Why to love the 2's

There are a lot of reasons I love my two-year-old.  One reason is his complete inability to hold a grudge.  Nobody lives in the present moment like a child does.  We went to a restaurant today at lunch and I took Brady to the bathroom after our meal.  Brady only wears big-boy underwear now and has been doing awesome.  But perhaps because it was close to naptime, he had a tough time in the public bathroom.  I told him to pick out a stall that he wanted to use to go to the potty.  When he couldn't make a decision (good flag that he's getting tired), I picked one for him and put him on the potty.  He flipped! "Other one!!!!" he said as he squirmed his little butt off the pot.

If you've had a toddler, you realize what they claim to want is rarely what they actually want.  But I took him to the other stall nonetheless and no shock, he didn't want to potty.  So as he's pitching an uncharacteristic tantrum, the tears are starting to flow and just as I'm about to give up, he hears someone peeing the stall next to us.  I tell him he has to be super quiet so we can listen, the tears instantly dry up, and he's enraptured by the sound of someone whizzing in the next stall.  Tantrum over.

Lately, we've been having a tough time with brushing Brady's teeth.  For the kid who wants to do almost everything "by self," things which require his parents aid prove difficult.  "Brady's turn" followed by "mommy's turn" has worked in the past, but more creative approaches are now required.  Last night, I was particularly frustrated because short of pinning Brady's arms down and forcing a toothbrush in his mouth (tempting, but I resisted), nothing was working.  Likely, he sensed my frustration and was feeling frustrated himself with his lack of control (I know the feeling!).  Finally, I put the toothbrush away and put him in bed.  Which of course, he resisted.  "Brush teeth!!" he kept crying. "Brush teeth!" So obviously he's mocking me, by yelling the exact thing I want him to do but he won't.  But I know my son and have begun to understand his crazy talk.  In my frustration of him not brushing his teeth, I whisked him away before he was able to finish his teeth brushing routine of filling up his water cup and putting his toothbrush away "by self." 

So although I wanted to strangle the kid, I obliged.  And bedtime proceeded as planned.

Did I mention that raising kids is the best imaginable lesson in patience?  I'm sure my parents are out there laughing, as I will be when Brady raises kids.

But really, its so amazing how I want to strangle my child one moment and literally the next moment I'm blown away by his awesomeness.  He's bawling one minute and squealing for joy the next.  As a person who keeps "score" and holds grudges, I know I need to take a lesson from my two-year-old.  He dishes them out daily, and they're free.

In contrast, Brady has a girlfriend named Gracie.  She is 9 and Brady's face lights up when he sees her. She saw these pictures of Brady last week.

We saw her at the UNC volleyball game last night.  Brady got the cold shoulder (which he didn't pick up on it...another great quality of a two-year-old).  Her mom's text to me tonight, "G is still mad at Brady.  I tried to explain that he was only 2 and she said 'but he kissed another girl!' I have pity for any future boyfriend."

Don't you just love kids?