My younger son just turned two a few weeks ago, and I have been bracing myself. It’s like we expect this light switch to flip on their second birthday and our sweet angel baby to be replaced by a scary toddler!
While our older son never really went through the “terrible twos,” his younger brother’s personality is completely different. My first son is calm and quiet. His brother is a firecracker.
He isn’t afraid of anything, has a fierce mind of his own and has already mastered the art of the temper tantrum. In a word, mama was terrified.
The toddler years are hard for sure. As our children are still learning to talk, communication is challenging. Two-year-olds know exactly what they want, so why the heck can’t we figure it out? And when we can’t, the request just gets louder and louder. Toddlers have no control over their lives or the world around them, and this just seems to make them mad. What do you mean, Mom’s the boss?! These fierce tiny humans also haven’t yet quite developed an ability to control their emotions, so we go from laughing to crying to laughing to screaming in a matter of moments. It’s a roller coaster of moods, and sometimes one I can set off by something as benign as offering the wrong snack or sippy cup.
Two-year-olds are also starting to become slightly more coordinated, so they’ve mastered the art of pushing kitchen chairs across the room to climb on the counter, running into the street, and can take off their diaper and run across the room naked in the time it takes this mom to blink. It’s amazing how it takes 20 minutes to get undressed for bed and .2 seconds to get naked when the time is right!
But two is also so beautiful. While “no” has become a regular part of our vocabulary, so has “Mama” and “hug”. We’re really starting to see a personality develop, and a fiery sense of humor. There’s a joy in learning how things work, in playing with others, and there is love. So much love. I’m still the boo-boo healer—it’s amazing what a kiss from mom can do. I still have the power to make everything right in the world.
Hugs and kisses abound, and it’s so fun to see my baby growing into a boy.
It’s a hard journey for sure, but I embrace it all. I even love the ugly parts. We hug a lot and cry often. But I let him feel all these things because it’s part of his journey. It’s my job to help him navigate these terrible twos and love him through it. We grow together and teach each other. While two can be terrible (and sometimes I’m the cause) he always comes back to me for reassurance and love, and I’m going to hold on to that one for as long as I can.
