Fairies

Dear Maya,
In the morning I often ask you what you have dreamed about. You usually tell me that you have dreamed about fairies. Sometimes you and Gwen have been fairies and sometimes I have been a fairy, even daddy sometimes (I wish I could see THAT dream!). Often times if you are day dreaming I ask you what you are thinking about and again, you tell me ‘fairies’. You are literally ‘away with the fairies’. I love this innocence. I do not want to break it. I know that there will be a time when I need to tell you about not so good things that happen in this world, but for the moment I want you to keep dreaming about fairies.
I love you,
Mummy xxx (From Watching Butterflies Dance)

Terrible Twos

This letter is a little less serious and about the terrible twos!

My Dearest little Gwennan,
You are two years and two months old. In the space of approximately one month you have changed dramatically. The smiles and cuddles are still there, but a second personality emerges more and more frequently. The peaceful Gwennan has an alter-ego, which is grumpy, cross and wants to assert her independence. The alter ego likes to screech at a pitch which seems to reverberate throug...h my brain, when things do not go her way. The alter ego is incredibly hard work. But know this, I still love you. I know this is you asserting yourself in this world, testing boundaries and trying to show who is boss.

You don’t want to get dressed in the morning. In fact, once dressed, you will them proceed to undress yourself. Including your nappy. My job, is to keep you safe and warm. It is February and pretty damned cold inside, let alone outside. I am even wearing thermals indoors. Nevertheless, I have let you experience some nakedness at home (even though this means I have cleared up several wees and poos – well done for the one you did on the potty by the way). But, I draw the line at taking you out of the house naked.

You don’t want to eat your dinner. You want to throw it on the floor. You would like to eat pancakes all day. I hear you, I would also like to eat pancakes all day long, but I know this is neither healthy nor acceptable. My job as your mum, is to make sure you eat well and grow up to be big and strong.

You don’t want to have your hair tied back. You would prefer to have the wild and “free” look. It is my job to make you presentable to the world. However, this seems low down on my overall list of priorities, so I will temporarily accept your preference for the wild look.

You don’t want me to cuddle Maya. You only want me to cuddle you. If I cuddle Maya, you will attack her and try to gouge her eyes out. It is my job to protect both my girls. If you try to gouge Maya’s eyes out, I will have to stop you. I have two arms. I can cuddle you both. I love you both equally.

You don’t want to share your toys with Maya. Everything belongs to you and you alone. You are a bit little to understand this, but you will have to learn to share. It is my job to be fair and make sure that both you and Maya get time with toys. You are smaller, so you probably get a bigger shot at things, but that won’t last forever.

So, my little screechy, grumpy one. I hope this stage passes soon and that you are able to feel independent and heard.
I love you so much,
Mummy xxx