Look Who's Two!

Yep, Miss Addison is now two. Although I've been warned about the difficulties of raising a two year old, I think I'll refer to the next twelve months as the
"Trying Twos". If you've read this post before, you may notice that I've changed my tone from "Terrific Twos" to "Trying Twos". Although I've previously pondered why our society embraces the negative title, "Terrible Twos", the reality is that raising a two year old really can be trying. Although I might as well view Miss Addison's mixture of sweet and spunky behaviors as normal developmental behaviors, these behaviors require serious patience, nurturing, guidance, more patience, and love. Did I mention the need for patience?!! So in honor of Addison's presence on earth for twenty-four months, here are 24 things (in no particular order) about her that add much joy and energy to our lives and make us proud to be her parents. And yes, I've included some of Addison's characteristics that require a lot of the Big P...Patience!

1. Addison greets us most mornings with a big smile and jumps of joy. I must admit there have been a few times lately when she woke up on the wrong side of the crib!
2. The empathy she shows for others when she senses they are upset or uncomfortable
3. Her willingness to share even when she clearly doesn't want to
4. Her relatively strong verbal communication skills
5. Hearing her say "Thank You" without prompting or proudly saying, "Excuse me!" after a cough (even if the cough was fake :-).
6. Her great independence (which makes us proud and crazy at the same time - especially in the morning when we're trying to leave the house)
7. Addison's amazing memory of people, places, routines, and details
8. Her love of animals, both stuffed and real
9. Her efforts to assist me when doing her hair. You should see those little fingers move while trying to work those rubber bands!
10. Her attempts to style my hair followed with a, "There you go!"
11. Addison's love of books and music
12. Her show of love and affection for her mommy, daddy, and extended family members
13. Her intelligence
14. Her expressive eyes and overall outer beauty
15. Her generosity with hugs and kisses
16. Her excitement when it's time to bless the food and making sure everyone says "Amen".
17. Her appreciation of variety of foods: chicken nuggets, pizza, avocado (she actually asked her daycare provider for avocado), yogurt, cheese, plums, mangoes, apple juice, cheerios, ice cream, and her latest crave...quesadillas.
18. Her playfulness and sense of humor
19. Her attempts to write numbers and the alphabets
20.Her expressed opinions about her clothing and shoes ("It's too tight", "It's too big", "It's just right!"
21. Her indecisiveness about her desires: I want it/ I don't want it, I wanna/I don't wanna, I need to potty/I don't wanna potty, I had fun/I don't wanna have fun...Talk about the need for big time patience! What's a parent to do?!!
22. The fact that her temper tantrums are typically over within a minute or less
23. Her sense of confidence and ability to hang with older toddlers and children, and perhaps most of all,
24. Addison's great balance between gentleness and strength
Needless to say, this list could have been a lot longer!

In an effort to please the three people that still follow this blog, I've posted a few recent pictures.