Over the past week-and-a-half, I have spent more one-on-one time with Becca, than I was able to with either other of my kids when they were toddlers.

Sad, huh?

With Abby and Hannah both in school every morning, the house is left to just myself.

And my 2-1/2 year old.

As much as I love and adore her (and I do), I am coming to find out that being the center of attention in a toddler’s world isn’t exactly the easiest job in the world.

(Yes, I’m fully aware that all of you who’ve been SAHMs with your toddlers are currently laughing at me…)

As difficult as it’s been to drop my kids off at daycare 40+ hours a week – and don’t get me wrong, it IS difficult. And depressing. And tortuous on many an occasion. But as difficult as that was, I am finding myself feeling a bit melancholy about the days when I could spend 30 seconds in the bathroom by myself or have a conversation that didn’t involve Dora, Diego, or any of their cartoon-ish friends.

So here are a few things that I’ve come to realize over the past 7 weekday mornings…

#1 – Being woken up by a toddler snuggling up to you in bed is a wonderful thing. Being woken up by a toddler sitting on top of you chanting, “get up!”, “get up!” while tugging on any body part of yours accessible through the blankets is actually worse than the droning tone of an alarm clock.  But never knowing from one morning to the next which you’re going to get? Has me almost wishing for a lock on my bedroom door.

#2 – Mommy isn’t just a play mate. But also a play thing, a jungle gym, a chair, a pillow, a punching bag, a ‘horsie’ and anything else a toddler’s mind can imagine.

#3 – I would pay a large sum of money for more than 5 minutes at a time to check my e-mail or my blog reader. And not to be interrupted after those 5 precious minutes by a very determined toddler wiggling onto my lap and fully expecting me to immediately head for nickjr.com.

#4 – And yes, I learned the lesson very early on that once you play or do something with a toddler once, they fully expect the exact same game the next time. And the next. And the next. And the – well, you get the idea.

#5 – There’s no ‘boo boo’ or other devastation in life that can’t be fixed by the utterance of exactly one word – snacktime.

#6 – I know that the experts recommend limiting the amount of television watching (or screen time in general) for 2-year-olds. Unfortunately, someone forgot to get that particular memo to my toddler.

#7 – Apparently the remote control works better if you pick up Mommy’s hand and (try to) use her fingers to push the buttons, rather than pushing them with your own fingers. But even though you haven’t yet figured out that magic combination that will allow you to turn the television on whenever you want to, you are convinced that if you just keep trying, it will happen.

#8 – The combination of #6 and #7 can cause a meltdown at any particular moment. Complete with dramatic throwing of oneself to the floor and sad puppy-dog eyes brimming with tears.

#9 – I find myself repeating to myself over and over again throughout the morning, “She is the child. I am the adult. She is the child. I am the adult.”

#10 – Someone needs to find a way to get that particular memo to her as well.

#11 – Having big sisters gone during the morning means complete and utter access to anything they’ve left lying around. This is a goldmine to a toddler. At least until big sisters come home. At that point, it’s best to attempt to pull off the innocent, “I’m only 2 years old!” face – and if that doesn’t work, hide. Preferably behind Mommy’s legs.

#12 – Have I mentioned that having a small person hanging off of your legs can truly hamper all kinds of activities?  Like making dinner, doing dishes, getting to the phone before that all-important fourth ring, or using the bathroom?  Yes, we’re back full circle to that particular complaint. 

#13 – Toddler-ese is truly it’s own language.  One where the words “don’t” and “no” actually mean “do please pour milk out of your sippy cup onto the table just so you can take your napkin and wipe it up for the 485th time” and “yes, go ahead and carry that kitten around by it’s neck – I’m sure she doesn’t mind”.  The person who comes up with the English-to-toddler dictionary is going to strike it rich someday.

All joking aside (please recognize the tongue-in-cheek nature of this post!), I do have to say that I am completely and utterly amazed by this real little ‘person’ that Becca’s starting to become. And I wouldn’t trade these mornings with her for anything – really.

Except maybe one shower that doesn’t include the curtain being pulled back by little hands and an earnest little face peeking in saying, “Mommy, you done?” 

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