How to be the Queen...

of being two.

When you don't want to go to sleep, scream.
When they don't come to get you, climb out of your crib.
When they put you back in, do it again...about 25 times.
When they decide to shut the door all the way so you can't escape your room, learn to open it.
When they close it again, repeat.
When they close it again & put up a gate in the doorway, throw your pillow, doll, & blankie over it.
When they throw them back in, repeat.
When they try again, repeat AND climb over the gate.
When they return you to your bed with all of your stuff & hold the door shut, learn to turn on the light to wake up your brother.
When they turn it off, repeat.
When you still can't get out, wake up your brother & tell him to open the door for you.
When he resists, DON'T GIVE UP! YOU'VE ALMOST BROKEN THEM!
When all else fails, scream & flail until sleep deprivation overwhelms everyone.
Repeat every three hours or so until sunrise.
You are now the Queen!

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This has been our darling daughter ever since Monday. For her these "terrible twos" aren't simply just learning lots of new things at once, they are doing it with panache. To happily punctuate all of this "evil" newness, she has also:
-completely moved out of her high chair to a booster seat
-gave her first clear compliment..."Look nice, Mommy. Pretty shirt. Pretty pants!"
-been extremely loving to her unborn baby sibling
-broken into song in ultimate sweetness
-eaten like a horse! (Lunch yesterday was a whole quesadilla, 1/2 sandwich, whole banana, bunch of grapes, 10 carrots, 2 pretzel rods, & any scraps she could sneak off of her brother's plate!)
-joined us for more prayer than usual...even though having her hands clasped usually ends in, "Open doors....people!!!"
-woken up in the morning smiling & squeezing us like crazy, saying, "Love you! Squeeze!"
-had her first success EVER going potty on the toilet

I'm having a challenging time balancing the excitement with utter frustration for these new acheivements. I've never more appreciated my own Mom & Dad!!! Thank you for your perseverance & love through it all!!!

P.S. Any bedtime tricks or suggestions are more than welcome. We've decided to say adios to the crib...but haven't gotten any further than that. We're debating between a twin bed for Andrew or a double to share or bunks. Any experience to share? Save me, o wise ones! ; )