Eek! I Have A Two Year old!

My little daughter has just turned two years old! How the heck did that happen? Two whole years since she entered into this world. Celebrating this milestone made me get rather emotional. Admittedly, the several glasses of fizz, red wine and cocktails consumed over the birthday weekend probably didn’t help nor the lack of sleep and general stress of perfecting the Peppa Pig banners, hosting guests and then sharing every exciting detail with our 2-year-old daughter; from unwrapping the presents to cutting the cake and letting her bash us (and her guests) on the head with her balloons.

But the truth is the past two years have been unbelievably life changing. Everyone says it, don’t they… “Life will never be the same”, “best thing you’ll ever do…blah blah” but it isn’t until you actually have children that it registers. Something finally clicks, like being told the answer to a cryptic question in a pub quiz. “Oh, THATS it! I see it now!”. Suddenly, everything becomes clear.

Having her in our lives has given us so much joy and (I hope) helped enhance us as people. There have been ups and a few downs but I can safely say everyday she had been with us, I have been thankful. Even on the most trying days when she’s been ill and clingy and teething. At the end of the day I will still look at her lying in her cot – looking so sweet and peaceful and feel blessed to have her.

I guess this milestone has made me get a bit nostalgic. Taking stock at the past two years, a lot has happened. Mrs T at came at a time of upheaval in our life. As if becoming first time parents wasn’t enough, my husband Cal had been recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. Thankfully, as Mrs T has grown, his health has improved immeasurably.

Where did those two years go? The quicker she has become at moving, the faster the days seem to be whizzing by – particularly the past year when I have returned the work and seen her less. She is growing day by day. Her confidence, her personality and her speech, in particular, has accelerated over the past few weeks. She is relishing her new found ability to communicate and loves talking and exploring words.

The other day I was incredibly impressed (and think we may actually have a genius on our hands) to hear her rhyming Mabel with table. She’s recollecting her friends a lot more now and often a random act or object will trigger her memory and I will marvel at how she has remembered. It is the same with places we have been or things we have done, like go in an “orange aeroplane”.

She can count to ten very confidently and knows her colours and is beginning to understand where we are when she’s at nursery “daddy, work” and when we are going to the “shop” (she has actually become quite obsessed with going there  – go on then, if you insist, we will)! Something she has done for a few months now is talking to inanimate objects, saying “night, night cakes” before going to bed and “bye, bye house and “bye, bye car” when going out.

Asking questions, or certainly one in particular, is one of her favourite things at the moment: “What’s that noise, mummy” (or in her speak “knot knat noise?) is said on a regular basis. She also gives me commands “come mummy” or “read it” and even tells me off (for no reason at all) “naughty mummy”. You could say she was bossy.

Our two year old daughter also likes telling us when things are “on” or “off” and “gone”. She usually starts these questions with a very inquisitive (and cute) “Oh no”, for instance “Oh no!  Where garden gone?” as she holds her hands out the side. I suppose it must be very confusing for them!

The days I spend with her,  I literally get a running commentary as she asks questions and I explain. She tells me what to do, I tell her what to do. I distract her with activities, she distracts me from doing chores. She runs off, I run after her. Yes, it’s exhausting but I love it.

My daughter and I may not look particularly alike at the moment (she’s the spit of her dad) but we share one big passion – singing! There is many a morning when I am woken up by the sound of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Now, that beats an alarm clock any day!

But our cute little two year old daughter is also staring to play us. Yes, already! When I tell her to do something she doesn’t want to (I’m talking really unreasonable stuff like putting      on her cardy or having a bath (!)), she’ll say “daddy”‘- as if he is suddenly going to turn up and save her – clearly he’s the soft touch!

No doubt this will be worked on in the future and it will be me having to curb Cal’s generosity and instil some sense of willpower…

The day after her birthday we experienced, right on cue, a stamping of the feet, whiny tantrum. I am completely putting this down to exhaustion after a full on couple of days… But, yes, I know… we are entering the ‘terrible twos’ phase, anything could happen!

Whatever does, I am looking forward to it with anticipation and delight. Everyday there is something new and I love seeing and hearing what she is going to do and say. This is better than any plot in a soap, film or drama and beats the latest goings on in the Celebrity Big Brother house. This is real life and we are living in our own show! Who knows what the next year of Mrs T’s life will bring but I am so super excited for us to share it with her.