"I Be 2 Years Old!"

That's what Madeline says now when you ask her how old she is. Our little girl turned 2 today and I'm sitting here reflecting after a fun weekend of celebrating. I have often thought to myself lately, "I can't believe she's 2!" or "she's growing up so fast!" You know, the usual parental wonderment that our baby is no longer a baby. But it really sank in when I checked my email tonight. For 2 years and 8 months I have been receiving weekly email updates from BabyCenter.com. It is a great website that has updated me every week starting with pregnancy. It began with "You are 8 weeks pregnant", telling me "this week your baby is the size of a grain of rice, then a lentil, then a fig, etc." Then once Maddie was born, the emails swithed to "Your Baby This Week: 1 Week, 7 weeks, 20 weeks, etc." and provided helpful baby tips and developmental information. Then once she turned one, they became, "Your Toddler This Week: My 15 month-old, Week 1"...you get the point. Well tonight the email subject said, "My Preschooler This Week: Your 2 Year Old". WHAT?!! Preschooler?! Aren't they toddlers for a little longer? And we've gone from counting weeks, to years I guess. And here is what they had to say about a 2 year-old: "Two-year-olds give the biggest hugs, flash the biggest smiles, and yes, throw the loudest, most spectacular tantrums." Well aint that the truth. As reluctant as I am to acknowledge that Maddie is no longer a baby, or apparently even a toddler, and is now a preschooler, I am excited for her to grow. I am so in love with this little person who is developing her own personality, her own will, her own voice and mind. Her talking is becoming more conversational and it is so fun. I got home from work one night and she was playing and I bent down to her like I always do and before I could say anything she looked up and said, "Hi Mommy, how your day?" It melted my heart. So I'm ready for the tantrums, we've experienced some already. And as long as my 2 year-old "preschooler" continues to give us those big hugs and flash her big smile, I guess I'm okay with her no longer being a baby.