Toddler Tidbits Tuesday

Ah, toddlers.  They're a species all their own, aren't they?  Sometimes I look at Emma and can't get enough of her.  Then there are the days when I've had too much of her.  She has definitely been a living, breathing lesson in patience.  One that I admit to failing more often than not.  She is such a maddening hybrid of baby and kid--she's stuck in limbo and it frustrates the heck out of her...and me.

When she was a baby, I captured every moment.  Each expression was photographed, each milestone was videotaped and documented in the baby book.  Now that she's almost 28 months old, she's outgrown the baby book, but she's at an age where I still want to capture it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly.  She is learning how to be who she is going to be, and that isn't something I want to forget.

This kid has more personality in her little finger than many adults do in their entire being (trust me...I've met some of them).  She says and does things that are stop-me-in-my-tracks funny or blow-my-mind smart.  If you have a toddler, I know you can relate to some of these stories, and the mixed feelings of "I am going to rip my hair out!" and "You amaze me!"

Here are some of the funny Emma moments we've experienced this week:

• Emma wants to do everything on her own.  She wants to dress herself, make her own breakfast, go up and down the stairs; you name it.  Most of the time, I let her, but sometimes, I can't.  The crazy thing is, the things that I want her to do independently, she won't. Like go potty or take off her shoes when we get home.  One of her favorite sayings is "I do it all by myself!"  Yesterday, she wanted to put her shoes on, which I usually allow an extra 10 minutes for, but hadn't on this particular day, so we were in a hurry.  Of course, I got the "I do it all by myself!" and she proceeded to start putting her shoes on.  Two seconds later she tells me "Mommy, help me do it all by myself!"  I didn't have time to explain why those two things cannot happen simultaneously. 

• One of Emma's recordable books that says, "I love you round and round the world, I love you through and through.  And when it seems impossible to love you more, I do."  Emma has started reciting that book out loud, which just melts my heart.  Nothing makes me smile as much as hearing my baby girl tell me she loves me "through and though."  My sweet little manipulator also says this darling sentiment to get her way.  This afternoon, when I told her that she needed to start picking up her toys before nap time, she looked at me in complete shock and said "But Mommy, I love you round and round the world!" 

• If you are a Facebook friend, you heard this next story yesterday. Have you ever seen The Family Guy commercial where Stewie calls for his mom over and over again? Well, we had our own version today.

                            Emma: Mommy? 

                            Me: Yes?                                                 
                            Emma: Mommy?
                            Me: Yes?
                            Emma: Mommy!
                            Me: Yes, Emma?
                            Emma: Oh, Moooommmmmmmyyyyyy!
                            Me: What?!?
                            Emma: Mommy?
                            Me: WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?
                            Emma: Hi!

 Do you have any stories to share?  I'd love to know that I'm not alone!