Taryn is 1 month and 10 days from being 2 years old. But, don't think for a second that she doesn't have the full-fledged attitude of a 2 year old. I understand that part of our very human-ness is our free will. And that is what our toddlers are developing. It's truly a very important step in the forming of their personality. I once heard someone say that God must have balanced out all the rip-your-hair-out moments of toddlerhood with some of the cutest and funniest times.
The Good: She's cute, she's sassy, she's smart. She has us laughing out loud on a regular basis. She can now tell us most of the time what she wants, and it is in the endearing toddler language that is just adorable. One of Lee's fellow cops gave Taryn a bunch of suckers that have been left in my car. Every now and then she'll conjure up her cutest look and nod at me and say "my gucker?" It's hard to say no to that. She loves yogurt and calls it "yo yo". She knows which car is mine, which keys are mine, how to unlock the door, how the treadmill works (thank goodness she's too short)... Which kitty is nice and which is the "bad ki-deee". She has an opinion on what she wears and insists that she needs a jacket even when it is 80 out. She wants to put on her cowboy boots whenever Lee puts on his black boots. She loves "Mou" (Mickey Mouse) and as soon as one show is ending will turn and sign "more" and say "More Mou? More Mou?" She is so ready to run and be a big kid, but is still too little and slow to really run with her cousins. She still adores the horses and wants to count them everytime we go by. She really only knows 1...2... so she just says that over and over. She loves to jump even though she only gets a centimeter off the ground. She calls the swing "Wheee" because that is the sound that she makes when she swings. She still loves her babies and treats them with so much love that I know I must be doing something right in the motherhood arena. She makes the facial expressions of my favorite grandpa who died two years before she was born. She has my eyebrows, but she calls them "by-brows". She has my chin too, which I never liked on me, but looks awfully cute on her. She calls her grandma's "mm-ma" and her grandpa's "papa" and she loves them all fiercly. Occasionally she calls other men over 40 "papa" which can be a little embarrassing. She plays with my hair when she's tired and anytime she finds a hair laying somewhere she says it is "mommy hair" even if it isn't. She dabbles in the drama. She'll stand across the room from us and say "HUG" and act like there is some invisible force that is holding her back from hugging us and then get fake sad about it. If she sees a picture of herself crying, she'll immitate the face. She closes her eyes to be really dramatic when she wants something or is working up to a fake cry. She isn't me, she isn't Lee, she is an individual and like no one I've ever met. I don't know where her future will take her, but I can't wait to see.
The Bad and The Ugly: Today Taryn refused to take a nap. In her defense, we did very little this morning and she had slept in, so I know she was not super tired. So, because of all of this, I threw in the towel at 1pm and took her over to see her cousin Kylan who was visiting. 3:30 rolls around and despite her energetic front, I could tell she was wiped. I figured I'd take her home and let the car ride do the heavy lifting. Then, I would just have to carry her in and... voila, nap! She fought that nap too. I drove around for close to 40 minutes. Had to stop 3 times because she threw her paci. Finally, she gave in and passed out. However, as soon as her head hit the crib, AWAKE. So, she successfully skipped nap attempt #2. Finally, time for bed. (FINALLY!) She is so tired she can barely keep her head up to watch Mickey Mouse. I carry her. She dozes off. I put her in her crib, BAM wide awake. I do it again. I bring her to the recliner to rock her. I leave her to cry for 20 minutes. I bring her to the recliner to try to rock her to sleep. "BOOK? BOOK? MOMMY BOOK?" AGH! I carry her to sleep again. Put her in her crib, BAM, awake. "Jooo? Jooo? Jooo? Mommy, joo?" (and repeat). I think maybe she is hot, so I get her a fan and open her windows. She throws paci's and bunnies and then calls out "MY DACIIII MY BUNNYYYY" and pokes at my eyeballs and tries to pick my nose and kicks me and glares at me. And finally. It's over. And I finished off my box of wine. (Stay classy Lauren.)
I wrote the Bad and the Ugly before writing the Good. That was my catharsis and then I focused on all the great things about my baby girl so I could wipe that frustration from my mind. The joys of raising a toddler!
Since then we've celebrated a lot of birthdays...
We've all grown up and gotten married... Well, we've gotten married. 
And now we've both got toddlers to keep us on our toes. 
It's crazy to think of all that has happened over the last 9 years, but I'm really glad that we found each other in the big city and got to share all the silliness and shennanigans. Happy Birthday tomorrow Michelle!! Welcome to the 30's. They aren't nearly as bad as I thought they would be!!! I look forward to sharing many more fun times together in our 30's... Although now we may be in bed by 11pm. 
Easter dress!
The girls all got a manicure! Taryn thought her painted nails were amazing...
