These days I am not sure what is meant by "terrible twos". Initially I thought it meant temper tantrums, but as Ben approaches 3, I think the terrible-ness is more about power struggles and discipline issues. Pretty heavy stuff! Ben is (and always has been) "strong willed". An example from just yesterday...Ben puts a ping pong ball fully in his mouth, to which I say (exasperated) "Ben, take that out of your mouth - you could choke". Ben "Ok, I'll just lick it". Me: "no, it's dirty" to which Ben continues licking but not actually touching it with his tongue. "Look Mom, I can do it like this". He's always pushing the limits and testing boundaries - which keeps us on our toes.
But he really does have a terrific, sweet sensitive side. He often tells Nate when he's getting ready for work "Dad, I am really going to miss you while you're gone". He's also quite introspective for a 2 year old - when we were at the grocery store he left his buddy somewhere and I picked it up and then gave it back to him in the car. We talked about keeping a special eye on things that are important to you. After a few minutes of silence he asked "Mom, what's important to you?" We talked about it (Ben, Lilly, Daddy, our home, my keys). Then later when we got home he asked Nate what was important to him (Ben, Lilly, Mommy, the Steelers, Villanova Basketball) and then at dinner he told us what was important to him (Lilly, Mommy, Daddy and Lion Buddy - but not the other buddies). He really thought about it for awhile and was deliberate about his response.
While the twos can be (and have often times been) a struggle, I think it's fair to say that I will miss them when they're gone. I'm sure that all too soon it will not be cool to say "Mom, you're my bestie" or "Dad and I make a great team"!
