Just Past Two

Giggle Bear, you are now a breath past two and the thought makes me blink. A lot. How can you be so big?

And at the same time how can so much personality cram into such a small space?

You are always, busy, always industriously doing what you think is right, and letting people know exactly what you think should happen.

Your favourite words are 'No!' 'Me!' 'Mine!' and yes, they all have the exclamation mark. You have sat in the supermarket trolley clutching a box of ice-creams and yelling 'Mine! Mine! Mine!' the entire time.

When you are happy your joy is luminous, incandescent almost. Little things make you happy - seeing your sister, a bird, a little treat, having a bath, going to the pool. Your 'Wow!' is wondering, amazed, adoring. Your 'yay' - especially your 'yay' dance for something really spectacular like going to the beach or doing a poo in the big people loo is sparkling and joyous and addictive.

If you are sad, or think you have been wrongly treated - say if you've missed out on a 'big kid' thing, no one is in any doubt of your feelings. Your shoulders sag, your head drops, your lower lip pouts out and you start drawing patterns on the ground with your toes. If it's a major wrong the screaming commences...

You love drawing - particularly on walls, and having stories read to you. Your favourite is Baby-Cakes and you know all the actions. Your favourite song was Miss Polly Had a Dolly (and again, you knew all the actions,) but it has recently changed to Twinkle Twinkle and Rockabye Your Bear.

I love seeing how much you adore your big sister. To see you running towards each other (after a separation of say, five minutes) your arms outstretched, your faces alight, is the most beautiful thing. My heart stays in my mouth as you play, try as I might I can't get your big sister to understand you're just little and you can't jump from the playhouse to the trampoline or from bed to bed.

You're taking an interest in clothes now - you'll point to the dress you want to wear and you have very specific tastes. (Silk. Velvet. Pink.) Shoes, hats, necklaces are all greeted with delight and preened in. If you're showing off a new dress you will turn in a little circle. You like other people to wear their allotted shoes and hats as well, and you're very keen on things being in their place. (I have no idea where you picked this up from, not from us!)

You still sleep beside me. I know you were to be my first that slept in your very own bed the whole entire time, but no. You sleep beside me, curled in my curve. As you fall into sleep your little toes knead at my thighs and I wake through the night to make sure you're on your back or side, and check your breathing, which is wheezy far more often than I'd like. We wake at the same time and you slowly grin, pat my face, then kiss me, give me hugs. If your sister has come to join us in the night you swap kisses between us and try to hug us both. Although you're not happy if anyone else is beside me. You'll throw yourself between us, wriggle down to make room, yelling 'Mine!' and pushing and kicking.

I'm not entirely sure how you'll take to the new baby...

You are, at long last, night weaned. It took longer than the other two because I left it so long. There were a few nights when your heartbroken wails broke my own heart and then you just accepted you have to wait till morning. Your feeds are getting less and less. I think that when it comes I might not even realise it for awhile.

Your favourite game is 'chasey.' Particularly at school drop-off or pick-up when you loves to hide in the school bushes while I slowly lumber after you and you laugh over your shoulder and then speed off. When I (finally) scoop you up you scream 'Down! Down' and wiggle frantically.

You are used to being admired, and take it as your due. Rarely a day goes by when someone doesn't comment on the size of your eyes or that you look like a little doll. You may look like a little doll, my darling delight, but you act very much like a cheeky monkey. This is a good thing. Being assertive, communicative and experimental is a brilliant thing, although I could forego your experiments with liquids which involves pouring your drinks from container to container before finally tipping them on the floor.

But, my joy, my constant delight, it's such an honour to see you revealing who you are and we are constantly grateful and awestruck to have you with us.