We went to a Wedding recently where the groom’s father teared up as he warned us as to how quickly time flies. This might sound a little dramatic, but as the beautiful bride walked down the aisle, my eyes filled as I pictured my own baby girl doing the same. While McKenzie is only 2 years old, I can’t help but take in all of these warnings from parents and wish the time would slow down. Now that I have my own child, my perceptions of the world have shifted and I see a bigger picture.
So much has changed with McKenzie, she is a little human now filled with emotions and sentences. She says “please” and “thank you” and shouts out demands telling people to sit and play with her and to hold things for her. When I tell her we are going somewhere, she grabs just about everything she owns and tries to bring it out the door.
While I feel like McKenzie gets better at listening every day, she also challenges the shit out of me. Unless it’s her idea or she wants something, she almost always tells me no when I ask her to do something. Going to bed has become a real task lately, especially when it’s just me home. I’m not sure if I just need to start the process earlier, because when I ask her to put her toys away sometimes you would think the world is ending right then and there. Toys get thrown, she flails herself across the floor, she screams and cries sometimes – but mostly a fake cry. Even when I do get her upstairs and onto her changing table, she immediately turns over and continues to refuse. I still put McKenzie in a sleepsack, I’m 100% sure she would have climbed out of her crib by now if we didn’t still use it. Plus, the sleepsack give me peace of mind instead of using a blanket and it also gives McKenzie notice that bed time is coming. We use the sleep sack for naptime as well, she consistently naps for 2-3 hours a day and then sleeps 10-11 hours at night. So, even though we always have some trouble through the process of going upstairs to bed, it’s worth it because she is a great sleeper.
McKenzie does pretty well with other kids. She will get upset if another kid takes something from her but doesn’t usually fight them for it. She is also good at sharing when we go to different music classes. I’m thinking about putting her in a part time 2 year old program in the fall so that she will have more of a schedule to follow and so she is exposed to kids a little more frequently.
We’re at the point where she repeats anything you say so we have to be careful now about the words we use. She names every character in Toy Story and Shrek several times a day from the moment she wakes up. Maybe a little obsessive, but, also really cute. She notices different color signs and cars, and she’ll tell me if she has 2 of something. There is also a majority of the time where I have absolutely no idea what she is talking about, but that gets better and better each day.
We love to go the classes at the library, the park, the beach, play with Piper, and even just go to Target and push the cart around. McKenzie loves to eat, and is actually really good (for the most part) when we go out to eat. You usually have to get her out to eat at a good time, when she is not overtired, and she will be so much fun. She loves to people watch and enjoys the whole experience of going out. We definitely have our bad days when she doesn’t want to sit in her highchair or is very squirmy and wants to walk around. Sometimes we will just break out the cellphone, especially if we haven’t even started to eat yet. The only issue with the cellphone for us is she usually won’t focus on eating once it is out, and gets pretty pissed once you take it away. So, we typically break out the cellphone when we are desperate and just give up.
I just can’t believe I have a 2 year old. Time really does fly by. I thought we were going through “terrible twos” at 20 months, but McKenzie has proved me wrong. I’m just hoping we’re in it now and she doesn’t prove me wrong again 😀 Either way, I am trying to work on not getting so frustrated and to move through the motions a little slower. Enjoy every minute with your loved ones and find things that make you happy because life is not going to slow down for you.
The Redheaded Mom 