toddlerhood is...

gnarly. (for lack of a better word)

What do I mean by gnarly? Well, it seems like as soon as babies start to walk and talk, the "gnarly" stages begin. It's no longer primarily about sleeping and eating. As a toddler, it's about getting into EVERYTHING, grabbing what you're not supposed to, throwing fits when you realize you can't always get what you want, experimenting with new words such as "no", "why?" and "go away," to see what kind of reaction you'll get from old mom and dad. All of these lovely little moments that make you feel like you're doing an awesome job. You find yourself on this roller coaster of stages that throws you a curve ball just about every other week. It's intense. It's frustrating. It can be enough to put you over the edge at times.

Like last week.

I honestly found myself in tears because Weredesh was experiencing one of those stages that sucks every last breath out of you. She's discovered the monsters in the closet, bathroom, and wherever else they might hide, as well as the old irrational fear of the dark. She was also in a SUPER needy (did I say super?) phase where she was stuck to my leg like glue and not letting go. Not for a single moment. And while she was not letting go, she was talking my ear off. (That's awesome when both mommy and daddy are sick, by the way.) Last week sucked for sure.

What's interesting (and nice) is that these little changes only last a short time and then your angel is back and you once again feel the rewards of being a parent. Good thing, at least for us, because I know it's not like that for everyone. For many, a lot of these stages tend to run together and become one longgggg period of time. Good thing for us, because we're old. And having a two-year old really makes that apparent. Whenever someone asks me if we're having more children, I let out a loud guffaw. No, not a laugh. A guffaw (look it up) :)

And supposedly toddlerhood ends at the age of three. Weredesh will be three in approximately two weeks, entering the phase known as "preschool" age. From many parents I've heard that the threes are WAY more difficult than the twos. I haven't found the twos difficult, necessarily, at least not as difficult as I've heard the "terrible twos" can be. But then again, I'm not feeling the strong desire for a new challenge. ;)