Tillie the Queen of Toddlerhood

I would like to take a moment to briefly pop in here and talk about Tillie’s sudden onset of toddlerhood. For her first year I thought she was going to be my calm kid, my go with the flow and cause minimal trouble kid. Actually she was, and while battling with Beau through some horrific three year old mood swings and a feces filled bout of potty training, I needed that calm little cherub. Then one day, as seems to happen with the little people in my house, Tillie turned a corner and we woke to find we had a toddler.

What happens, you ask, when a baby becomes a toddler? Well, everything in your house stops being yours and without warning becomes theirs. My toothbrush, my dinner, my shoes…. all became Tillie’s. Conner’s power wheels and Beau’s best bedtime jammies… now belong to Tillie. This tiny tutu clad tyrant only has to point and declare “MINE!” and her poor brothers are reduced to tears. Nothing is safe… literally NOTHING.

Tillie has also developed a flair for fashion, she will dress herself in any accessory she finds. Her favorite item of clothing is her brother’s discarded underwear. At any point you could find her with 3-5 pairs pulled on over top of her diaper, graciously informing anyone who dares question her “MINNNEEEEEE!”. Yes, all of the things… even the underwear is Tillie’s. She also enjoys shoes, some she can put on herself… other’s she needs help… still others aren’t for humans but she’ll try anyway. How do you explain to your boss that you are late because Tillie found GI Joe’s boot in the toy box and wanted to wear it to daycare? No other shoes could work as a replacement… and Joe wears a size 1 1/2 inches.

Tillie also seems to have lost her sense of danger along the way as well. She watches the boys jump from furniture piece to furniture piece and naturally wants to join in. She hasn’t learned how to jump yet, but she can stand on her tip toes and throw herself bodily at the furniture… and people… and occasionally the floor. I would have to say if Tillie had a natural enemy it would be gravity. The sound of Tillie “jumping” echoes loudly through the whole house giving Conner his new favorite phrase “She did not stick that landing”.

Finally, one last mark of her toddler change, Tillie is full of tiny, boisterous, and slightly drool filled displays of love. She wakes up every morning full of hugs, and charges though her day offering up kisses. Diplomatically healing the hurt feelings of older brothers who’s things are no longer their own, and parents who may have taken a head to face injury when she “jumped” unexpectedly into their arms. She crashes around her little world like she's been here all along and her chaos and crazy fits right in. Sometimes I wonder… whatever did we do before we had a Tillie.