It’s been a while since I’ve talked about mom life. Oh, motherhood—how exciting, hilarious, frustrating, tiring, emotional, and challenging you are!
Bazooka is deep in the throes of “terrible two-dom,” and he can easily go from sweet angel to devil child in less than 0.043 seconds.
He definitely keeps us on our toes!
Even though we have our challenges, I feel like we’re in a good rhythm. Apart from a stomach bug a few weeks ago that kept me home with a miserable kiddo, we’ve avoided any major sickness for quite a while (knocks on wood).
Daycare has been a blessing, and I’ve noticed our little man grow and mature in so many ways. It’s enthralling to watch him become his own little, strong-willed person (emphasis on the strong-willed).
And it warms my heart to hear his teachers remark how sweet and smart he is.
We haven’t truly attempted to tackle potty training (they’re doing some training at daycare and he has gone in the potty quite a few times), but I’m honestly not in a big rush. We’ve learned over the last 32 months that Bazooka likes to do things in his own time, and I am over and done with the comparison trap when it comes to parenting.
Eating is still a challenge—oh, god, is it ever frustrating!
Hummus and guacamole are still favorites—but we struggle to get him to eat much else. Bananas, cheese, Greek yogurt, waffles, any kind of cracker, cereal bars, smoothies—these are all good.
But anything else? He “don’t waaaannnttt it!”
Motherhood is teaching me grace.
Motherhood teaches grace #momlife #gracenotperfection Share on XIt’s teaching me to stress less and realize that the frustrating moments are all part of the big, luminous, impeccably-detailed picture.
Instead of yelling and walking away from the stress and anxiety that plagued my first year of motherhood, I just laugh and shake my head when Bazooka throws a tantrum when I try to get him dressed or when we have to pull him off the slide when it’s time to leave the park (or climb down from the “fi-truck”).
And I keep asking for a kiss and a hug because I know he’ll eventually stray from the “no, mommys” and those kisses and hugs and “I love you mommys” will be that much sweeter.
I’m also learning that children are little sponges.
I worried for so long that Bazooka wasn’t speaking as many words as other kids his age, but now, he’s such a little talking dictionary! He repeats words and expressions I’d never expect him to pick up, and he’s just a little charmer with all the funny things he says—like “hey guys!” in the most adorable accent ever.
I’m learning to live more in the moment. Daddy is typically the hands-on, rough-play guy, and I could just sit and watch their tickle fests all day long. I love to watch Bazooka line up his cars, reprimand his dinosaurs for biting him, tuck his stuffed monkey into bed, and climb up his slide (because, you know, stairs are too easy).
It’s exciting and heartbreaking to think that our little boy (he’s definitely not a baby any more) will be 3 years old in October.
Soon, we’ll be sending him to real school.
We’ll be enrolling him in gymnastics, or little league, or swimming lessons before I know it.
And, gosh—he’ll be losing baby teeth, making life-long friends, performing at school programs, learning to ride a bike, and meeting his first “girlfriend.”
Motherhood is such an amazing journey—but it’s bittersweet.
All I can say is I hope I continue to enjoy the little moments because I’ve already seen how quickly they pass. And I hope I continue to embrace the changes in my life, and body, and mind because this whole process of becoming somebody’s mommy has been the greatest challenge and blessing of my 33 years.
So, yeah…right now I’m really digging this season of #momlife.
An honest update on this season of motherhood #momlife Share on X[linking up with Amanda for thinking out loud]
So tell me…
- Moms and non-moms—give me a life update! What’s new or exciting in your life?
- Moms—have any funny kid stories to share?
- Anybody—how do you get picky eaters TO EAT FOOD?!!!
I was worried about my son learning words too, but I swear these days at 19 months he’s learning a new word every day!!! It’s amazing!
It’s amazing, isn’t it? My son’s vocabulary skyrocketed right before he turned 2…I think being in daycare has helped tremendously because he’s the youngest of his class (well, the youngest boy) and he gets to learn from the older kids 🙂
I love this post! It gives me hope that I might someday enjoy two. As soon as Claire hit two, oh my what a nightmare it’s been. She’s also really low on vocabulary and doesn’t speak in sentences and most words are a made up version of her own and not said correctly. So it’s just frustrating to communicate at times. I hope it’s nothing to worry about though, like you said.
Motherhood is definitely teaching me grace lately too. Adding a new baby to our family at the same time as terrible twos has been so so challenging that I’m at my wits end most every day. I think that’s the biggest downside to having kids spaced that far (or not that far!) apart. We also aren’t really pushing potty training, although I tried earlier this year. I feel like she almost had it but I didn’t have the mental energy to continue. I really hate that potty training is such a comparison thing for parents and kids. It’ll happen! That’s really awesome that your daycare is working on that though! I’ve heard some sketch stuff about daycares and PT!
I don’t know how you and other moms do it! One “terrible two” is hard enough 😉
You’ll figure out a rhythm, though. I am kind of sad that Bazooka won’t have a brother or sister close in age, but then again, if we decide to go for #2, I kind of like the idea of him being the fairly older protective sibling. Good luck with C’s potty training once you dive back in!
Great post, Catherine! So glad you’re enjoying this stage. I’m anticipating my little girl’s arrival while simultaneously feeling melancholy over the last few days/weeks of just me and my husband. Of course the birth of our baby is so exciting but I feel a bit mixed depending on the day and the moment! I’m also getting nervous about post-labor recovery!
Thanks, Heather. It’s definitely bittersweet anticipating your child’s birth + living those last few days as just a couple. Totally normal to have mixed feelings – but you’ll adjust just fine.
I feel like motherhood would definitely teach you grace. So fun watching your kid grow up. I know you are doing an excellent job and he is lucky to have a mom like you. Love that you’re putting him in gymnastics and swimming too 🙂 I did those two sports!
Aw, thanks Lyss. He already loves to climb and flip, so gymnastics just seems natural. Plus, I grew up doing it, too. 🙂