I’ve been hearing that phrase, “Just like her mama,” a lot lately as Mackenzie’s personality and interests start to show up more and more every day. That’s been both my favorite and not so favorite part about the toddler years so far – watching her become her own person. It’s such a blessing and in the same breath, such a test on my patience.
She LOVES to read. It’s the cutest thing, she’ll sit in her little chair with a book and “read” out loud – just like her mama when she was her age!
She could sit and color for almost an hour (an insane amount of time for a 23-month-old) – just like her mama did.
She loves music and singing – just like her mama. In fact, one of her favorite movies right now is Sing. If you’re familiar with Sing, her favorite song is “I’m Still Standing”, sung by the British gorilla. Her other favorite song – the one we all love to hate because once you hear it, it gets stuck in your head – “Baby Shark.” Yeah, you know the one I’m talking about. 😉
She’s really into babies and pretend-playing with her baby dolls – just like her mama was.
She is so aware and sensitive to other people’s feelings – just like her mama. At daycare, when the other babies are crying, she’ll go up to them and put her hand on them to try and comfort them, with a worried look on her face. Sometimes she’ll cry with them. When I was crying the other day because of all the stress with my mom, she cried with me, came over and wiped the tears from my cheeks. Oh, my heart just melted. It’s amazing how much these little kiddos pick up on, isn’t it?
She’s not the kid that jumps head first into new environments and situations. She’s the kid that observes and takes it all in first – just like her mama.
She’s also very particular – she knows exactly what she wants, how she wants it and when she wants it – sort of like her mama. She’ll only wear certain shoes. Sometimes you can only color where she specifically tells you to color. She has to have her milk in her ladybug sippy cup, and her water in a sippy cup with a straw. She doesn’t like wearing socks in the house. She hates wearing her hat in the car. She doesn’t like wearing vests or zip-up hoodies – always takes them off. “Mine” and “No” are two of her favorite words to use.
She’s got so many facial expressions, including the mischievous and sassy stare – just like her mama.
I wonder if it’s because she’s so much like me in so many ways that I find myself losing patience with her way more often than Chad. Or maybe it’s the mother-daughter dynamic of 98% love/2% “Mom you’re ruining my life. You never let me do anything” coming out early on (I thought that wasn’t supposed to happen until she was a teenager?!).
Lately, her reaction to not getting her way, is to get sassy and cry at the same time – just like her mama (ha!). And by sassy, I mean continuing to do what she knows she’s not supposed to do, slower and with a look on her face that tells you she knows she’s being naughty. Which, given the alternative like screaming and throwing major tantrums (and maybe it’s still to come), isn’t so bad, right?
I’m sure a lot of you are probably thinking, “Oh girl, if you only knew the struggles I go through with my strong-willed toddler…” Trust me, I consider myself lucky to have a relatively mild-mannered L.O. And I can appreciate your struggles and your amazing ability to handle them, fellow mama. In fact, I bow down to you with the utmost respect.
And as a firm believer that God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle, I can say with utmost certainty and conviction, that your children were perfectly made for you and you for them. We have as much to learn and gain from our kids as they do us as parents. Each child is what God knows each of us need. Our unique selves are what God knows each of our children need. So the next time your kids are throwing the worst tantrums ever, hitting you, or talking back, remember that your kids need YOU…your unique you as a parent in that situation.