Birthday Girl

Dear Rosalind,

You turned two about two and half weeks ago. Since you thought it would be fun to drown the computer in chocolate milk a few weeks before that we haven't gotten around to posting. Daddy finally brought home his work computer, so here we go.
THE TERRIBLE TWO'S!!!!! Except, not entirely. You began to test your boundaries around 18 months and we already dealt with the temper tantrums, biting, hitting, pulling hair, etc. And none of those things ever happened all at once. It was as though we would get it through to you that biting was inappropriate and you would then try hair pulling on for size. You also never did that stuff to us, but saved it for playmates at daycare. I am glad, if hesitant, to say that you have only gotten time out once at school in the last two months. In fact, you are very sweet. More of a caretaker than a troublemaker. You still love baby dolls and real life babies and play the big sister/mommy role for the most part.
What has been the most surprising thing about TWO! and the few months before it is how loving you are. You constantly run up and give our knees the best bear hugs for no apparent reason, and blow kisses when we leave you, and crawl into our laps and hug us tight and say, "Awuvyu," and most adorably of all, you make a satisfied moan/grunt thing when you give hugs. Kind of like grandmothers hug their grandkids when they haven't seen them in a while. I was all prepped for the constant timeout giving and stern lectures associated with two, but so far it has been a steady increase of affection.
On the other hand, you are almost abusive with your affection. When I say you crawl into our laps, I mean you rake your tennis shoes up our legs and down our chests and poke your knees in our faces and elbow our guts in your attempt to get in whatever position you were going for. Sometimes you like to put your face right up against ours and will clamp onto our heads tightly and smash your nose right into our noses. I wake up most days wondering where I will find the next bruise. But it's pretty great as long as I see it coming and have time to take evasive action.
You've chosen this time to go almost entirely off veggies, even the ones you have always loved. I sneak baby food into your mac and cheese. That gummy candy you like is really a vitamin. The only juice you get at home is V8 Fusion. Don't mess with me. I'm the mommy. Ha. Actually, for the most part we simply ignore your eating oddities and you seem to come back to things after awhile. I'm rooting for broccoli's return any day now.
We don't know who taught you this but you came home and started karate-chopping the air and kicking while yelling "hi-ya!" Now we have you kick everyone because it is crazy cute.
You can count to ten but almost never show us when we ask. You definitely don't know your ABC's but you do know the tune to the song sung only as Abc's abc's abc's abc's. You can identify a square, circle, triangle, star, diamond, and heart most of the time. You have recently dropped the word please and inserted the word okay instead. What was once, "Mama, I yant canny, peas?" is now, "Canny, okay." Except, think whinier. "Potty, okaaaaay." "Night, night, okaaaay." "Go play, okaaaaaaaaaaaaay, OKAAAAAAY."
Speaking of the potty...umm, let's work on that one. You pee on the floor more often than a new puppy. You were doing well once, but now tell us you need to potty as you stand there going. Then you waddle spraddle-legged to the bathroom so that nobody could possibly ignore what has happened.
You love to point out big trucks, you call every color either pink or green, and you know which car is our car. You are long and lean and have very little baby left in you. You are too old for a pacifier but I know that strangers probably think you are WAY too old because you look like a complete little girl and not a barely two year old.
I would encourage you to slow down but I really like every new little person you become even more than the last. Happy 2nd birthday, Rolo!

Love,

Mama