The frustration of toddlerhood

Two and a half has been one of the most fun and frustrating ages at the same time. Every day seems to be a roller coaster of emotions with Stasa. She normally wakes up and is immediately happy, but if you don't put away her chew blanket fast enough, she notices.

::swing:: <---------(that's the pendulum of emotions swinging toward crazytown)

She's chewed on blankets for the longest time. We used to let her chew on them whenever she wanted, but recently we've put some rules in place and only let her have them at nap and bed time. So when she wakes up in the morning, we get her to put her blanket away, but if we don't do that at just the right moment, she melts down. In a major way.

::swing::

Then she's all of a sudden happy again and chatting up a storm with Lexi. ::swing:: Now upset because she DOESN'T WANT ANY PANTS. WANT BUNNY DRESS AND PINK SOCKS. ::swing::

And it goes on and on like that until she's dropped off at daycare and then we pick up where we left off the minute I pick her up after work. Then there are those days when we're just coloring or building castles and she looks over at me and says "wuv you mommy." Of course there are also those days when we've spent too many of our precious evening minutes in time out. See what I mean? Emotional roller coaster. And what kills me is SHE KNOWS IT. I'm certain of this. The kid *knows* exactly which buttons to push to frustrate me and then in the blink of an eye she's her sweet loving self again. WHAT GIVES TODDLERHOOD?

Enough complaining out of me because it's really not terrible. There are more moments of happiness, silliness, and sweetness than those frustrating moments. And even though I swear she knows how to push my buttons, she's not a malicious kid. She's got a heart of gold and is so surprisingly good when we least expect it.

She cleans up her toys when you ask her to.


She builds the best princess castles.


And she makes the best dinner and serves the tastiest tea.

Fashionista-in-the-making

Most of you know we let Stasa choose her own outfits now, which has been trying since she can take a long time to pick the perfect pieces, but we're all about choices and independence these days. And this girl comes up with some whackadoo ensembles most days (of course there is the rare day when she chooses a mostly normal outfit). Here are some of my favorites.

Toddlers, they're hilarious

If you can look past the tantrums and the selective hearing, this age is definitely the most fun and entertaining. Here are just a few of the things Stasa does that make us laugh.

• Sitting on the kitchen floor trying to "catch" the rays of light coming in from the window only to look at her empty hands confused
• Walking around in our shoes, wingtips or heels, every morning while we get ready for work
• Pouring bath water on her face and then acting all surprised each and every time she gets splashed
• Yelling "vweeeeeeee!" (yes, with a v-w) every time she's doing something she loves, like going down a slide, riding on her Little People car or being tossed in the air
• Running to her room with her blankets and bear when we ask "ready for night night?" and turning on her night music
• Dancing and spinning in circles when she's feeling particularly silly
• Walking like the Gestapo without bending her knees
• Fake snoring
• Waving her hand and declaring "MEEEE!" when she wants something we have - usually our drink or dinner