Toddler Life Toddler Life Toddler Life

Life with a toddler can be, at times, mind-numbingly repetitive. Toddlers are exploring the world and trying to figure out how things work, over and over again. Did I mention they do things over and over? And over?

My days are filled with following behind D’s messes. Empty toy basket. Mom cleans up. Meanwhile D is pulling books off the shelf. She will sit and flip pages in a few books, the toddle on to the plastic food container drawer. While she is merrily flinging boxes about the kitchen, I restore the bookshelf to order. About the time I finish clearing up the book massacre, D has moved back to the toy basket or on to the box of computer game CDs or the videotape boxes. Lather, rinse, repeat.

You wouldn't think I’d need to workout.

There are times though that the repetitive persistence is endearingly adorable. For example, one day D and I went for a walk. I walked, D rode in her push-car (her first birthday present from her family). I brought along a sport bottle filled with water. The bottle was one I’d bought at the fair, tall with a long straw. I hadn't tried to give D a drink from a straw before, but I did on the walk. She smiled broadly and sipped like a pro.

When we got back to our house she pointed and squawked for me to give her the bottle. When I did she sat on the floor and practiced sip after sip from the straw, beaming proudly between drinks.

My first born, as a toddler, adored the book Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton. Even now I can recite that book word for word because M insisted I read it to her over and over.

My son, as a toddler, enjoyed hearing me sing The Wheels on the Bus repeatedly.

Those repetitions, while somewhat maddening at the time, are some of the sweet things that I’ll remember most about my kids when they are all grown.

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Heather is mom to three children, a second-grader, a Kindergartner and an almost-16-month-old. She thinks one of the best things about being a parent is discovering who her kids really are.