learning to slow down

leotard: Alice & Ames  

these past few days Zo has tried my patience like none other.  the main cause of it is most likely due to lack of sleep on both our parts.  for some reason she's been waking up around 1-2am and not going back to sleep till almost 5am. then she's up for the day usually by 7:30am and still refuses to take a nap during the day.  i literally do not know how she functions on so little sleep.  also, why do kids not understand how amazing naps are?!?  moving on-- her little 3 year old attitude has been out in full force lately and half the time i have no clue how to respond, cause it can be so stinkin' cute & funny but also super annoying when i have to repeat myself 1,000 times to get her to do one simple task.  one of her new favorite phrases is "no mom!  you DON'T say that word!"  what word is she talking about?  i have no clue, i think she just means i shouldn't be telling her what to do/reprimanding her.  the other phrase is, while referring to me telling her she can't do something:  "but mom!  it's not a big deal or anything!"  sigh...  it's a daily battle trying to decide how to react to these situations and i know they are only going to get worse as she gets older.

but on the other hand it's like she flips a switch and can suddenly be the sweetest little thing!  sharing with peter, comforting him when he gets hurt while saying "aww cute little guy, it's okay honey."  she'll run up to us at random times just to give a kiss and say "i love you, mommy kitty cat."  (also not sure why she calls me that haha) she's obsessed with her little sister and she's not even born yet!  she'll run up to my stomach, wrap her arms around it and say "i love you baby!  hope you're feeling good!"  i'm praying that her obsession is just as strong once baby girl is finally here.

long story short-- toddlers are confusing and make little to no sense but are also fascinating & adorable to watch and learn from.  as hard as it is i really need to take my own advice as it comes from her secondhand: "mom, just calm down and slow down."

i tell you what, i feel like i owe my parents spa gift cards for life after going through just this short amount of confusing parenthood.

happy almost weekend everyone!

-a