Moving Beyond Babyhood to Becoming a Toddler

*originally published under my old blog knottonest

Becoming a Toddler

This past summer has been a really big summer for our little Ellery, we are, without question, fully into toddler days. It feels like in April or May of this year she was still, what I would consider, a baby or at least had a foot still solidly in babyhood. Sure she was almost two years old, but she was still pretty dependent on me, wanted to be wrapped or held nearly all the time,  was not talking very clearly and had just become confident in her own footing with walking. She still seemed so baby-like, or maybe it was the second child syndrome where they seem younger for longer, but now she is without question, a feisty toddler!

The transition of the second child (and likely any to follow) out of baby-hood was harder to accept than with the first child. With Asher, he was only two when Ellery was born, so by the nature of her birth he was inevitably forced up the ranks into toddler-hood. With a demanding infant in tow I didn’t pay much mind to how quickly he was leaving babyhood behind. Each day was spent surviving life with two under (or just at) two. I mean in  my eyes he was HUGE now and felt so much older (though two in diapers reminded me he was still pretty little). Sometimes I still feel sadness when I think that I may have forced him to be older than he was ready for.

Maybe it was all the sunshine or maybe it was just the nature of a the second year of life, but my goodness, she has blossomed into such an independent, goofy little lady this summer! Here we are in September and her vocabulary has EXPLODED and she is actively contributing to our conversations. She loves to ‘try’ new words and we have found her a couple of times muttering a word, she has just heard, to herself over and over again. She will quietly say and re-say the word until she gets it and then she will excitedly yell out her new word. And with all these new words has come ALL. THE. TALKING. She is telling us jokes, stories about her babies and toys, stories about her days. It is hilarious and we love it…most of the time.

She is loving imaginative play but unlike her rambunctious big brother, her play is usually quieter and more detailed. She is loving to play “mama daddy” or her version of ‘house’. She will take her babies to her bubble car or to the couch (her indoor car) and she will drive them to the park. She will pack a lunch and take her babies to the park for a picnic. It is adorable.

In true younger sibling fashion, she loves to get into what ever game big brother is playing, in her own little way. While Asher might be racing his Hotwheels, she will personify her cars and suddenly the “baby” car needs his “mama” car. Or maybe he is a fierce T-rex hunting plant-eaters, she is a baby dino and I am her mama dino. Her little “rawrs” are seriously the cutest!

As she has grown into a more active toddler, she and Asher have grown even closer. They have their own communication and will be giggling and playing and the hubs and I have no idea what they are laughing about. They are fiercely protective over one another, love to give hugs to each other, and also like to fight like little cage fighters just any other set of siblings.

The Demands of Toddlers

There are still times when it hits me that Ellery is barely older than Asher was when she was born but yet he felt so much older! As a mom, without any babies at home at the moment, it has been at times more emotional than I had anticipated.

The infant and baby phase is so demanding on a mom physically and mentally (I see you zombie mom-solidarity sister) that you sort of look forward to days when you might get a break. But then it comes so swiftly and now I find myself at times sad and missing the baby phase.

It is hard to believe how quickly she has grown up! I have loved every second of this journey as the mother of a daughter. She truly is a perfect addition to our family and i am looking forward to all the continued joy (and mayham) this sweet girl will bring us.