Well, here we are. 20 months. Three quarters of the way to being a 2-year-old. But you guys. When people say that terrible twos start before two. They aren’t kidding. Good lawd. But there is also the increased vocabulary – which is fun and freaking adorable – and all the new facial expressions. I mean, this pretty much sums up my kid right now.
She’s silly, inquisitive, lovey, and very, very strong-willed. She’s challenging, exhausting, can push me to the brink of madness, and – above all – the most precious little being I’ve ever known.
It’s true that there is nothing anyone can tell you that will prepare you to be a parent. Anything you may have thought you knew before having a child – will at some point go out the window. Because what you may have known – what you may have experienced with other children in your life – may not apply one iota to your own. What works with your first, may not with your second. They are all so very different. Different personalities, behaviors, ways to push every last button you have until you think your head will explode. And then they come over and ask to be picked up for a snuggle, and all that frustration melts away. Because, after all, they are just tiny humans trying to find their own way as they learn and grow. They may seem like tiny tyrants sometimes, but – for the most part – they aren’t intentionally trying to be little turds.
I have to remind myself of this often these days, because we are just in that phase of toddlerhood now. The one where mama and daddy are trying to balance structure/discipline and avoiding epic meltdown tantrums because she doesn’t get her way about one thing or another. It’s not for the faint of heart, I’ll tell you that. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I may be watching the clock for bath and bedtime some nights, but those times are quickly replaced by the hugs and kisses and snuggles. Her little giggle or, hearing her say “Mama” – possibly for the umteenth time that day. And I never get tired of hearing it. Ever. It’s the best. She’s the best – even when she’s at her worst.
So here we are, at 20 months. Every day is a new adventure. A new challenge. A new accomplishment.
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