Top Ten Signs

Top Ten Signs That My Toddler is Approaching 2!

10. She can say 'no' in a variety of ways, frequently throughout the day, but won't actually say 'yes'.
'N' has the soft, shy 'no' that she uses when talking on the phone or talking to strangers. She has the loud, ear piercing 'NO' when sisters take her toys. She has the snippy, defiant 'no' when she doesn't want our help with something and wants to do it herself. And she has the sobbing, pitiful 'no' when she doesn't want to go to bed.


9. Her clothing doesn't have a stay-on guarantee.
'N' has been good at taking shoes and socks off for quite awhile. Lately we gotten her up from nap & bedtime to discover she has unsnapped, unzipped, or tangled her clothing.


8. 'N' believes in the opposite theory.
When you ask her to come here, she goes away. When you ask her to come down, she goes up. And most of the time her opposite theory is accompanied with a sneaky little grin and giggle.


7. Pitiful drama.
She comes by drama naturally, but lately it's been especially pitiful and dramatic. She wants to do the whole defiant-throw-herself-on-the-ground move, but she does it in slow motion, so as to not really hurt herself and it just comes across looking so fake. She puts forth a good sounding cry and yell, but when it's coupled with her pitifully slow throw down, you know it's all for show!


6. Limp rag doll.
Signature move for 'N' when she's being forced to hold your hand and go somewhere she doesn't want to go. She usually does it with a cute smirk on her face, but that fades away when the "limp rag doll" invokes the "leg slap" from us.


5. "All Done"
While 'N' is good at saying "Da Done" and even knows the sign language for it too, she prefers the projectile plate move to signal that she's finished eating. With constant reprimand we've been able to curb this move from it's original fly-across-the-table-and-splat-on-the-ground motion to now where she only pushes hard enough to make it half way across the table. If no plate is available, bowls, sippy cups, or bibs work too. Whatever she can push or throw down.


4. She keeps on trying.
'N' loves to test and keep trying our patience and boundaries. One day all the girls were sitting around the table drawing or working on homework. Not to leave 'N' out we gave her a paper and pencil too just like big sisters. She was content with this activity for a few minutes. Then the pencil began trying to maneuver to other places. First she tried drawing on the table. "No, N" Then she tried her face. "No, N" Then when she thought we weren't looking, she pulled her shirt up and attempted to draw on her belly!


3. Dog cruelty.
'N' loves Peaches, but lately has been getting more and more rough with her. We've found her numerous times just pulling on her tail or pulling her around by her collar. She often goes up to Peaches, intending to pet and love on her, but it comes out as hitting. The worst was one day when she was riding her car toy around downstairs. 'N' kept purposefully going after Peaches and bumping into her with the car. Peaches of course would jump out of the way and try to move to the other side of the room or another room completely. 'N' just kept going after her over and over again. Even after she got a small hand pop and sat in time out, 'N' hopped right back on her car and went chasing after the dog. Len and I are not a fan of this current streak, so we're working hard to break it!


2. Cuteness
Not all things about 2 year olds are bad. God made them cute for a reason - so you would put up with all this fun boundary testing, limit pushing, pitiful drama! While 'N' has certainly moved into the "stinker" mode lately, she does it all in such a way that you really want to laugh at her. Unfortunately she knows she's cute and she loves to just smile and flirt her way out of trouble.


1. Mischievous plans
'N' caught me off guard the other day with a truly ingenious and deviously planned act of independence. The girls and I were upstairs one morning, taking care of our usual morning chores. I had to run downstairs for two items, so I quickly ran downstairs, purposely closing the baby gate behind me so that 'N' and Peaches wouldn't follow me. As soon as my feet hit the bottom floor I heard water rushing. LOTS of water rushing! I immediately yelled up "B, FIND HER!", then I ran to grab the two things I needed and ran back upstairs. In the whole 60 seconds that I had left her upstairs unwatched, 'N' had gone into the bathroom, turned on the tub, and was pouring cups of water everywhere. She had gotten at least 2 or 3 cup fulls on herself as she was soaking wet along with the bathroom rug. She had also dumped several cups of water in the middle of the hallway where the dog was trying to lap it out of the carpet. She obviously had this idea in mind and was watching and waiting till just the right time to execute her mischievous plan! That will teach me to leave her alone, even for a minute!