After church, I went to go pick him up from nursery and he wasn't there so I assumed Allan had picked him up.  But when the teacher saw me, she gasped realizing that Maddox had escaped.  Apparently, when one of the parents came in, Maddox sneaked out.  I was not worried at all at first and decided that he couldn't have gotten very far.  I walked around the church asking people if they had seen him.  When I finished the first lap, I started getting nervous.  No one had seen him and more and more people were looking for him.  5 minutes went by, then 10, then 15.  I started panicking.  I was so worried that he had run outside and into the street.  Plus, our church is not in a very safe part of town.  I was so worried and started crying.  Finally, someone found Maddox playing by the piano in the chapel.  I was so relieved and when I held him in my arms, I started crying even more thinking of how precious he is to me.  I don't know what I would do without him.  He is my everything!  I think he was a little scared too because when he saw me he started crying.  He probably got a little nervous after being alone for so long.  Anyway, his nursery leader felt so bad but I told her that Maddox is a very fast runner and loves to escape.  If Allan and I ever leave the front or back door open, Maddox sprints outside and runs for his life.  We have a very active, wild, loving little boy but I wouldn't change him for anything.  The other day, I was doing laundry and he found his blankie in the dirty clothes.  I was actually given 2 of the same blanket and it has worked out perfectly because Maddox always has a clean one.  Well, on the same day I was doing laundry, his clean blankie was still out from his nap time.  So for the first time, Maddox realized that he had two blankies and it made him so happy.  He was snuggling both of them holding them up to his face and smiling.  It was the cutest thing.  He is so easy to please and such a happy little boy.  He loves being held and kissed by me.  In fact he will sit on my lap for as long as I want him to and just let me kiss him over and over again.  I am such a lucky mom!