From morning to night, we have a kid who runs nonstop. He's got us dead tired. His mood will switch on a dime and he can begin crying about the most nonsensical things.
Ah... the Terrible Twos. Here's the thing. The Terrible Twos aren't so terrible. I said it. I knocked on wood when I wrote it. Sure, I may complain from time to time (but NEVER in a public forum such as my blog). But we have a really good kid, and I really do believe this is a great age.
Here are four reasons why the Terrible Twos aren't really so bad:
1. The amazing sense of wonder.
I feel like I've learned as much from Jamie in two years as I've taught him. It's so easy to get caught up in your adult world and tunnel vision and not give a crap about anything but what you need to do next. A 2-year-old is going to get you to stop and enjoy the smaller things in life. No matter what you've got going on, that's not a bad thing. Jamie's got an excellent sense of wonder.
2. They're really, really funny.
Jamie's had a standing joke for months now, with a fake sneeze. He thinks the sound of a sneeze is hilarious, so he'll sit there and imitate it over and over. Now he wants us to imitate it, and he wants us to be wearing a hat that falls off our head when we do. This makes him laugh like crazy, which makes us laugh like crazy, which pretty much makes any bad day better. Plus he's just starting to enter that stage where the most random, funny things come out of his mouth. And I can't wait to see what ensues.
3. Any day that involves a running hug will be OK.
OK, so Jamie is a little noise machine. He'll yell and wake up the neighborhood, but hey, he's 2. Part of that comes with sheer joy and enthusiasm. When he hasn't seen you for eight hours, he's liable to "sneak" up on you with a running hug. He'll run and he'll shout and he'll drive right into your legs if you don't bend down to receive him in anticipation. But one thing's for sure -- the love and the joy are genuine.
4. The determination is inspiring.
Jamie has a very refined way of telling you to back off. If he wants to be doing what you are doing, he'll say, "No, that's my do it!" Sometimes we can let him finish what we started. Sometimes, for the safety and sanity of all involved, mom and dad had better finish.
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