Toddler Moments

Sometimes motherhood seems to be filled with never ending moments of worry. It's quite silly and usually a waste of time, but I think we are all guilty of being worrisome from time to time - it just comes with the job. My latest worries have been induced by toddler hood. I am now the mother of a full blown toddler. There is no more baby left in Kenzie anymore. While I still call her my baby and will have a hard time thinking of her otherwise she is definitely growing into a little girl. She runs instead of waddling, she whines instead of crying, she talks instead of babbling, and she is the most curious little gal ever. Sometimes this toddler hood can translate to a mom who wants to pull her hair out because if all those things come together in one moment you have a child who is running, whining, talking, and being curious all at the same time.

My most recent motherhood worry comes from the whining department. Kenzie rarely seems to express herself without whining about what it is that she needs. More often than not I can't entirely understand what it is that she is complaining about which leads to more whining. Garrett and I have learned a lot of patience in the last few weeks. Often by the end of the day our first instinct is to just want to put her in her crib and cry and whine all night long; but we've learned to get down on her level and try to talk to her about what is going on. It can take some time and effort at times, but we usually end up with a happier toddler that way. It's amazing what a prayer, a deep breath, and some patience can do for you. It's really helped me in all of my relationships with people. Let's face it, there are other people besides toddlers that we would like to just lock in a crib at times and let them whine it out, but that's just not realistic. So, dealing with Kenzie has really helped me to be patient with other difficult personalities that we often find ourselves dealing with (we won't mention any names).

Anyway, my second worry involves our recent entry into nursery. It seems that Kenzie has a knack for being a silent instigator of trouble in the nursery. She often quietly approaches other kids and silently takes their toys or pushes them aside to get to what she wants which always leads that kid into a temper tantrum or a full out attack on Kenzie (which I don't feel bad about - she has it coming). Anyway, this just worries me! Garrett assures me that all kids this age just don't know how to share yet and are very one tract minded in getting what they want - which I know is true; however, when it is your baby being the instigator it worries me a lot more! It really makes for funny stories further down the road, but right now I don't want my kid of be a bully! I try not to talk like this in front of MaKenzie because if I am always expressing my worries that she is a bully or unkind she is more likely to believe that. For now I know that I just have to know that "this too shall pass" . . .

On a lighter note, this stage of childhood is SO much fun to watch. I am SO grateful for the blessing that I have in being a stay at home mom and getting so see every moment of our kids lives develop. Kenzie loves to pretend play lately. She pushes her dollies in the stroller, wraps them up in blankets and puts them down for naps, puts them on the potty, and even places them in time-out. She loves to dress up in my shoes, necklaces, and hair things and then prance around the house singing. Her newest obsession is taking on and off her own shoes and socks, she is not very good at it - but not a day goes by when I don't find her shoes ans socks drawer all over the floor with her in the middle of the pile trying on her "choos" and "gocks". Her vocabulary seems to grow every day. There are still many words that I don't understand - which can lead to upset toddler at times - but we are slowly figuring out how to communicate. Her favorite words right now seem to be "mine" and "no" - once again, we know we have a toddler on our hands! :) It's fun to have a little kid around that you can really play with now. She'll chase us around and then we chase her around while she squeals in delight. She loves piggy back rides and really enjoys the park. She has a huge obsession with everything Elmo and everything Nemo, which is also entertaining to watch as well.

Anyway, I have been on the computer too long and Kenzie is begging to go "side" (outside). I promised her a trip to the library and the park this morning so it looks like we better get going. She is currently trying to shoves shoes on my feet in attempts to get me going. Gotta love it! :)