The Terrible Twos...the adventure begins!

by Michelle

My daughter turns two this week. While some people lament the Terrible Twos, I love them. (Now the Terrible Threes are another thing entirely.) Age two is a magical year, and I'm looking forward to my daughter's transformation. One of the greatest changes is her becoming a child and expressing her own needs and desires. She will separate from me and gain independence. Here are some of the changes I anticipate:

1. She will learn how to talk. This doesn't mean she will wax eloquent speeches. No, it means she will order imaginary pizzas on her pretend phone. She'll complain about her brother, "Mommy! He hitting me!" Most of all, she'll yell inappropriate words at the top of her lungs in public.

2. She will learn to dress (and undress) herself. At the moment, she is far more interested in removing clothing. The other day, I reached for a carton of ice cream out of the grocery store freezer and when I turned back, her shirt was off. Every night when I check on her, I find her in various states of undress. Years ago, the naked phase happened with my son, and we began a nightly mantra of: "I love you. Goodnight. Keep your clothes on." It worked well until the other day we were out shopping and my now four-year-old son announced to the store: "I love you, Mom. Keep your clothes on!"

3. She will learn to sing. I never know quite what songs will come out. Sometimes the "ABC Song" changes into "Sticky Sticky Bubblegum" in the middle. But her voice will grow stronger and more confident.

4. She will problem-solve. If the cookie jar is out of reach, she will drag a chair across the room and perform complex acrobatics to get it.

5. She'll no longer be my baby, but will become my little girl. And I'll love watching every moment of her personality emerging.

What were your favorite moments when your child was two?

Michelle lives with her husband and children in southeastern Virginia, where she teaches sixth-graders and also writes historical romances.

Comments

[Nicole]

I'm loving most of the two's as well, even though we still have a couple months to go before we are officially there. IMO the good definitely outweighs the bad.

[Bren]

Considering that I have 4 kids (teenagers now), there were many favorite moments, but I think my most favorite time was when my daughter, Laura was two and she walked around all day imitating everything I did. She wanted to be just like Mommy, even down to having her own ball of yarn and crochet hook so she could make something for her dolly. It was the sweetest thing ever.

[Kristi]

When my son was 2, he surprised me one day by just walkin ginto the room to come to me and hug me and say "I love you, mommy." There can't possibly be a bigger reward than that.

I will also cherish the advice I read in "THe Happiest Toddler on the Block," which advises echoing your toddlers words, er, screams, repeatedly and emphatically to get them to stop a tantrum. Worked practically every time.

[Antique Mommy]

I am in the throes of the twos with Sean and while it does present it's challenges as he tries to find the boundaries and become independent yet not at the same time, the rewards more than make up for it. It is a delicious golden time and I want to soak it all in like a sponge because it is flying past me too quickly.

[amy s]

I wasn't too thrilled with the terrible twos - but your post reminds me that all of those things allowed for the threes to be better - and so far, three has been my favorite year yet!

[abogada]

My daughter will turn two in August, and I have mixed feelings about it. Part of it is that I'm pretty sure she will be my one and only, and it's just going so fast! I'm also nervous, because she is throwing some pretty interesting tantrums right now. But, thank you for your post; it made me feel better about the things to come.

[Michelle]

Brenda, it's always an adventure!

[Brenda]

Michelle, I can't stop laughing at your post - #1 and #4 are my faves. My son will be turning 2 in July and I'm looking forward to it too!