A couple of weeks ago, you turned 2. Holy crap. I have a two-year-old. How in the WORLD did THAT happen? How is it possible that 2 years ago, you came into this world. And blew it up? In a good way, of course. Even if at the time, we didn't quite realize it. Couldn't quite comprehend that this screaming bundle of arms, legs and LUNGS was going to turn into the fun, loving little girl who... yes, would continue to keep us on our toes. AT ALL TIMES.
You'll have to forgive this late blog. There's just something about writing your 2-year post that has got me a little... frazzled. Maybe a little down. Because time has just gone by soooo fast that there are days that I can't quite comprehend that I'm the mother of a toddler. That two years have gone by so quickly. That I am in charge of turning you into a productive member of society. And how in the world did anyone think that I should ever be in charge of something as significant as THAT?
Having cousins visit also meant a huge first for you... you got to stay up WAAAAYYY past your bedtime. My rule was that you could stay up and play... as long as you didn't throw a fit because you were tired. And I'll be damned... but it worked. You were super happy the whole time. Even when it was a 9 p.m. bedtime!!! You just love being around other kids. And that visit got me so pumped up for our trip to San Diego next year. You and the cousins are going to be running around everywhere!
You love being a big sister. Even though you still have a few moments of sibling rivalry... and out-and-out jealousy. You sure love to snuggle with your sissy. And when you get up in the morning, the first thing you want to do is see Millie. Or, Minny, in your world. You loves you some Minny. You love to kiss her. You love to hug her. You love to feed her. You just LOVE her. (Except for the times when you DON'T love her. Which, thankfully, are few and far between.)
When you turned 2, you moved up to the 2-3 year old class. Big news around here. Because I was able to finally get you out of the basement at daycare. See... I don't tell a lot of people this (so I should just blog it, right?) but I have a... thing... with basements. Your Daddy doesn't understand why I don't like to be downstairs in our basement. I just like to be upstairs where there is natural light. And when you were downstairs at daycare... while it was a wonderful environment with a wonderful teacher... you were still in a basement. Blah. My girl needs some LIGHT! So, we moved you upstairs.
It was really past time for you to move up, baby girl. For a couple months prior to turning 2, you had been struggling during nap time at school. We didn't know what was up with that. The teachers were at their wits end. They had tried EVERYTHING, but still couldn't get you to sleep for more than 45 minutes. Meanwhile, on the weekends, you were regularly sleeping 2-3 hours. We finally decided that you must be bored. You were one of the oldest in the classroom. And apparently, you had been totally bogarting the flashcard time and none of the other kids got to say anything. Not with you yelling out: "DUCK! CARROT! CAR! GREEN! FLUVIAL GEOMORPHOLOGY!" (someone's been listening to Daddy too much!)
Anyhoo... the first day of your new class, I was a little nervous. You're getting to that age where instead of being open and happy meeting new people, you can be a little more reserved. But... well, what the hell do I know? Cuz you walked into that room like you owned it. And the rest is history. You're now sleeping 2 hours per day and your teacher constantly gushes to me (btw... I really like your teacher) about how awesome it is having you in class, and how smart you are. WORDS MOMMY LIKES TO HEAR. The polar opposite of what I heard today. (PS... you and I are going to have a talk about playing King of the Mountain and KICKING our friends. Yep.)
The word "time out" has become familiar to you in the last month or so. We have to take a lot of time outs with you when you get worked up over something. It's nothing too bad... we just take you to your room or out of the situation you're in and we have a little discussion about what is appropriate. We have to finish by giving Mommy a kiss and a hug... and then usually an apology to either Mommy, Millie, Daddy or a friend that came to visit. Or... you know, the car seat that you decided was evil. But, it's working. For how long, we don't know. You're very... 2ish right now, let's just leave it at that.
You're talking a lot right now. A. Lot. And in the last week, you're vocabulary has EXPLODED. You're able to follow directions. And you're able (for the most part) to say what you want or what you need. We have to watch what we say right now... because you repeat EVERYTHING. And yes... it's possible that you learned your first four-letter word from Mommy the other day. I'm THAT mom. Awesome.
You love to color. Well... scratch that. You love to watch Mommy color next to you. And if Mommy stops coloring or isn't interested in coloring, you hand me a crayon/marker/chalk and say: "Cudder? Cudder?" And while coloring isn't exactly my idea of fun these days and I would much rather you color on your own so I can clean the house or shave my legs, I keep remembering that these moments are fleeting. And not too long from now, you won't want me to cudder with you.
And, so... I cudder. I also make sand art and bake cookies with you. Whenever you get to "help" me do anything, you're down. And I will remind you of this when you turn 15. YES. I. WILL.
You are such a sweetheart, Hazel. You're hard... trust me, I earn Mommyhood every. single. day. But you're totally worth it. You are a little girl that knows what she wants. You're a little girl who knows EVERYTHING already. You love deeply. And you disagree passionately.
That last one... well, it's gonna serve you well. It's always served Mommy well.
Then again, Mommy's only ever been wrong about one thing. And that's when she stupidly pointed to a crocodile in a book and said: "Crocodile". Too which you pointed out that it actually was a frog.
No... crocodile.
NO. FROG.
No... that's a crocodile.
NO! FROG! FROG! FROG!
I stand corrected.
Love,
Mama
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"Well behaved women seldom make history." --Bird
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