To my 2.5 year old terror,
I can’t even believe I’m writing this post to you kiddo. You are 2.5 years old.
How did this HAPPEN??
You are just so… huge, and grown up, and infuriating and wonderful. Every crazy toddler cliche you can imagine, and every one one that you can’t.
It’s been crazy since you turned 2. From soccer to skiing, your first trip to Disneyland, multiple trips to San Diego, time with family and friends… it’s been a WILD ride for the past 6 months. You are an expert on the airplane, a crack hit with a baseball bat, and a budding football/soccer/baseball/golf player. You name it, you want to watch it or play it.
You are a savage.
And you are sweet, oh so very sweet, when you want to be. I see you walking around with Rocco (your very best rhinoceros buddy) patting him gently on the head and giving him kisses when no one is looking. When you think I am sad, you are right there, up in my face, giving me kisses and telling me that it will be ok, not to cry, not to be sad.
You are a monster. Oh such a monster when you want to be. But alas, you are two and a half and I think it’s par for the course (I’m mentally preparing myself for 3… which I hear is worse). You noodle body and writhe when I try to get a coat on you. You yell and cry and hit if you don’t want to go take a nap but so obviously desperately need one. You get tired and cranky and yell, “Don’t TOUCH me Mommy!!”, which breaks my heart a little bit, and infuriates it a little bit more.
I am not winning any awards for how we interact these days. There is yelling and shouting, timeouts and words hissed under breath in public places, but we are getting by. I think I’m just mentally preparing myself for this when you are 15… and hope that nothing I do sends you straight to therapy when you’re older.
You are Mr. Sassy Pants. When told that I couldn’t hold you at the store and push the cart, you innocently asked, “Why Mama?” When I replied that I didn’t have enough arms, you looked up, all sweetness and said “But you have two arms. One for pushing and one for holding.”
Oh. We are so screwed with this kid.
But besides all of the sass and all of the typical toddler antics, you are amazing. Because with you there is singing. Never in my life have I heard a 2.5 year old memorize so many songs after hearing them only a few times. I hear you singing to yourself while you play, Blackbird and Landslide, Gaga and LMFAO. You love Fleetwood Mac almost as much as you love Ke$ha. And you love to sing to people. Especially the people that you love. You sing to my best friend on the phone, to my parents, the Birthday Song to anyone who’s birthday it is. In you I see my very best quality… my absolute love for all things musical.
We still have dance parties now and then in our jammies, when the weather is bad and no one wants to get dressed or go to the gym. You rock OUT, throwing your hands up in the air and shaking that little butt back and forth. (You obviously did not inherit any dancing skills from us.) My best friend laughs that you are going to be singing and dancing on Broadway and that she better have front row seats to opening night. We just laugh and say that you can do anything you want. ANYTHING in the whole world, as long as you are happy.
And you are smart like your Dad. Oh I know that every parent thinks their kid is the best and the brightest, but you are so, so smart. You love to learn new words, new phrases. You talk up a blue streak, sounding more like a 6 year old than a 2.5 year old. You are starting to learn French, with this adorable little accent that makes you sound like some dirty old French man. You know how to work our technology better than we do and you LOVE to read. Just yesterday, you grabbed my hand and triumphantly said, “Look Mama! C-A-T. Kuh Ah Tuh. Cat.” I almost dropped dead because reading is one of our favorite things in the world. An ability to open up new ideas and lands and places that you create with your mind. And you are starting to do it.
There are so many things on our horizon right now. Potty Training. Preschool in a few weeks. Hopefully a sibling for you soon. And I can’t wait to see how you take it all in. How you deal with all of the crazy things that toddler life can throw at you. And I know that there have been complaints in the past, laments about how terrible the two’s have been, but I wouldn’t change you for a minute. You are crazy and perfect all at the same time.
A Very Happy Half Birthday Kiddo.
Love, Mommy.
2.5 Big Years Old
