You've got to love a girl that can express herself

To be honest, I have had some extremely difficult moments with Everly in the past year.  Considering that Cortlan's "Terrible Two's" didn't start until well after he was two, the beginning of Everly's second year of life was wrought with frustration and dread as to what was to come; I was worried that it would only get worse.  The meltdowns.  The tantrums.  The tears.  The not-listening.  What were we going to do??

Fortunately, within the last month or so, it seems as though we have rounded a huge corner with Everly, and now, she is as sweet as can be, funny, and so very expressive.  She makes me smile and she makes me laugh.  I think much of her turnaround can be attributed to her relatively sudden ability to express her emotions verbally instead of in a screaming, raging outburst.  For example, one of her new favorite words: frustrated (or fustated, as it sounds), as in "I am so fustated!" 

We have heard much more coming from Everly as she explores new words and new ways to express herself.  Last Friday on the way to school, she piped up from the backseat, "Darnit. I forgot something at home." Not that I am encouraging it, but it was a totally contextually appropriate (and relatively calm) use of the word, and John and I couldn't help but to laugh.

Yesterday, on the way home from school, Everly was talking a blue streak, telling us all about her day, who she played with, what she did (built a block tower that went all the way to the ceiling!), that her friend Max spilled milk at snack time and some got on her shirt, that she was going to dress up in her Minnie Mouse stuff, some of which she doesn't even own but that "Santa is going to bring!"  After a brief pause, she then said, "I am sad!"  When asked why, she responded, "None of my fends told me dat my sues are bootiful!"  You can imagine the discussion that ensued.  We had to explain to her that it doesn't matter if her friends tell her that her shoes are beautiful, that doesn't make them any less beautiful.  If she thinks they are beautiful, they are.  And even if they aren't, that is no big deal, either.  And she was fine with that.

Life has changed with Everly.  At least for the moment, I feel that things are getting easier.  At the very least, they are getting more entertaining.