Twenty-Three Months Old
Oh, my dear little Pearl!
Toddlers are not a new phenomenon to me. I remember the toddlerhoods of my youngest brother and sister pretty well, and a few years ago when I worked at a preschool I had in my care a group of five little girls ranging from eighteen months old to two and a half years. After that darling, wild little bunch I thought caring for one little person at a time would be a piece of cake.
I guess it could go without saying that I was wrong. Daycare was tough but taking care of your own almost-two-year-old around the clock is a whole 'nother can of worms. This month Pearl has led me spinning in a crazy dance between exasperation (all the fussing and the whining) and hilarity (popping up right after nursing first thing in the morning and saying, "Whew! Spicy!"); frustration (meeting me with protests at every turn, fighting sleep and veering way off schedule) and joy (hearing my "I love you"s echoed with "I yuh you"s of her own); terror (disappearing at my in-laws' house during a family gathering, calling proudly, "I'm up the stairs!" as I found her) and sweetness (raising her voice to join mine for the first time as I sang "Bye Lo Baby" to her at bedtime). It has been hard for me to catch my breath and retain the inner reserve of calm that is important to have when parenting a toddler.
Her imagination has blossomed this month, and she likes to play that she is eating and drinking and share her feast with me. At her grandmother's house, she held a strand of Mardi Gras beads up to her eyes and said, "It's my glasses!"
Pearl has also been a bit fearful this month. With Spring's arrival the world has come to life and all sorts of new things are presenting themselves. She was thrilled to find yellow dandelions in the yard but once they went to seed she would shriek, "Fuzzy dandelions!" and cry a bit. She was willing to hold my hand and check one out but once her finger touched its fluff she started wailing. She is ok with their presence now and even likes me to blow their seeds into the air, but won't touch them herself. Bugs on a screen door at night also frightened her, and she kept an eye on them and her distance, repeating my assurances in a very worried tone: "It's okay, it's just a bug. It's kinda scary!!! It's outside..."
So life with Pearl this month has been good, but oh so exhausting. I think I can get through this phase if I can just remember that sometimes, she sleeps:
Toddlers are not a new phenomenon to me. I remember the toddlerhoods of my youngest brother and sister pretty well, and a few years ago when I worked at a preschool I had in my care a group of five little girls ranging from eighteen months old to two and a half years. After that darling, wild little bunch I thought caring for one little person at a time would be a piece of cake.
I guess it could go without saying that I was wrong. Daycare was tough but taking care of your own almost-two-year-old around the clock is a whole 'nother can of worms. This month Pearl has led me spinning in a crazy dance between exasperation (all the fussing and the whining) and hilarity (popping up right after nursing first thing in the morning and saying, "Whew! Spicy!"); frustration (meeting me with protests at every turn, fighting sleep and veering way off schedule) and joy (hearing my "I love you"s echoed with "I yuh you"s of her own); terror (disappearing at my in-laws' house during a family gathering, calling proudly, "I'm up the stairs!" as I found her) and sweetness (raising her voice to join mine for the first time as I sang "Bye Lo Baby" to her at bedtime). It has been hard for me to catch my breath and retain the inner reserve of calm that is important to have when parenting a toddler.
Her imagination has blossomed this month, and she likes to play that she is eating and drinking and share her feast with me. At her grandmother's house, she held a strand of Mardi Gras beads up to her eyes and said, "It's my glasses!"
Pearl has also been a bit fearful this month. With Spring's arrival the world has come to life and all sorts of new things are presenting themselves. She was thrilled to find yellow dandelions in the yard but once they went to seed she would shriek, "Fuzzy dandelions!" and cry a bit. She was willing to hold my hand and check one out but once her finger touched its fluff she started wailing. She is ok with their presence now and even likes me to blow their seeds into the air, but won't touch them herself. Bugs on a screen door at night also frightened her, and she kept an eye on them and her distance, repeating my assurances in a very worried tone: "It's okay, it's just a bug. It's kinda scary!!! It's outside..."
So life with Pearl this month has been good, but oh so exhausting. I think I can get through this phase if I can just remember that sometimes, she sleeps:
Labels: Month by Month, Pertaining to Pearl, Photographs, The Fuzzy Peach Show
posted by fuzzypeach | 8:02 PM
5 Comments:
Wait. 23 months. That means our girls will be two next month? CRAP! How'd that happen?
Must go sit in corner and rock for a while. Trying not to freak out.
OH, and that chocolate face is beautiful and PERFECT. You must frame it for the kitchen!
Yeah really, 23 months already!! That chocolate face is my favorite but nothing is better than a sleeping baby (child). She sounds like such a fun and smart little girl. I love the Spicy! What are you eating ;)
BTW I've been meaning to ask you and I know you've said in the past but what kind of camera do you use? I'm gonna break down and splurge - I know skill is a big part of it but it's hard to work w/a shitty camera like mine.
crap, too fast. That comment was from me.
Sigh...it's exhausting isn't it? Sometimes I think it's a darn good thing they're sooo cute! ; )
OMG, laughing my ass off at "Whew! Spicy!" That is so priceless. And I so know that whirlwind ride you are on.
Lovin' the first picture. She is a little girl now. It's kind of sad to see them grow up, but they're so beautiful, and it's so amazing to watch their personalities develop. Bittersweet.
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