It Is Not A Myth

For the past 6 months I have been thinking the "Terrible Twos" was a myth. When Ava turned 2 in January I waited for it to hit. I waited for her to turn into a cute little monster, but it didn't happen. Ava has continued to be a sweet, helpful, and pretty obedient "big girl". Of course she has been becoming more independent and wanting to do more for herself, but it has been a joy to watch the growth. I have loved being her mom and felt pretty lucky to be blessed with such a wonderful little girl.

Last week all of this changed. Ava finally hit the "Terrible Twos" stage with full force. We have already been struggling with bedtime which has been difficult on my sleep, but now our once obedient child is starting to rebel more and more. Ava has started to push buttons to see how far she can go before getting into trouble. She will openly be defiant and then give me a naughty little grin and think it is funny.

The worst has been prayer time. Ava use to love to say prayers and was always been reverent and respectful. This past week she has started being irreverent and even disrespectful at times. It has been very trying for me and this is one of the battles I'm not willing to let go. It is important to me that Ava understands why we pray and that we need to show respect and love to Heavenly Father as we talk to him. For now I'm trying to remain calm (which is hard) and remember to teach by example and love. I won't let Ava be disrespectful, but I know I need to remember she is still learning.

I don't want to end this post on a sour note or let everyone think Ava is always naughty because that is not true. For all the hard times we have had recently we have had just as many good times. With this new stage of life I have seen a lot of growth. Ava is still kind and sweet. She is a lot better at sharing and is concerned for others. Ava also loves to help and often asks if she can help me or Rich. Her knowledge about life and the gospel amaze me and she has a real talent for music. I love to hear her sing and she knows several songs (her favs: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star & I'm A Child of God). So, as we continue down this road of the "Terrible Twos" I'm going to try hard to focus on the good and remember how lucky I am to have Ava in my life. She is a blessing and I love her!