The {Middle} Child

"They were the best of times, they were the worst of times." This is how I feel about Mikaela, except it may actually be summed up as: It was the best of minutes, and it was the worst of minutes. You never really know when Mr. Hyde will emerge from Dr. Jekyll and turn the whole world upside down. Two-year-olds are like bipolars: one minute super happy and fun and so stinking cute, and the next minute some little monster you believe may have been spawned by Satan takes over.

Mikaela was infected with the terrible-twos syndrome about the time her younger brother made his debut - and with a vengeance. This syndrome peaked when the baby was about two months and has since leveled off. We are still experiencing quite high levels however, and do the best we can, attempting as best we can to avoid the temptation of sedation through drugs (although hot baths and long drives are never off limits).

Lately Miki has gotten quite professional at dictating what we should or shouldn't do or say. She loves to come up to you with a scowl on her face asking, "What are you doing?" She is also excellent at correcting improper usage. I asked her this morning "Are you my Miki-Me?" She replied, "No mom, I am just a child."

She has also developed some sweet catch phrases.  Upon seeing fellow Homo sapiens, she calls out the greeting, "Hello, humans!" She also says "Ahoy" in case we only speak Pirate. If I ask her where something is, she will always reply, "Right there, to the left."

Each morning after we drop off Libby at pre-k we go to the gym where Mikaela goes to "gym school". The daycare at the gym is great and the workers there are so nice. Mikaela especially loves Miss Wobbin (Robin). Whenever she isn't there she says "Whey Mz. Wobbin doe?" Ms. Robin has taught her several songs and sometimes gives Miki her favorite thing in life: gum.

Mika is definitely a Daddy's girl, through and through. Whenever he gets more than three feet away from her she says, "Where you going?" She has a really hard time when he goes to work, and most every morning will sit by the stairs and cry for him to come back. It's very sad and I'm a little bit worried about how she will handle things when Denver deploys. We're working on recording some books for her with his voice so he can still read her a story every night before she goes to bed. We're all going to miss Daddy.

In the end, the highs definitely outweigh the lows, and we love our little middle child so much. It is fun watching her grow and change and I'm sure one day I will look back at all this craziness and laugh. For now I sometimes sneak into her room at night and watch her sweet little angelic face deep in slumber, dreaming sweet little dreams. No matter how hard the day was, I always leave feeling so grateful and blessed to be her parent.