Terrible Twos...

Hi Mia,

So these last few weeks have been a little trying for me, your dad and yourself. I think you're entering into the terrible twos. Even though you're only 19 months old. There are days where I'm positive that if some gypsies came by offering a good price, they'd have a brand new (to them) slightly used toddler. Let's just say that you are running on a very short fuse lately! You're just so smart. And it's finally occurred to your dad and me that you understand a lot more than we give you credit for. You quite often do things to test the boundaries and sometimes you're just plain cheeky!

For example. In our flat here in Eamont Court, we've got the Christmas tree set up. You love this tree, you love finding the 'Mimi' ornaments and you especially love eating the candy canes with me that are hanging on the tree. We've put up a little gate barrier around the tree so that you don't pull it over on yourself (you've already tried to do this twice). And your new thing is to shake the gate. It's not stable at all, and not safe for you to shake it, so I've had to get tough with you. I've started instigating time out, and when you shake the gate, if you don't stop after I've warned you, I pick you up and take you to the time out spot. I'll sit there with you until a minute or so has passed, and then I give you a hug and tell you that we don't shake the gate. The first day I started this, we had to go to time out at least 5 times. Now, you've got a fun new game where you'll shake the gate (just a little) and look at me. Not quite with a daring expression, but more of a 'I know what you're going to do next" look. Now I say, 'go sit down' you race to the 'time out spot' and sit there. Sometimes for a few minutes, usually just for a few seconds. I think you've completely turned my attempt to discipline you into a game. So now I'm not sure what to do!

But despite your naughtiness, you're still so charming. Lately you're back into snuggling, only for a few minutes and only on your terms, but I'll take it! I love when we cuddle together. You're so smart. You are learning so many new words. There's a show on Cbeebies that this week you've really started to ask for, it's called 'Something Special' and it's about a clown guy called 'Mr. Tumble'. You call him Bumble. It's so cute. You point to the tv and say 'Bumble?' I never taught you that word, you picked it up on your own.

You're also so much your father's daughter. Your dad has a habit of sitting on the carpet and picking lint. I don't know why he doesn't just get the vacuum, but that's what he does, he picks stuff off the carpet. Lately, you've started doing the exact same thing. You're always bringing me little fluffs of carpet, or tiny crumbs and handing it to me and saying 'Thank you'. You're so cute and proud at what a helper you are. Also, if we give you a napkin, you're more than happy to bend down and wipe the floor with it. Hopefully this attitude will continue when you're a teenager!

Tonight we had our friends Thao and Chau over for dinner. You were a pill! You cried every time you looked at Thao and demanded that you sit on my lap for dinner, rather than your high chair. I gave into you tonight, because we wanted to keep the peace, but I can't wait until you grow out of your stranger anxiety.

Still working on leaving you in nursery, you still won't let me out of your site, but I have faith that it will eventually happen. You're growing up so fast, it's not going to be long before you're begging me to leave you alone so you can hang with your friends. So I guess I better enjoy this while it lasts. :)