While I am no longer taking monthly pictures of Little Bug with Pooh Bear, I do want to still document what my little girl is doing month by month because I know the older she gets, all her 2 year old cuteness will blend into distant memories.

I am thinking if I keep documenting things here on my blog, I will be able to remember more little details of this precious time with her.

So, here is what I want to remember about Little Bug at 25 months old:

She is smart as a whip.

We were reading this alphabet book. I was letting her tell me the letters she knew. When we got to this page, Little Bug said,

“Rectangle!”

(She doesn’t know the letter “I” yet.)

It is blueberry season and we have gone blueberry picking twice.

99% of the blueberries Little Bug picks off the bush end up in her tummy and not in her pail! After the first half hour I have to tell her, “Eat two more blueberries and then that is it!” After she is done eating she wanders around playing with sticks and dirt.

Little Bug loves to “write”. I hear many times a day, “Mommy write wif Little Bug!” She got a magnadoodle from Mimi & Papaw for her birthday and she LOVES the thing! I love it too because I don’t have to worry about anything being colored on!

After another rough period in the discipline department things are going smoothly in that area again.

I was having to tell her multiple times to do something, which was my own fault because I was not requiring first time obedience.

When I realized this, I started requiring first time obedience from Little Bug. This means, when I tell Little Bug that she needs to do something (as in, “Little Bug, put your doll baby in the toy basket.”) I expect her to do it right away and after the first time I tell her to do it.

I should not have to tell her more than once to do anything (especially when she is older, right now I am still in the training process). Training her now that I expect her to obey me the first time, I know will make life much easier down the road in the discipline department. (At least I hope so!)

Little Bug picked up quick on this first time obedience thing and now she will even say, “Little Bug obey Mommy the first time!”

Little Bug is a spunky girl! I thought by the age of two baby gates could come down and I wouldn’t have to keep my eyes on her every single minute of the day, but…baby gates are still up and I still can’t take my eyes off this girl for a moment or she is into something.

I find this very interesting because Little Bug knows there are boundaries and limits and she respects her boundaries, but given the opportunity to explore something new or do something adventurous that she has never done before, she just can’t stop herself!

Our social worker came for a visit to renew our home study recently. It would have been so nice if Little Bug would have gotten a book or a quiet toy and sat off somewhere and quietly occupied herself while we talked to the social worker.

Little Bug is no wall flower, though! She wanted to be right there in the middle of it all. It wasn’t five minutes after the social worker came in and Little Bug was rolling on the floor, showing off. I just politely told the social worker, “Little Bug loves to meet new people! She is so excited you are here!”

I had told Little Bug that while the social worker was here Mommy would not be able to read books to her or play with toys. Mommy would need to talk to the social worker. What does Little Bug say as soon as we start talking?

“Mommy read books with Little Bug!” The thing is she knew what she was doing! Little stinker!

So I calmly told her, “Little Bug, Mommy cannot read to you right now. You may read by yourself or go write on your magnadoodle.” She dropped it after that, but it is that spunk in her that made her just have to ask me that when she clearly already knew my answer!

I love my spunky girl. She definitely keeps things hopping around here!

I am savoring these last few weeks of just my baby girl and me. Never again will I just be “Little Bug’s Mommy”. While there have been rough patches for sure over the past two years (and one month!) of motherhood, I have thoroughly enjoyed the past 25 months of my life. Little Bug is everything I dreamed a daughter would be…and more! She brings incredible joy into my life.

She reminds me that as I am working to mold and shape her character, God is still working on molding and shaping me into the woman I was made to be.

She reminds me to enjoy life to the fullest because, let me tell you, Little Bug LOVES life. Just today we were outside and she ran up to me and asked me to let her touch the wind chime so it would ring. When I told her “Okay” she got this HUGE grin on her face and joy just overflowed from her as I hoisted her up and let her ring the wind chime. Nothing like the innocence of childhood.

If I could bottle her up and never let her grow up, I would. But I know far too well that even better days are ahead. The important thing is to cherish where we are right now, not longing for the past or wishing for the future.

All I have right now is my 25 month old Little Bug and I want to cherish her for who she is today, spunkiness and all.

And I know that God is going to use that spunkiness in BIG WAYS down the road.

Which is why I’ve thrown the bottle away.

- Elaine