Pretty sure the"Terrible 2's" start at 18 months!

I feel like I have spent so much time lately just trying to "get through" this age/stage with Juliana. It suddenly dawned on me that with that mindset I was losing track of these fun days with her because I was letting the tantrums and teething and her sudden independence consume my mind. 

19 month olds are FUN! 

Yes this stage has been hard for us (and I think everyone!).....mainly because our little ones begin to want to communicate with us but can't really talk yet so the result = frustration [from both of us], tantrums [thankfully just her though I have been tempted], screaming [I wait till alone with my pillow haha jk], pointing, grabbing, biting and everything in between right?

(this is me being a horrible parent for giving her breakfast.....lol)

But I found that I was constantly thinking to myself "ok.....we just need to get through this stage and we're good" instead of taking each tantrum and meltdown in strite and seeing the bigger picture.

YES it is exhausting to wake up every night often time for hours due to teething, YES it is embarrassing to have your child kick and scream and meltdown in the line at walmart (and it's ok to cry when you get to the car too!), YES it is draining to never know why your child is constantly whining and clingy, and YES it hard to collapse in bed every night because you are completely done!
 BUT the bigger picture is this -- Everything is for a season. 

I LOVE my days with her. I can't be frustrated with her for needing me to teach her how not to behave. My mama did it for me! Of course Jules' needs instruction and discipline she's learning what is and isn't ok. I know this is basic knowledge but for some reason it's a realization to me when I realized how worn down I was from the constant pull on me to figure out what she is trying to communicate, what is wrong and how I can fix it! 

I don't want to be "getting through" each day that I miss all the fun and adorable stuff she is doing.

Toddlers = Fun and that's the truth! How adorable is all their effort to copy your words and imitate all the little things you do!

Everything from wanting to "help" you stir the cake batter, emptying your just folded towels to "wipe the floor" and EVERYTHING else they do to be just like mommy!

If you're in this stage with me I encourage you to enjoy your days with your little one! These days will very soon be the past. Sometimes that's a relief but other times I realize how much I'll miss her little hand always grabbing mine and wanting ME to help her with everything. Plus ......she pulls of ADORABLE better than anyone I know!