Terrific Twos

I had some fun and festive posts planned but I am interrupting your regularly scheduled programming to talk about life with a two year old.

It's fabulous! It really is. Two year olds are becoming their own person, asserting themselves, learning so much about the world around them, and they are hilarious. But along with that comes some things that are less than fabulous. Every kid is different so I will only speak from my experience. My particular two year old hates sleep. I spend hours a day on winding him down and getting him to fall asleep for his nap and bedtime. If he wasn't a complete psycho without his nap I wouldn't even attempt it. Trust me, I'd rather be doing something more fun with my time as well as his.

He says no to everything. I won't even be talking to him and he will tell me no. I will sit on the couch and he will tell me no. I need to be sitting on the chair. I will sit next to Paul and, of course, that's a huge no. I need to be sitting next to him. I will be playing trains with him and I never do it right. God forbid we run out of his favorite yogurt. Everything always ends in tears.

Needless to say, I'm exhausted. Emotionally and physically. I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm now in my third trimester and my hormones are raging. Every night I spend coaxing Liam to fall asleep while heartburn sets in I just keep thinking there is no way I can be doing this with a newborn.

I cope by blindly assuming Brygit is going to be an easy baby. She has to be! I also reach way back into the dark corners of my memory and try to remember what it was like to have more energy and not feel so huge. I could handle it if I wasn't so tired. I also know that this is a phase. A phase that needs to be dealt with and not ignored, yes, but still a phase that will pass away into something equally annoying. I cry a lot but I laugh a lot more. Even if I feel like screaming in the moment I laugh about it later. I try to worry less and pray more. And I'm trying really hard to focus on everything that is amazing about this age. The fact that Liam can count to 20 and spell his own name. He recognizes letters on billboards. He sings the sweetest songs all the time. When he's bad he often follows it up with a, "Juss Kiddin!" When he's having a meltdown he tells me he just needs a hug and he asks me to wipe his tears. Out of the blue he tells me he loves me. He plays pretend. And he's super proud of all of his accomplishments. These are the things I try to focus on. Otherwise I would probably be a wreck. Good thing the terrible twos are just as terrific!