Kariana is Two; It's November; and I'm Making New Year's Resolutions

They say the terrible twos can be a trying time but I'm optimistic this is going to be a fun year with Kariana. In honor of Kariana's 2nd birthday (and the upcoming holiday season), I'm making three New Year's resolutions. I realize it is early for New Year's resolutions but I figure I could use an early start and will be more accountable if I get them down on paper now.

Here are my resolutions:

1. Demonstrate more patience. When all else fails, take deep breaths.

2. Slow down and enjoy the moment.

3. Get back to the basics and rediscover.

I'm making these resolutions because I'm hoping the entire family, including a very independent two year old, will benefit from them. Okay, so I also admit that I may be making these resolutions to counteract the guilt I'm feeling for not reading more books about how to raise a toddler. The list of books about toddlers goes on and on but I just can't seem to find the patience or time for any of them. How ironic, right? Maybe I'm a bad mother or maybe my limited experience thus far is enough to lead me to believe that there are three basic ingredients to success with a toddler. So these three basic ingredients are my New Year's resolutions: more patience, more time and getting back to the basics to rediscover. I admit I'm not a patient person. Let's face it we are living in the now generation and have come to expect instant gratification. I shop online, do my banking online and even created this blog to make it easier for me to post/send pictures of Kariana to my friends and family online. But loving a toddler takes a whole lot of patience. They still require your undivided attention but they also need your patience to allow them to assert their independence and figure things out. Sometimes this takes a little longer than the five minutes you had allocated to get shoes on, get out of the house and get into the car. Thus, to my second resolution. Toddlers also need a lot of time and it seems none of us has enough time for anything anymore. We are always rushing to fit it all in whatever "it all" is anyway. So my goal is to slow down and give Kariana the time she needs. I don't want to be rushing, rushing, rushing through Kariana's third year. It's so much fun to watch Kariana discover her world and figure out the small things that most adults take for granted. With a little more time and patience, I figure I might just rediscover a few things myself!