When you have a two year old on your hands, the famous question everyone always asks is “Is two really that terrible?” Some parents, grandparents, aunts, and friends will even claim that three is worse. Well momma, I’m currently just a thirty-year-old living in my two-year-old’s world, and believe me when I say this (with all the love in my heart for my sour patch kid) but sometimes … it’s terrible.
There have been days lately where nothing makes her happy and all she does is scream. And it’s not your regular “I’m crying and therefore escalating to screaming the more upset I get” kind of screams. It is literally blood curdling, non-tear forming, yelling at the top of her lungs, screaming. The most recent reasons that screaming ensues include but are not limited to:
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Her cup was pink and not green.
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When given the above green cup, she really DID want the pink one.
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I wouldn’t give her candy for dinner.
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She wanted to kneel and she was sitting.
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I was moving too slow giving her a baby wipe to hold … for no reason.
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She wanted to play with chalk but then got chalk on her hands.
There have also been moments of sweetness. Glimpses of not-so-terribleness. Just when she knows she’s got me on the brink of a scream fest myself, she will pull a trick out of her unicorn shaped backpack and I forget about her being two, much less terrible. The most recent heart melting moments include but are not limited to:
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She grabbed both of my cheeks, pulled my face close, and gave me a slobbery smooch
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She brought me pretend coffee from her play kitchen (because when do I not need coffee)
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Her cheesy face grin when she sees me after a long day
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Random snuggles (even if they stem from jealousy of her big sister sitting too close)
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The sweetness in her voice when she says “Bless you!” or “Thank you!”
Maybe I’ve blocked it out of my memory, but I cannot recall my first daughter’s second year of life as being nearly as dramatic, or erratic. So, for now, I’ll hold onto those sweet moments to get me through the screaming fits. And maybe, just maybe, 3 years from now I will have forgotten just how “terrible” these days of two are.
