Approaching 2, Already THERE

Pretty sure that our sweet little "sugar baby" has turned into T-Rex. Oh boy. This morning I wrestled with her for five minutes to get her in the car seat...and that was after she already wrestled with me AND Jesse in the house when we were trying to put her coat on. We left without the coat, by the way. She screamed at the top of her lungs out the door, the whole time I was trying to put her in the carseat, and then all the way to daycare. Once we arrived at daycare and I got her out and she snuggled onto my shoulder and did that little sad breathing thing that they do when they get so worked up and then are trying to calm down...know what I'm talking about? Totally breaks my heart.

This was probably the worst morning so far, but it started a few weeks back when she suddenly decided that she doesn't need to make it so easy for mommy to bathe and dress her when there is already only a few minutes to get it done before it's time to head out the door for the day. By the time I leave for work I feel like I have already put in a full days work! All you other 'experienced' moms are probably just laughing at me. :) But the worst part is that I get to work feeling like I need to go back and make up with her! Kind of like how you should never go to bed after a fight without making up you know?...Yeah, I give her hugs and kisses and we snuggle a few minutes before I say goodbye at daycare, but it never feels like enough after we struggle through our morning.

She always makes up for it at the end of the day though- when I walk through the door and she runs over with a big smile and open arms...it is the most amazing feeling ever. We're friends again! (Only to start over again tomorrow morning)

Other than all that - Paige is still so much fun and I really wouldn't trade her in. She is finally starting to say a few things - "lide" (LOVES to tell me about the slide at daycare)..."ree ree ree ree ree ree ree ree ree ree" (that's reading a book) "me!" (she loves to acknowledge herself and she also points at me and says "momma" then at Jesse and says "dadda" then at herself and says "Mmmmeeeee!" or sometimes it's just a quick "me!"......the latest is, "k?" (this is how she asks her dollys if they are ok and pats them on the head a few times)...Tonight her and I took her dolly for a walk outside with the little dolly stroller and Paige was pushing it along, then decided that she wanted to hold my hand. We all know how hard it is to push a stroller with one hand, especially if you don't center your hand. Needless to say she had quite the time trying to manage the stroller with one hand...she accidentally dumped out her baby and then picked the baby up and I think was pretending like the baby was crying and needed consoling! It was sooo cute - already picking up on how baby's need to be taken care of. So then I asked her if Baby Gracie was ok, and she stopped and looked at her dolly and said, "K?" and patted her dolly's head and then looked up at me and said, "Des, k" and we kept going. I think that was the slowest walk I've ever been on - this is good - she is teaching me how to slow down for awhile and enjoy the moment. I think she is also going to require that I get up even earlier to get her up earlier and allow more time to get ready in the morning. ugh.