The Best of Times...

It is the best of times.  It is the worst of times.

Or as some like to call it: parenting a toddler.

Harper refers to her sisters as, "girls."

"You wanna go upstairs and play, girls?"
"Girls, let's build a fort."
"I want peanut butter and jelly, what about the girls?"

She insists on being called "baby tiger" and the only person she allows to help her with just about anything is Norah (her idol.)

All of these things make me want to scoop her tiny little frame up into my arms and kiss her little tiny, sweet cheeks all day!  Which, I do, frequently.

On the other hand, potty training is a total nightmare.  Our floors are constantly getting peed on.  Underwear are being washed several times a day.  Harper, with an expression of total pride will announce, "I pooped" right after we've changed her from her pull up to her underwear.  It's just... ugh.

You want to know the best way to potty train a toddler?  Day care.  Yes, that's right.  Where there are dozens of toddler whisperers on hand and lots of other little trained monkeys kids there peeing and pooping on queue to peer pressure your kid into doing the same.   Oh, how I miss it on days when we're going through the fourth pair of pants and undies for the day.

Yes, here at home, it's a different story.  Harper is perfectly happy being the baby girl of the family.  Which means, among other things: diapers.

But how long, O Lord?  How long?

The short answer?

What, right now, feels like FOR-EV-ER but will one day seem like it passed in the blink of the eye.