The 2 Sides of a 2-yr-old

How can a face like this...


...cause me so much grief (at times)? There is something about a 2-year-old that makes you want to scream one minute and laugh the next. This little one is no exception. She sure knows how to push everyone's buttons, especially her sister, Dakota's. Dakota is a big bully around most everyone else, but she cowers to her younger, 2 yr-old sister. Oakley just has to get in the vicinity and she's got Dakota screaming like someone cut her toe off. (Sometimes it's funny, but on days like today...when my headache is roaring, it's not so funny.) Rather than tell Oakley to stop it (she doesn't quite understand), I tell Dakota to knock it off and to stop acting like it's death...she's the older 4 yr-old and should be the "bigger" person, right?. But after a few bites, pinches, bumps on the head, and kicks from Oakley...Dakota re-acts the way she knows best... she screams a long scream (at a very high decibel, I might add) while running away, with Oakley chasing her heels. Again, it's funny on most days, but not on a headache day.

On the other hand, Oakley can be the sweetest, cutest little thing. It is so fun watching her grow into the little person she is. She no longer wants to sit in her high chair, wants to use the potty, informs me she's a big girl now, and cries if any of her sisters tell her she's still a baby. Yet, she still wants me to snuggle with her on the couch, hold her throughout the day, sit on my lap while at the computer. She still asks me to rock her at night and she likes me to sing lullabies; most of which I do upon request. (I even manage to sneak in a few love "kissies" on her baby soft cheeks.)

I guess with a 2-year-old, you can't have one without the other. The two extremes come all packaged up together when you bring them home from the hospital for the first time as a newborn. The 2 sides just don't come out until they turn two!

Here are couple more shots of that "face". Gotta' luv it!