It's All Hard

I remember thinking when Zoey was an infant that it will be easier when she is older. It will wear me out less because I don't have to carry her around, it will be easier to understand her because she can tell me what she wants and it'll be easier to sleep because she will sleep through the night.

Zoey as an infant

I was very lucky to have an extremely easy-going baby. But now that she is two. It is still hard. She still wears me out because she is always on the move to do something else; it's easier to understand her, but her her requests have gotten much more specific; and she does sleep through the night, but I stay up reading or on the computer and still don't get the right amount of sleep.

Now I'm thinking, wow, it was so much easier when she was an infant. She couldn't run all over the place terrorizing whatever she found interesting, she couldn't say "no" to and get mad when she doesn't get her way and she couldn't completely wreck the house and leave toys everywhere in about 2.7 seconds.

Zoey: age 1

And then I think. If she were still an infant she couldn't help me cook dinner, she couldn't give me a kiss out of no where and she couldn't come up to me and say "I love you, Mommy."

I wouldn't trade Zoey being two for the world. Just like I wouldn't have traded her being an infant for the world. I love every stage she is in. I appreciate who she used to be and I look forward to who she becomes, but the most important thing is right now.

Zoey: age 2

Right now, Zoey loves to help cook in the kitchen, she can make scrambled eggs by herself (with suppervision of course), she loves to spread all of her blankets out on the floor and watch a movie, she loves to go on adventures with all of her toys, she will cuddle her baby doll one minute and then speed with her hot wheels cars the next and the best thing ever is when she comes to give you a hug, just for being you. Two is fun. Yet, she still wears me out.

And just for the record, we babysat our friends two kids, a one year old and a 2 month old. My conclusion: it's all hard. Handling an infant is hard and handling a two year old is hard. They are just hard in different ways. The  most important part is, every stage is rewarding. And I wouldn't trade a minute of it.

My Zoey-bug!