Keana turned two. It came and went as quickly as just about everything else around here. She had three parties: one on Wednesday, March 22 with just Sarah and I, one with Sarah and Tia on her actual birthday (while I was teaching), and the big family extravaganza birthday on the following Saturday, March 24. I also snuck away from work to have lunch with my Ladies on her birthday since I couldn’t be there in the evening.

What I want to know is who coined the term “terrible twos”? Methinks it was someone from the school of “children should be seen and not heard” and someone who believed the domestication of the human animal was a very important step around the age of two. Keana speaks her mind and isn’t afraid to say “no!”. She’s learning to reason, argue, and persuade. She’s very sweet but tests her boundaries and the boundaries of those around her. When she hits the limits of those boundaries she takes note, pushes them more, tries a new approach, and learns. She remembers everything and recalls things from weeks ago when she sees an association. We see the fine line between discipline and restricting freedom and growth. Sarah and I are of the mind that there isn’t much flexibility with boundaries regarding Keana’s health and safety, but everything else is pretty much gray. It seems she needs us to let her have her gray areas and discover and define some things for herself. That’s one of the greatest joys lately is seeing her make these discoveries for herself. These discoveries used to be things like clapping or swinging her arms or opening and closing a box. Now that Keana’s two she’s discovering how to express herself in an effective way to others and she’s learning how to speak her mind. There’s nothing terrible about any of it. In fact, it’s teaching me I need to revisit my own domestication and socialization and rethink what’s important and what’s not while moving through the world.