A Case of Toddler

Lately, Lucy has had a serious Case of Toddler. What this means:

1. She will no longer sit in the front seat of a shopping cart. If we decide to put her there, she throws a fit until we can distract her with something interesting.

2. She does not like to hold our hands when walking in public. If we try to hold hands with her, she goes boneless and crumples to the ground, so that we have to peel her off the sidewalk.

3. She has become extremely opinionated about everything, from what she eats to what outfit she wants to wear. I let her pick out some new shoes for the beach, and - of course - she chose pink jellies, which she now refuses to take off.

Modeling her new pink jellies...

4. On any given day, Lucy may or may not nap. 

5. Lucy's bedtime routine has become an Olympic sport. Imagine trying to wrestle a cat into a pair of pajamas. And then trying to brush said cat's teeth while she keeps her mouth clamped tightly shut. Because that's basically what it's like putting Lucy to bed.

6. On the bright side, this phase is a lot of fun. Lucy has a huge imagination, and she is constantly making us laugh with her strange observations. Some of my favorite new Lucy-isms:

- "Cute": Lucy uses the word "cute" about as liberally as a fourteen-year-old girl. Everything is cute. Her shoes are cute. Babies are cute. The rock she finds on the ground is cute. 

- "Oh my gosh.": Lucy likes to say, "Oh my gosh," if she finds something particularly embarrassing or challenging. If she is having trouble opening a baggie of snacks, she might mutter, "Oh my gosh," under her breath. I'm sure she gets this from me, which made me realize how much I must utter the phrase on a daily basis. This child is twenty-three months going on twenty-three years.

- "I do it self.": This is Lucy's most favorite sentence. 

With this new phase come new challenges and struggles. Sure, there are days that I get frustrated and lose my patience. But I also enjoy seeing Lucy gain confidence and independence. I love watching her learn and think and use her imagination. She isn't going to be a toddler forever, so I have to savor these days while I can.