This is the message that started this Blog "Does this I'm-2-stage ever end??"

(I have to preface this; this event, and the next to follow actually happened in September 2008. It is the "event" that prompted me to create this blog since I was trying to share this story with anyone I could. I ended up sending this as an email to my closest girlfriends (who all had kids before us) and my sister-in-law (who's got 5)).

So when does this "I'm 2" stage end????

Maybe I should have wished for L. to be just a bit more trouble in the last two years because holy moly holy cow I'm going insane now. Every "your child may be experiencing this" thing we've all read about? L. goes through it all about twice a day. The tossed you-name-it. The broken piece of apple (with the half he wants reattached already eaten by him). The I-want-X-and-nothing-else. The constant whine (It's not whining because whining actually indicates an end point). The non-stop crying (it just breaks up the whining). The "I wanna see X right now!! ahhh, X scares me!" The singular focus. The squirmy snake dance when putting him in the car seat. The crying and trying to tell me what's wrong but crying so hard I can't understand him which makes him cry harder and louder and he tries to tell me what's wrong but he's crying so hard I can't understand him which makes him cry harder and louder and he tries to tell me. . . .

He just seems soooo unhappy. Everything makes him mad. Everything. And nothing I do works. Gently talking - nope. Empathizing - nope. Ignoring - nope. Yelling back - major nope. Crying - haven't tried it yet, but perhaps tomorrow I might. Sometimes putting him in his sanctum of his crib works, but most of the time he gets so upset because he wants in, but he doesn't want in because he wants me to hold him but put him down. It's like he's pregnant, teething and a schizo teenager going through PMS all at the same time. And I still have to remember who's boss.

He sleeps well at night (relatively). For that I am eternally thankful.

You should have warned me better. Especially every time I gushed over one of your cute kids.