BK Travelogue: I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy!

The title of this blog is borrowed from one of my favorite kids church song. The next line is, "Down in my heart! Where? Down in my heart! Down in my heart to stay!" I felt like belting it from the rafters during the early months of summer. I was so full of happiness and contentment that it was practically oozing out.

Early in the summer, AnnaB came down with a virus - a little worse than a cold, but nothing too utterly horrible. That is until the doctor put her on a steroid to clear everything up. To make a long story short, I'm now a full-on believer in "roid rage" because my sweet little girl was downright mean.

The cosmos aligned and baby girl was all better, off of the steroid and returned to her (mostly) angelic self. We were able to set up a little weekly routine, which I adored. A half-day of school for her on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I would teach my fitness classes. There would also be duck pond day and grocery shopping day and pool day and "mommy and me" gymnastics day. I kept us busy and that's the point really. I like to be out and about and by association, so does baby girl. We would visit family and friends some days too, filling our time with fun chats and activities. The summertime carefree-ness that reminds me of being kid was palpable. On occasion, I would declare to anyone in earshot, "This is such a wonderful age!" And I meant it.

And then it happened. Just a couple of weeks ago on the cusp of turning 18 months, out of the blue, baby girl suddenly sprouted her own opinion and started telling me, "no!" at most everything. I didn't previously know it, but that happy, short-lived "honeymoon phase" had caught us right between baby-hood and toddler-hood. She's a full-blown toddler now and although she's still game for the grocery store, she's not quite as excited. She thinks she'd rather not wash her hands or have her diaper changed. She'd prefer to play with this and not that. Foods she previously devoured now make her gag. The list of "no" is rapidly growing.

So, when I recently overhead a mom with a 16-month old declare, "Isn't this a wonderful age!" I could only smirk to myself. I thought, "You better enjoy it while it lasts." You know, because I'm so experienced now and know what that poor first-time mom has yet to understand, it's fleeting. Cherish each stage because you never know if the next one will be better or worse. As for me, I'm staying positive that the "terrible twos" are overly hyped. There's always hope, right?