terrible two's....

as i am doing the dishes, i notice lil' bug attempting to put her crocs on by herself... earlier today it was her boots (she refused help when I tried to correct right from left), then her black dress shoes (she loves the tapping sound they make everywhere she pitter-patters stomps)... i think what's terrible about two's is that this is when that precious lil' baby you've been coddling for the past couple dozen months really starts growing right before your eyes (the physical transformation from baby to toddler, to little girl), becoming more independent, needing mommy and daddy less and less (or so she insists until a meltdown of frustration overcomes her).... a few days ago Ryan went to check on our chatty (supposed to be napping) princess, only to find her clean diaper in hand and a crib and little girl covered in poo- literally smeared into her hair down between her toes and in every nook and cranny of her crib. She thought it was hilarious as we quickly went into cleanup mode (only time for a mental picture since neither of us had a phone or the camera handy to take a quick snapshot of this "not-funny-now-but-sure-to-be-hilarious-later" moment). It drives me bonkers that she insists on having her diaper off (often times right before she has to poop- maybe time to potty train?) and she is finally able to take her clothes off so needless to say we officially have a stubborn streaker on our hands (of course she is butt naked minus the headband and her shoes of choice- always a little diva). This stage of learning demanding her independence has taught me more than I realized I needed to learn about patience. Sadly (and shamefully), I never actually knew what made Job such a "patient" person in the Bible... so after being fed up one night with my tantrum-throwing-not-quite-two-climbing-her-way-onto-and-out-of-everything-diva, I took a quiet me-time-moment to open my Bible and find out what this patient Job guy was all about... needless to say- I have a walk in the park on my hands compared to his situation, and I have found myself constantly (literally a dozen + times a day) reminding myself of how incredible his patience level was as he was tested in Biblical proportions...  the terrible part about two is saying good-bye to my sweet baby girl, and hello to a little girl who is trying/fighting to find her independence in this little world of hers...

"i'm gonna take this bag out to the trash... what's the big deal?!"

our streaker stripped down and found a quiet place to read her daddy's engineer manual... this is just one of those pictures worth a thousand words i had to sneak (While I was making dinner, I found her here after I realized it was too quiet in the living room- priceless)