Dear Carolyn,
Another month, another bunch of new things you’ve been doing. You’re considering whether or not you really need to nap – which means I’m considering whether or not to go back to work. Just kidding! It’s just that days when you declare “I awake and ready to start my day!” and don’t nap? Those are really long days, full of meltdowns (yours and mine) and long whiny afternoons (again, you can’t be blamed for all of the whining…) It didn’t help that this past week was winter break and all of our activities were on hiatus.
You’re starting to learn how to bargain. Unfortunately, you say the word “after” even when you mean “before”, so when you plead to watch Blue’s Clues after breakfast, I have to catch myself before I agree, since you’re sure you mean you’re asking to watch TV before we eat breakfast. You’re also starting to use the phrase “that’s a good plan, OK?” when you come up with a sequence of events you want to have happen. I think you’ve even been trying to make jokes. The other day you said “blueberries are green, and peas are blue, and bananas are black!” and then laughed hysterically. I’m trying to teach you how to do knock-knock jokes, but you really don’t get it yet. We do have a little shtick though – you say “I’m so happy you are here”, and I say “no, I’m so happy you are here”, and you say “no, Mommy, I’m so happy you are here”…and so on. (Yes, that’s a line from a song off the Blue’s Clues CD. And yes, you’re currently obsessed – and that’s putting it mildly – with Blue’s Clues.)
Lately, it’s been a bit of a problem getting you to sleep in your bed. More nights than not, when we go upstairs to bed, we find that you’ve fallen asleep in the middle of your floor and we have to tuck you back into bed. We’ve been leaving the baby gate on your door open on weekend nights, so when you wake up before us on Saturday or Sunday you can pitter-patter your way down the hall to our room and climb into bed with us. I wish we could start every morning that way! You climb on in with your baby, your binky (or three), and sometimes even your pillow, and squirm in between us until you’re taking up at least three quarters of the bed. It’s nice to know that some things never change.
Everyone warns new parents about the terrible twos. I really don’t think two is terrible so far – and we are four months into it, so I think if it were going to be so terrible we’d know by now – but it is challenging. The biggest challenge is that your moods are as changeable as the weather here. We can be laughing hysterically about something, and then all of a sudden you’re in the middle of a meltdown. The good news is, the tantrums blow over just as quickly – most of the time! I really think they should be called the talkative twos – with all the silly conversations, the mixed-up song lyrics, and the “I love you too, Mommy”s, the house is never quiet!
Love, Mommy
