Take Two

We have always loved our daughter. The first time we saw her (or, in my case, when the morphine wore off), we could not believe how instantly connected we felt to her. With that said, in spite of our immense love, we have not always liked every stage of her development these first 2 years. Long before I conceived a child, I used to joke with these crazy baby lovers (mostly our mothers) that I would gladly have a baby for them, assuming they would take care of that baby until the child was two. Then I would like to have the child back completely potty trained and fluent in French.

This past month, I remember full well why I tried to make such a proposition. Our daughter,in the past month, while still entirely stubborn about anything food related, completely capable of throwing a tantrum at the most inopportune time, and altogether annoying when it comes to one of us giving our attention to something other than her, has been the most delightful creature I have ever encountered. Terrible two's can kiss my ass. (For those of you certain I'll eat those words before she's 3....Shhhh!)

Her sentences are much closer to complete, and, even when I don't want to, I know exactly what she wants. Her wit has been honed, and it almost seems like she might get our humor as well. (She might be the only one.)

Last night, after we carelessly let her eat a mountain of chocolate fondue at 9 pm (an hour past her bedtime) with our dinner guests, we could not figure out why she was still laying in her bed talking to herself at 10:30 pm. (Can you tell we're still new at this?) This is a kid who is usually begging for her mattress by 8:30. When I realized that we were experiencing her first "sugar high", I went and got her from her bed and laid her in ours. This was mostly to indulge myself, to be able to hear for myself what all of the chatter was about. Since she has been weaned, E has been completely incapable of sleeping in our bed with us. She can't fall asleep, stay asleep, and/or resist honking our noses repeatedly.

She was still pretty excited to lay in between us for a while, chattering on and on about the various parts of her face and ours, usually sticking her fingers right into each part to make sure we knew exactly what she was talking about. When we told her it was time to be quiet and go to sleep (ha!), she immediately quieted. She laid there for an extended period of seconds (with a huge grin!) before she utters, "Daddy?" "Yes, EJ?" "Get off my pillow!"

Ah yes, she is mine!

Later when I told her it was time to go back to her own bed, she put her hand gently over my mouth and whispered "Shhhhh Mommy! Tuddle!" (cuddle) and threw her are over my back like I was her favorite bear.

Off to her own bed she eventually did go, and she was asleep within seconds. But I laid awake for a while longer, reveling in how fun this really can be and wondering how on earth we think we are going to be able to go through those first 2 years all over again.