That would pretty much sum things up around here. I recall (very clearly now) how most of my friends with children had mentioned that sometime around the age of 2, a switch is flipped. Their once happy-go-lucky, quick to nap, easy to please little toddlers "all of a sudden" turned into Jekyll and Hyde. I "believed" them. You know...in regards to THEIR children. Of course, I secretly thought that things would become more "difficult", but that I wouldn't really notice the gradual change. Uh huh. Then Finnley turned 2. And then? Somebody flipped the damn switch.
It was within a few days of returning home from Chicago that my babe's all-of-a-sudden-multiple-personalities became very difficult to keep up with. She used to be clock work. Seriously easy nap time around 1pm. A nap for up to three hours. Bed time around 8pm. All easy-peasy-breezy. A happy routine. Now? Overnight (literally), that changed to...whatever goes for the day goes. Nap time now happens (with quite usual tantrums and almost always crying) around 2pm or 2:30pm, if at all. Nap time lasts up to 2 hours, max! When Finnley refuses to go down for a nap (which happens from time to time but not without a fight), the day is long and usually a bit painful toward the end. And regarding bedtime? She now goes down around 8pm or 8:30pm, and it is also somewhat of a struggle. She has cried it out (while standing up) anywhere from 5 minutes to a half hour before finally allowing herself to crash. Teeth brushing...well, that isn't simple anymore, either. It is more of a battle at times. And tantrums? Well, those puppies are guaranteed to rear their ugly head at random moments several times a day EVERY day. At our house. In the car. At the park. With friends. At a restaurant. You name it. Finnley is stubborn, fiercely independent, a bit naughty and defiant, and still the cutest little bugger you have ever seen. There is a reason for the cuteness. God wasn't stupid on that account. If children weren't so cute during these times, a lot of mad houses would probably be filled to capacity with toddler parents at their wit's end. So, my previous "optimistically named" post referring to the "terrific twos" was all bunk. The terrific part, at least.
Now, along with all of this craziness comes some awesomeness, too. Finnley's vocabulary is growing daily. She can string 4 or 5 words together, and you can usually understand what she is saying. You can "almost" have a conversation with her now. She answers questions. You know, with real answers. One day her daddy asked her what she was going to do today. Finnley replied "play with mommy". She, with her growing verbiage and wild independent streak, is truly a little person. Her capacity for imaginative play is growing by leaps and bounds. It is so endearing. I love it. I can't wait for more of all of it, regardless of the "terrible" that rides by its side.
Since our return to South Jersey, we have also spent a lot of time at doctors' offices. I have been dealing with my recurrent ganglion cyst (which I am having surgery on tomorrow...so pardon any upcoming short-term pause on the blog). I have also been trying to get to the bottom of a bothersome foot injury. X-rays and bone scans. Time consuming non-fun. Necessary, but not my idea of a good time. For Finnley, the doctor meant her 2 year well-child visit. The results? She is above-average in her communicative abilities and her gross motor skills. She grew 3.5 inches in 6 months, putting her at 35 inches tall (in the 79th percentile for height). She also finally hit the 25 lb. mark (plus 3 oz...which is the 30th percentile for weight). They now don't need to see Finnley for a year. A year? A whole year without time to time updates? Sigh. We'll have to muscle through (meaning, I will have to muscle through).
And, lastly...earthquakes? Here? In South Jersey? Now I have seen it all! The babysitter had just left after I had returned from the bone scan of my foot. Finnley, Batman, and I were just settling in and deciding what we were going to play next. A casual moment in the family room. Then I felt the house shake, and I heard a "noise". I immediately ran to the front door to check out what I thought for sure was a sudden burst of wind, roaring and causing things to shutter. I quickly realized, though, that the leaves on the trees were barely moving...but the house was still swaying beneath my feet. It was at that moment that the word "earthquake" came to mind. I then quickly grabbed the phone with my adrenaline pumping, and I called Matt at work. He was already standing outside of his office building with his co-workers, as they had all evacuated the building due to the quake. I told him that the pictures on the mantle had shifted, and I could still see the light fixtures rocking back and forth from their chains that connect them to the ceiling. Later on, after going on a brief inspection of the house, I realized that a crack had formed in the plaster wall of the guest bedroom from all the definite but brief movement. CNN confirmed what we all thought. Earthquake. Felt all the way here in South Jersey. Crazy.
So, I'm not sure what else we can do to top all the goings-on of late...but I am convinced that we will manage to come up with more excitement regardless. That is just how we do things around here. Big. And crazy. And simple. And sweet. And fun. We just can't help ourselves!
***update: figured out what we could do to try to top all of the latest happenings...throw a hurricane into the mix. come this weekend we will know better how that fits into the grand scheme of things. sheesh!***
