A LONG Year

As you know, the girls are very close in age. Exactly 13 months to the day. There are days this is a good thing and there are days I wish they were further apart in age.

My oldest just turned 3 this past week. Now, you've all heard tales of the Terrible Twos. Abby didn't really have those. But about 3 weeks ago, she really started to turn that around...apparently rather than the Terrible 2s, she's gonna go for the gusto and give me a run for my money with the 3s. And what should I expect with this lovely age? Apparently, I can expect a lot of grunting and pointing (from a child who can easily speak in complete sentences), a level of stubbornness I didn't know a 3-year old could pull off (I blame her father), tears at the drop of a hat (because I asked her to take her shorts off or something else along those horrible lines) and the screaming temper tantrums that will most likely peel the paint off my circa 1880s walls. Should be a fun year.

My youngest (for the moment) turns 2 in a few mores weeks. And I have the sneaking suspicion that she will be the one who treats me to the mythical Terrible 2s. I sense that she will feed off her sister's current behavior anomalies and hit me with her version. Lately, she thinks it's super funny to bite! Good times. The really terrible thing is, it is sort of funny. And, of course, it's the kiss of death when you laugh when the child does something that's very wrong but very funny at the same time. Because this kid knows funny and once she has an audience, boy, does she run with it. Trouble, I tell you!

So, it could be a long year. I know everyone gets them. People tell me that years 4-7 are pretty good, as far as the kids are concerned. I'm looking forward to those years. But I'm also sort of looking forward to these years. As rotten as the girls can be on a daily basis, and as obscenely tired as I can be at the end of the day, I find all their quirks absolutely fascinating. These are the things that will turn them into who they're going to be in the long run. I think it's a pretty safe bet that the little one won't be biting people when she's 18 and the older one most likely won't be screaming unless there's a very good reason. If my eardrums and sanity can take it, and given the fact that I've been pregnant and given birth twice there's a pretty good chance of that happening, I think the road ahead, though bound to be wicked bumpy at times, should be a pretty good one.