Toddler-Ninja! Just crept up on us...

And all the while we're so focused on my belly... This toddler has appeared out of nowhere! Don't get me wrong, we're so present for her and everyday I'm trying to make special time with her and make memories. It 's like we're so focused on the here and now we've not realised where she's come from... Babyhood! And so all of a sudden I've realised... She's a toddler! A little girl! 

I'll be honest before becoming a Mum I kinda thought of the toddler years as the phase just to be tolerated. I didn't think I'd enjoy it one bit. Toddlers are loud and wild and snotty and they dawdle and they go to everything they shouldn't and they cover everything in sticky jam-fingers and they strop over dumb stuff. I thought I'd spend the entire with my head between my knees trying desperately not to hit to wine before midday. I just thought I'd grit my teeth, attempt to limit my screaming to once an hour or so and wait for the sweet embrace of childhood when she can listen, talk and mostly importantly... Be bribed.

Turns out... there's gold here in Toddlerdom...

There's gold when she brings me a book and snuggles in for me to read it. 

There's gold on page 6 of stickman when looks at me with "DO THE DOG VOICE!" eyes and shrieks. 

There's gold in her waddle-bottomed-run through the hallway whilst I chase her (on all fours these days). 

There's gold when she pulls up my top and declares, as if claiming the summit for her own, "BAAAAABY!" 

There's gold every time she surprises me with something new and I can't fathom where it came from so I just put it down to her being a genius... Obviously. 

There's friggin' golden fairy dust raining down when she kisses me for no reason, most of all when I don't see the moment coming and nothing else matters because I have a little person who loves me so much she just had to take a minute to show me. 

Most surprisingly, I find a lot of gold when she those toddler tantrums rear up and I can't help think "Yeah go on! Show me you're gonna be ok in life because you know what you want and you know how to shout for it!"

I think I might be loving it... So here she is... Toddlering on...

With my niece...