“A two-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don’t have a top for it.” - Jerry Seinfeld

Even though the Vachette still has a long way to go before her second birthday, I can no longer deny the fact she has entered toddlerdom. Just last night (see video below) she made some serious forays into walking, which, has felt like her last great milestone of babyhood.

Niko and I were very lucky. Despite all the major upheavals that have happened in the Vachette’s relatively short lifetime, she has been an easygoing baby. Now my little lady is becoming, to quote Dr. Harvey Karp, “a little uncivilized cavewoman”.

The Vachette has started to exhibit all sorts of boorish behaviors. The tenacious being is not easily distracted from desired objects. Madame gets very angry when something is taken away from her. Sometimes, she takes this anger out by biting the couch cover or my toes. The orange nail polish may appeal to her animal instincts. She has also mastered her first, and at the time of this writing, only word: no. No, I don’t want my sippy cup of milk! No, no, no, I don’t want my poopy diaper changed!

And with that word “no”, the daily high-chair battle has commenced. Her palate defies expectations. Madame loves overcooked, unseasoned broccoli, but Zeus forbid she gets served any pieces of zucchini that were sautéed in olive oil with a little sea salt and cumin, a spice she otherwise enjoys with gusto. When the mood strikes her, she loves to whisk her food onto the floor. In addition to trying my patience, this behavior has taught me chick peas that escape the dustpan petrify after a few days. We are currently working on oatmeal, because, despite her country of birth, she must eat something other than cheese and bread.

Wish me luck. Toddlerdom feels like quite the ride.