Welcome to Toddlerhood Sabby!!

You know the old saying:
"Be careful what you wish for - you just might get it."
I spent a good part of the first 8 months of Mona's life wishing things would get easier. I prayed that she would get over that colicky period, sleep through the night, and start taking solid food. Daddy and mummy wished that our little princess would soon become less of a "blob" and more like a little girl with whom we could both play with. We both looked forward to the day Princess would say her first word and take her first step. We happily envisioned the day she'd pick up a pen, put on a sock, say the alphabet and someday - please God - go potty by herself.

Now that our baby is a toddler, our wishes are coming true!
Dear Sabby & Nays: Welcome to what is probably the most strenuous and awe-inspiring stage of parenting!!

The dictionary defines a toddler as "a small child roughly between the ages of one and three." Other books marks this phase of childhood when a baby first begins to "toddle", or walk with short, unsteady steps. Either way, we have a toddler on our hands, and trust me, no matter what a book tells, we know we have a toddler at home!!

I've been really watching Mona lately...
Even though my little toddler may be a tad shaky on her feet, my little darling seems now truly ready to explore people, places, and things - without my help, thank you very much!
She is becoming social too. Mona loves to imitate. She can clap, sing (well sounds like it), dance, and play side by side with other children.
In short, Mona is more like a miniature person now than a baby.
She's wide-eyed with curiosity, full of energy, and courts trouble constantly. lol.
I feel like i am under-siege - every container, every box, every object my darling Mona can grasp, every electrical outlet, every cherished knickknack is fair game to her.
From Mona's perspective, it's all new and exciting; from our perspective, it feels like an assault on us, our house, and everything in sight!! lol.. no but seriously!! I can barely recognize my couch and my living room has disappeared and in it's place is not this big huge playroom!!

Toddlerhood clearly marks the end of infancy. (...sniff - wipe off a little tear in the corner of my eye here...)

I read that it's also "a sneak preview of adolescence". In fact, many experts think of this period in the same vein as the teenage years, because a similar separation is under way. The mother and father are no longer the beginning and end of a toddler's world, in fact, as a toddler rapidly acquires new physical, cognitive, and social skills, they also learns how to say "NO" - a skill that also will serve them well in adolescence!!

But apparently, that's the good news! lol
"It is indeed through the toddlers explorations and struggles (mostly with the parents), that they begin to gain mastery over their environment, and most important, gain a sense of themselves as competent and independent beings; even though at times the process is maddening."

Well I'm ready! At least i feel that way!
Although I am very well aware that parenting a toddler isn't smooth sailing all the way, and that raising any child is a huge responsbility and comes with heaps of frustration and brick walls, not to mention tears and tantrums, but I am also ready for all the joy and excitement of every "first"s that are soon to come!!!

BRING IT ON GIRL!!! MAMA IS READY!!!
lol