They're heeeeerrrrrrreeee.....

Well, I do believe the terrible, I mean terrific :), two's have arrived. My little girl who was once too shy to throw a tantrum in front of strangers now graces me with 'middle of a store/don't care who's watching' fits. Yes, yes, in true Ana fashion they are relatively short-lived but I am not used to this AT ALL. Her patience is still there but used only at her discretion and the word "no" takes preference over all others. When you talk to her, if she feels like it, she'll give you the time of day. So that means forget about getting a decent picture of her (see picture above). Oh, and her game of choice? Taking things and throwing them on the floor. Ugh. So yeah, this part's definitely going into the "terrible" phase of the books.

But....

They don't also call them the "terrific" two's for nothing. This little kid is picking stuff up like nobody's business. Yesterday alone I swear she said 30 new words. She's starting to identify the letters of the alphabet (sooo cute!) and is learning her colors. She knows green, blue, and yellow but her favorite (or perhaps mine) to say is "puh-pul". She's all about trying to get us to laugh now (not that it's tough I tell ya). She does silly stuff and looks over every 5 seconds to make sure we're watching. She's asking where everything is and tells me in the morning that Daddy's at work instead of asking where he is. She's putting "the" and "a" in front of words and makes everything possesive ("dada's truck, ana's book"). Oh, and she finally says "dog" instead of just "wow, wow". She's known pretty much every body part for a while but now she can say the names and will almost evertime we ask her (I think she's proud of herself too). Probably the best though is when she "reads" her books. She grabs a book, sits in her little chair, and goes through the pages reciting what everything is. I have to get that on video.

It's funny how you can feel such pride for everything she does. I look at her now and wonder where this little person came from. I've said from the very beginning that one of my very favorite things about being a mom, being her mom, is watching her learn. This new stage that she's in, trying as it may be, is so rewarding. They say that being a mother is the most thankless job you'll ever have but I couldn't disagree more. The "thanks" just come in a different form - the form of knowing you're doing a good job with this little girl.