Goodbye, one. Hello, two.

I feel like I should title this post, "goodbye, one. Hello, naughty nelly" 

'Cause guys, she's full of spunk and sass and ideas of her own. 

I've got to say though-- watching Carla evolve from a mindful little one year old into a naughty nelly, also gives me peace.

  You see, when Carla was born, Sal's world was flipped upside down. I felt guilt for bringing another baby into our lives. I blamed the changing family dynamic for his naughtiness--while now it's clear to me--it was just TWO. 

Two is the year of finding a balance between autonomy and mommy. Two is the year of pushing every single limit and figuring out just how far they can go. It's learning about cause and effect, and so so soooo many social lessons. 

So here we are. 

Two. 

 I know someday I will look back and laugh at the things my kids did that at the time really got my panties in a bunch. 

Since I don't want to forget how cute the naughtiness can be (shhhh, don't admit that to my daughter!!!), here are a few of our recent naughties:

- she dipped her toothbrush in the toilet and sucked the water out of the bristles. (This happened while I ran to my bathroom to brush my own teeth). 

- she climbed up on her dad's workbench where I had our faux horse head, Beyoncé awaiting a fresh new coat of paint. She threw Beyoncé to the ground, where Beyoncé suffered a fatal blow to her head. I'm pretty bummed about it because it was my favorite part of Carla's room. She's a big time thrower, this girl. 

- she took a full plate of food, looked me in the eye, and dumped it behind our super-heavy-to-move sofa on a week that NZ was out of town. This left me to get creative in retrieving the food with Sal's grabber stick toy. 

-she escaped her crib fifteen times in one night. (We've since ditched the crib and she's now in the bottom bunk bed...but as you can see below, she isn't so keen on sleeping in it)

- she likes to color on the floors. Washable markers and polished concrete for the win. 

But then you know, there's the really cool parts of being two. The "I love you/ I love your eyes/ I love your hair/ I love your nose/ I love your..." that she so sweetly says many times a day. She greets her dad with an " I missed you!" each and every night, and welcomes her brother home from school with the same enthusiasm. 

She's a great helper in the kitchen, and likes to help me sort socks from our laundry. 

I guess I'll weather out the naughty nellies and hang on tight since she's so darn cute. It's sure to be a long ride. And hey, once she's out of them, it's Gino's turn!