so this is two

Elida loves to respond with an enthusiastic "I do" when we ask her to raise her hand for something.  The other day, we asked, "raise your hand if you like ice cream."  We got a very enthusiastic "I do!" with both hands in the air.  On a different day, in a moment to attempt to neutralize some of my frustration with some unsafe toddler action she was refusing to stop I asked her to raise her hand if she was the age of two.  She stopped, looked straight into my eyes and shouted "I do!" and then ran away to continue her devious plots.  

Elida is definitely "doing two".  She is very good at it, and yes sometimes I can relate to the phrase the terrible twos. We have many ups and downs.  She can go from acting like the sweetest little thing on earth to throwing herself onto the ground and shouting "no mama. no!"  This can happen in a matter of seconds.  It baffles me.  There is often no reasoning with her and sometimes no trigger or precipitating event for either the up or the down.  I know this is not uncommon, and I am sure there are moms around the world taking deep breaths and continuing to try and negotiate with their two year olds.  

Despite the down moments (often down on the ground moments), I find that the up moments trump them all.  For that,  I am so grateful.  And I AM grateful that she is two.  I do not want to wish it away.   The time is already going too quickly.  

Elida loves being two, and in fact her favorite number is... yep, you guessed it... two.  When asked how many blueberries she would like, she will always respond with "two", even if she wants a huge handful.  When she sees a herd of horses, I ask her how many horses she sees, and her answer is always "two".  Her imaginary friend Puppis who lives in Minnesota (and is often sleeping for some reason) is two years old.  She has two favorite stuffed friends- Baby Doll and Bunny.  And of course, Elida has two parents who love her very very much (times two).

Two is also going to be how many little ones we will have in our home by the end of this year.  My growing belly who is housing #2 amazes Elida and she often asks me "What's that, mama?" as she points to my belly.  More and more each day, our family embraces this time in life.   And the number two is something I am growing very fond of...

a language of her own

By May 4th of this year, Elida will be two years old.  I think it is common for children of this age to be sponge-like in their language development, and I am constantly astounded by how many new words Elida picks up every day.  Since she has started to speak, she has definitely developed some "Elida-isms".  Here are a few examples of the words she uses often and how she has chosen to say the word.  

Water= "wadoo"

Elida= "Ya Ya"

Iota (our golden retriever)= "I.O."

All Done= "All Doe"

Horse= "Neigh"

Sheep= "Bah"

shower= "show show"

TK(her cousin) = "T.T."

And the list goes on and on of words she has made her own.  She has many phrases that she uses many times on a daily basis. "Ya Ya do it." or  "Ya Ya fix it." applies to many situations.  "Mama, come?" she will pull out often, as she loves to invite everyone to join her in whatever fun is happening in that moment.  The down-side of my little girl being such a sponge is that she absorbs EVERYTHING I say, even when it may not be the best of examples.  One day I missed a turn when we were driving and I said a choice word, and from the backseat I hear a chorus of that word repeated again and again.  So, I am careful now.  She is listening.

As I reflect on all of my sweet little girl's words and phrases, I realize how much children change every single moment.  We blink and something is different. Even this morning, she clearly said "water please".   I sadly replied with "You mean 'wadoo', Elida?  Wadoo?".  "Yes Mama," she patiently said to me.  I grieve aspects of my baby that are no longer with us even in these two years- moments and periods of time that I savored.  And yet, I love this present moment too.  

Many people talk about the terrible two age. We've had some terrible moments before this age and I'm sure we will have some terrible ones this upcoming year too.  AND we have had terrific, amazing, so- astounding-it-has-made-me-have-tears moments too.  Those terrific and love-filled moments are much more plentiful (thankfully) and happen daily, and for that I am so grateful.  As my daughter turns two in a couple weeks, my hope is that I will stand right by her side in the present moment listening as she loudly sings along with all of us "Happy Birthday Ya Ya."