This month, the little one is turning two. TWO! Unbelievable! Time flies and while I was preparing her birthday present (a photo book of her second year) and couldn’t help but wonder how fast our daughter is developing and growing.

Last year, I wrote a list of things which changed since we had a baby. This year, I was wondering how life changed with a two-year old. Some points are still the same than last year. The tidying-up, for example. I think I have never tidied up more often and more disciplined in my entire life, yet I fight a constant daily struggle against the chaos. The restroom issue….well, it evolved in the sense that I can now close the door again, but next to me is probably a toddler sitting on the potty, commentating the sounds I make….very flattering!

So here is our new list of how you will know you live together with a toddler:

– You will have mastered the art of multitasking. It is not anymore about avoiding to step on your child, but more about cooking while trying to save your child from cutting, bruising or poisoning…

– you will still get very nervous when you don’t hear a sound

– on the other hand, you will wake up with an immense adrenalin kick when you suddenly hear footsteps or crashing sounds early in the morning and you realize that your child is now able to remove the sleeping bag and to get out of bed by itself

– you will find clothespins, coins and spoons in every possible place in your flat

– one-third of your bookshelves will now be occupied with children books

– when travelling, about three-quarters of your luggage will be taken by children’s stuff

– you will know every playground in town (including their pros and cons for both mothers and children)

– you will always have a box of various snacks with you when going out. And always a piece of chocolate somewhere hidden in the flat.

– going to the supermarket will now take at least twice as long as before

– you will be able to scan new places immediately for possible dangerous spots such as sharp edges, steep steps or poisonous plants

– you will still spend a considerable amount of time on the floor

– your reflexes are as fast as never before when it comes to the question of who is allowed to carry the full potty to the restroom

– when doing pregnancy yoga, you will have extra support by a thirteen kilogram weight sitting on your legs

– you hope that the lunch time naps will continue for many happy years (though you are well aware of the fact that the weeks are numbered)

– you know how to make a babyccino

– you master the art of “oooommmmm” when waiting next to a tantrum-throwing child (you simply learned to take earplugs with you wherever you go)

– if you are lucky you will have an amazing help in the household and the garden

– your partnership will reach a new level and you might discover aspects of your partner that you were never aware of (or do you think he would perform an improvised poo-dance without a child on his arm?)

– your heart will overflow with love every time you hear your child laugh or giggle

– you will see things flying through the air that you would prefer to keep safe on top of a shelf (you just forgot to put them there)

– you will have adapoted your parents way of saying “I count till three……one…two….”

– you will get to know your child better and better as it starts talking. What an immense and heartwarming insight into your kid’s world. Who would have guessed that the little one’s first correct sentence would be “I like butter!” (immediately followed by “I like apricots!”)

– you might have experienced various emergency units by now

– you will not go to a zoo alone anymore because you would always have the feeling that someone important is missing

– you are thrilled about the fact that you can know start to really explain stuff and to play real games with your kid

– when travelling you will be a master of organisation and packing (that is, at least, if you are the mother)

– you will fall onto the sofa with a sigh of relief every time your kid has finally fallen asleep

– yet you might have somehow found the prospect of more sleepless nights and full diapers so glamorous that you are pregnant with a second child

– there won’t be a single day when you don’t think at one point how happy and thankful you are and how your child is the cutest and best child in the whole world ♥