Toddlerhood

Aven has recently entered what is commonly referred to as the "terrible two's". I always thought it happened around age two, but after doing some reading I have learned that the terrible two's start during the second year of life, usually somewhere between 15 and 18 months. Aven's pediatrician likes to joke that the terrible two's start around 18 months and last until about 18 years- ha, ha.

The thing that has surprised me so much about her stages is that the changes they bring seem to happen overnight. One day she was a happy-go-lucky toddler, content to play with her toys independently and rarely interested in stuff out of her reach. The next day she was constantly whining for something on the kitchen counter or dining room table that she couldn't have like a nail file or Ian's i-touch. If she doesn't get what her little heart desires she has a classic toddler melt-down. Several melt-downs a day is really starting to wear me out. I find myself asking Ian "do you REALLY think this is normal?" about five times a day, to which he responds "yes, what gave you the impression that having kids was going to be easy?". At least in between meltdowns she is fun, pleasant, and often downright hilarious.

Here's to the in-between!

State Fair

We took Aven to the State Fair for the first time. She absolutely loved the animals. She also fought to get out of the stroller whenever possible so that she could try to pick up repulsive stuff off the ground like cigarette butts and used straws. Ian, my mom, and I took turns chasing her. We had fun.

Aven met a friendly goat . . .

. . . petted this sheep on the nose and then promptly stuck her finger in her mouth- ewww! . . .

. . . and was entertained by the fun house mirrors for about 5 seconds before spotting something on the ground she wanted to pick up.

Next year she'll be old enough to go on a pony ride and get sugared up on cotton candy :)

Pucker Up

Aven recently went through a phase in which she didn't want anything to do with Ian if I was anywhere near. She wouldn't let him pick her up or hold her unless I wasn't home. She only wanted me. Our pediatrician warned us that this could happen and that it's totally normal. It didn't make it any less heartbreaking. Fortunately she has emerged from this difficult phase and into a completely fabulous phase in which she wants to kiss everyone in sight (as long as it's someone she knows). She also loves to kiss her toys, Grace Dog, and she even kissed her own toes in the bathtub tonight. I have to confess that this has got to be my favorite phase so far. She doesn't give what you might consider a real kiss. She presses her face up to your cheek (or arm, or leg) and sticks her tongue out as she makes a kissing sound. I've even been nipped by her baby teeth on a few occasions when she was a little too aggressive with her technique. I am grateful that her difficult phases seem to be peppered with heart-meltingly sweet phases like this one. Until she learns how to give a "normal" kiss I will proudly walk into work everyday with the remnants of a slobbery kiss on my cheek and a smile on my face because I get the opportunity to be a mom.