Understanding

The age/stage that Madi is in is my absolute favorite. Something in her little brain has clicked and she is soaking in he world faster than ever. I can tell her something once, she can repeat it, and will remember it. I no longer have to repeat myself 100 times for her to learn something or for her to understand what I am asking of her. It's amazing. There was a moment today, where it really clicked for me that she was one of the big kids now. We were at a play space in the mall. She walked to the stairs of a play structure and said "wait. turn" as to my surprise she waited patiently for it to be her turn. She then said, "climb" and climbed the stairs. She then said "slide" and counted to 3 before sliding down. She then ran around to do it again. She saw another child try to climb up the slide rather than slide down it ( which she knows she is not allowed to do). She told the little girl, "no, no, no. Around." she was telling the the little girl to go around to climb the stairs. All on her own she understood everything she was supposed to do. She knew to wait her turn, and climb the stairs, and slide. And she knew the rule was to walk around and I didn't have to say anything to her. This may seem like a small thing to most people, but to me it was HUGE. As a mom of a mobile baby it can feel like you repeat yourself all day even though you have no idea if any of it sinks in or if you are wasting your breath. You work to stay consistent and lay down the law. There are time outs and tantrums and one sided conversations that can leave you exhausted at the end of the day. And then all of a sudden, my 17 month old, not so baby anymore, proves to me it was worth it and she understood. And sure there are days that are worse than others, but those little moments where you can pat yourself and your little one on the back knowing you both did your part - mom being the teacher and child the learner, both hard jobs and everyone is doing ok. That makes everything worth it.