DIARI IS TWO

Someone recently asked me how I managed to get pregnant with Diari after all the trouble I was having. It kind of surprised me because I didn’t have trouble getting pregnant with Diari at all. Then I realized that, because my husband and I intentionally waited until one year after we were married to have kids, people probably just assumed that we couldn’t have kids. The reality is, we just wanted to wait. We wanted to enjoy each other’s company and get to know each other. We had talked for two years before getting married, but believe me, once you marry and move in with someone, it’s like you’re learning about a new person all over again. When we did finally get pregnant with Diari, I can’t tell you how excited we were. I was ready to be a mom, and even more happy when I found out she’d be a girl.

Fast forward almost two years later and let me tell y’all! Diari is definitely the best thing that’s ever happened to me. But she’s also approaching her second birthday and living up to her new status in the “Terrible Twos”! When Diari was just One, I used to joke that she was already a Terrible Two because she was so fussy and demanding. But, there are definitely some differences between kids acting terrible and them actually being in the Terrible Twos.

For starters, Diari can talk now. And I don’t mean the cutesy “goo goo, ma ma, da da” stuff. No. Diari will enunciate in almost perfectly formed sentences exactly how she is feeling. She will laugh at her own jokes, call her dad ugly, and demand snacks. When we went back home to Africa last December, she started picking up all these curse words from the older kids. Funny, right? Wrong! We thought it would be a cute phase, but the reality is that she is now also old enough to learn the difference between right and wrong. We realized we had to teach her before the latter becomes a habit.

The Terrible Twos are also a time when kids tend to become bullies unless we put a stop to it. So Diari is learning to share toys, food, and space. Being the mini diva she is, I can already tell she thinks the world is hers. Her favorite word is “mine” of course. But despite her nature, Diari is quickly learning that sharing is caring and caring is what we should all be. It’s the sweetest thing when she comes up to me with her after school snack and says “some” (as in, “here mama, have some”) instead of “mine” lol.

Diari’s biggest challenge with the Terrible Twos is her ‘grown woman in a little girl’s body’ syndrome. Sometimes I really look at this girl like whoooo does she think she is?? She will sass and you and really try to put you in your place even though she barely comes up to my knee cap lol.
In two years, we have both grown so much individually and as people. I love watching her navigate the world around her and tell me what she wants. I no longer have to guess what’s wrong with her based on her tears. She’s a whole person! She’s sassy, funny, and independent, just like her mama. I couldn’t be more proud of my Diari, even in her Terrible Twos. And even though it’s a tough time for all of us, ……

I’m looking forward to another year of growth, love, and learning with my little mamacita. Even in her Terrible Twos phase, she’s my favorite little person in the world. 

How to handle terrible two’s: patience, talking with them,