There is this picture above my desk of DH and little E I just love looking at. To me it shows what a special relationship they have.  Of course I already loved him before E came along but seeing the way he is with our daughter has made me fall in love with him in a way I had never known before.

They have this special relationship.  Can you just see it in this picture?

The way her little hand is wrapped around his thumb.  The look of peace and content on her face.

I know I am in big trouble as she gets older, or actually he is in big trouble!  Honestly though nothing brings me greater joy than seeing those two together.  Even when she prefers him over me or runs to him crying in her dramatic way when I have dared tell her no.  Still I just stop and smile at the love they have for each other.  He is completely taken with her and her with him.

I hope that she always knows the love of her father in this way.  And that she measures all other relatioships by if they treat her half as good as her father does.  If she does I can tell you any boy who wants to date her will have some big shoes to fill!

My title is a little bit sarcastic today.  This is more me just venting.  Toddlers are an interesting dichotomy of opposites.  They can be cute and loving one minute and obnoxious and defiant the next.  Evangeline has just recently entered the testing stage and man can she test mommy’s patience.  On a typical day she will wake up sweet and loving, just full of smiles and hugs and kisses.  She is easy and agreeable.  I say, “do you want milk?” and she nods happily and is content.  A few hours later she is demanding, and cries and screams if I get up to do anything.  Throw’s a tantrum if she can’t have something she wants.  Is defiant. This morning she threw her milk on the floor when she was done eating (her daily ritual).  When she got down I asked her to pick it up and put it on the table, which she normally does just fine.  Nope not today she sat there and stared at it and didn’t move. 

I am just sitting here this morning thinking… “how long does this time last for?”  She is only 18 months old, do I really have another 12-18 months of this?  When she is being cute and adorable I find myself loving this age and never wanting it to end.  But 2 seconds later she is throwing a tantrum and I am wondering, “when will it end?”

She calls me “mommy”, I call her “baby”.
She takes my hand, I gladly stand.
She smiles sweetly, my heart skips a beat.
She kisses me lovingly, I melt in a heap.