Two and a half

It’s as if we’ve hung a neon sign in the house that screams NO MORE BABIES. There are no babies here. We kicked the paci habit last summer, we’re only using diapers at night (well, Bubette is, the rest of us can manage without a diaper,) and we’re planning the move from a crib to a big girl bed sometime soon.

I continue to be charmed by Bubette. I can’t think of a better word for the way I feel about her. Bub impresses me, his sister charms me. I think there’s something to this baby of the family business. I mean, by comparison to the rest of the family, she is the baby, and she always will be. Being an older kid, I can fully relate to the frustrations of not being the baby, but being the mom, I can see the advantages of being older.

We’re fully into the I do it myself! phase, which is hilarious when she tries to hold her own hand when we cross the street. She has friends, and recognizes them, and runs up to them at school drop off, or at playgroup. She’s beginning to speak up for herself, recently shouting “No pushing! No pushing ANYMORE” at a friend at the park. She regularly mispronounces words, calling a shopping cart a “shocking pop.” Swim suits are “sim swoops.” See also: hangaber (hamburger) and skabetti (spaghetti.) She still loves Olivia, but makes room for Bubble Guppies and Team Umizoomi in the rotation. She loves books, and she will spend a surprising amount of time flipping through books in her room. We tried gymnastics and dance classes and she cried most of the way through both of them.

Packing. And Unpacking. By Bubette.

Her sleep has taken a turn for the worse. She has been an excellent night time sleeper since her first birthday, and naps have been a non-issue for a long time. Books, bed, sleep. No problem. Now she never, EVER, falls asleep on her own at nap time. She will, usually, fall asleep if I rock her, but that is a process, and one that is easily interrupted. Every time the dog sneezes, a truck rumbles past the house, or Bub calls my name, she snaps to attention and we have to start all over again. Once she is asleep, there’s the task of transferring a 30-something pound two year old into her crib. I remember trying to do this with Bub while quite pregnant, and I basically had to toss him in there toward the end.

I do NOT think she’s ready to drop her nap entirely. When I can get her to sleep, she takes a great nap, and sleeps well at night. When she’s not napping, she’s waking in the middle of the night, something that hasn’t  happened in ages. This has been going on for about a month, so I don’t know if we can call it a phase anymore. I thought maybe something was going on developmentally, but shouldn’t that have passed already? We need our naps back!

This is even more stressful, because I can’t move her out of her crib and into a bed while she’s in the middle of sleep issues. Unless she’s not sleeping well because of the crib. I don’t know! That seems unlikely though. She’s happy in her crib, she just won’t put herself to sleep in there. Sleep is the day to parenting thing that causes me the most stress, and always has, and my angst about this napping situation ramps up anew every day when I hear her chattering over the monitor, rather than sleeping.

On the sibling front, she has completely mastered the art of irking her brother, so that’s an equal opportunity situation around here now. They do really seem to like each other in those moments when they’re getting along, and I have high hopes for their relationship in the future. The highlight of my day is when she runs to claim him at kindergarten pickup and crashes into him at full speed.

I know my day is coming with this little one, but right now? Two is not so terrible.