We all talk about milestones our children will hit, but we rarely talk about the milestones that we Moms will hit on our parenting journey.    Last week, I shared about these milestones or rites of passage most Moms will experience when their child is between 1 2 years old [hyperlink to former blog post].  

By the time my children each turned 2, I found that they, like most children, possessed the ability to transition with venerable ease between being completely irresistible to me and causing heated arguments between me and my husband over who gets  to leave the house and pick up the groceries.  But while it was probably the most challenging year so far, it definitely contained its fair share of highpoints.

Looking back, here’s what’s on my bucket list for Moms when their kids are ages 2-3:

1. Finally realize what those other moms mean when they say “the room was just TOO quiet.”  In my case, I walked in on Max to find that he found a pair of scissors and cut a hole—and some fashionable fringe—in his pants.  See photo above for his artistry.

1. Wince as the joy of nose picking is discovered.

1. Love how your child can walk everywhere on his own.  Loathe how he insists on walking everywhere on his own.

1. Read the same book over and over. Watch the same show over and over. Sing the same song over and over. Repeat.

1. Come to  the sad reality that you’ll never see the inside of a restaurant again if he continues singing obliviously at the top of his lungs while using  the salt and pepper shakers percussion instruments.

1. Curse those people who warned you — but clearly didn’t adequately warn you — about how hard the terrible twos are.

1. Start thinking about potty training.  But maybe only just think about it.   The actual act of training is too much to deal with right now. [Link to http://www.clorox.com/laugh/mom-moments/2011/09/28/5-essential-potty-training-tools/]

1. Discover her joy of art supplies like paint, crayons, chalk, pens …  probably on your bedroom walls

1. Realize you really should stop referring to your child’s age in months  ... unless you are in denial about this and insist on awkwardly describing your child as “29.5 months old.”

1. Hear your child utter  “I love you” for the first time. (link to http://www.clorox.com/laugh/mom-moments/2011/02/04/those-three-little-words/)

What are some of your Mom moments when your kid was 2-3 years old?