Baby Tyrant ...

Don't let that smile fool you... She's ruthless.

Slowly, over the past few weeks, our family has faced a new reality: We are in the full-throttle Terrible Twos. For the most part, that doesn't really mean anything. Beatrice Kate is, at heart, a really good kid. She's sweet, fun and very snugly.

But every once in a while, The Terrible Two Tyrant rears her Tantrum Head and the results are less than pretty:

Snot. And a lot of it.

Oh, that? That was caused by being given a milk cup she deemed less than acceptable. And this?

We were unable to locate "The Perfect Song" on our church CD for a pre-dinner dance sesh. I'm not joking.

For our toddler, The Terrible Twos have taken the shape of full-on meltdowns over simply ridiculous stuff. I feel like I'm living with a hormonal teenager who makes the most outrageous demands just to watch us squirm or jump into action.

Think I'm kidding? Here's a list of things that have caused Beatrice Kate mental pain and anguish over the last few days alone:

• Mama couldn't make shoes that are three sizes too small fit on our feet.
• Daddy wouldn't wear his cycling gloves during dinner
• Mama insists that we wear some form of clothing on the lower half of her body when going out to play on freezing cold days.
• She wanted to use the Little Potty. No, the big potty. No, the potty seat. No, she wants to use a diaper. WHY AM I WEARING A DIAPER YOU GUYS.
• Mama and Daddy can't guess the song I'm thinking of right now.
• Nope, it's not ABC's.
• Or Row, Row your boat.
• OMG YOU GUYS. JUST GUESS IT ALREADY. 
• Never mind, I hate singing anyway.
• Daddy was unable to construct a tent in less than .0004 seconds.
• No, don't use that sheet daddy. 
• Bath tubs aren't for suitable for cloth baby dolls.
• Baby Dolls don't talk back.
• Or eat any of the food they are force-fed.
• We aren't allowed to drink milk in the grocery store. From the gallon jug.
• Mama doesn't allow stealing from the church nursery's toy collection.
• Tutus aren't acceptable attire for Sunday service. 
• Neither is a bathing suit.

See what I mean? We're under the command of a dictator on LSD. Or she's simply just being a normal two year old...  Either way, we'll continue to submit to her demands, no matter how silly it looks on the outside:

I want my baby back, baby back, baby back ...

I was organizing our recent batch of photos into folders to make it easier to scroll through all 2 million of them and I noticed this one:

Aside from the complete silliness of it (and the fact that YES, my toddler still uses a pacifier sometimes at night and YES, her lovies "The Evelyns" are disgusting and need a bath), I was struck by just how much she's changed in just over a year.

Obviously, we've seen this gradual change happening right before our eyes, but when compared side to side... It makes this Mama want to start crying and clutching Ma' Babee to my bosom. I mean come on! Her little toes don't even reach halfway down the tub and now?!? She has to fold her squishy legs into the stupid thing.

She is literally transforming into a new, complete and total person every. single. day. It's so funny to Casey and I because, we often talk about the fact that we don't just want "another baby". We want this baby:

To stay small and snugly forever and always. I'm sure it'll be totally normal to still have her attached to my apron strings at 35, right? Nevermind. Don't answer that.

Dancing Queen ...

Most kids like to dance to Barney songs. My unique little dancing queen chooses pipe organs and a four part harmony. To each their own. Enjoy:



She's a true Moravian:


And she's a little bossy, huh?

Photo Wrap-Up ...

Because it's practically impossible to fill you in on every. single. detail. of the past few months, I thought it would be best to do a photo wrap-up instead! Enjoy!

First, of course, there was the holiday season. A time that's kicked off annually by my father's birthday and subsequent party:

No, that's not my twin. She's my younger sister.

Then we took Beatrice Kate to her very first "Santa Train" ride at the Museum of Life and Science. There are no photos of her with Santa, because it was a colossal failure and she may be scarred for life...Here's one instead of her "reindeer food", which she didn't care for either:

What is this crap. Reindeer eat oats and straw, idiots.

Naturally, we did a lot of baking:

She bakes with flare.

Beatrice Kate made and decorated her own cookies for He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. It was a HUGE mess, but a lot of fun:

Can you guess which ones she decorated?

In Moravian tradition, we went to Candle Tea at Raleigh Moravian. I tried to get a few "artsy" shots of Bea before we left the house. She wasn't having any of it:

And... I'm over this.

I tried again at the church, but she just made the old ladies nervous being that close to the lit candles:

Don't mind me... Just going to tip this little table over...

Then, of course, Santa The Guy in the Red Suit came to our house and brought a few things:

I don't like the thought of a stranger being in our house, but...

Maybe this Santa guy isn't so bad after all.

Then we started our trek back west to the Land of Grandparents where Big Santa showed out:

Ridiculous.

We learned the ins and outs of chicken coop construction:

An Engineer can't resist seeing the inside ...

From the Farming Master:

That's not Santa.

Beatrice Kate loves the idea of having our very own chickens. Cooper does not:

Chick-Ins. Mama, I see Chick-Ins.

We also did a lot of relaxing. The baby was in good hands, so we could all take a breather:

Maxin' and Relaxin' in Mandrake's Chair. That better not be Sci-Fi on TV.

Naturally, when you live in Christmastown, USA you just have to walk the lights:

Beatrice Kate was impressed with the showing:

Then we packed up and traveled to Winston-Salem to visit Grannma. She didn't disappoint:

BFFs.

Definitely a gift from Grannma. Mama's not as brave.

Uncle Evan and Aunt Leah were there too, so it was a jammed packed visit, filled with, you guessed it- more gifts:

Oooo. A gift for me?

Oh. Gee. Thanks Uncle Evan. A shirt. Yip-ee?

We did more cooking:

And even learned how to make doughnuts:

Not that there were any left to try ...

Then we visited Casey's grandmother, Granny:

And Bea learned how to play the organ:

She loved it. A lot:

Fast forward to February, and my husband became a licensed Professional Engineer:

I am incredibly proud of him:

He is too:

Then, Casey took Beatrice Kate to Chick-Fil-A for Daddy/Daughter Date Night. I nearly died of cuteness:

Seriously, isn't this the sweetest idea EVER?

Finally, this past weekend, we visited our cousin Ava for her second birthday:

That's quite a candle blowing technique...

The cousins love each other... Really, they do:

Whewwww! That's it! We're up to present day now!

If you'll excuse me, I have to go round up this crazy thing:

We're baaaacck! And with some news!

Hi Faithful Readers! We're finally back online, hopefully this time for good. My amazing brother-in-law did indeed fix our computer. Actually he didn't just fix it, he upgraded it way beyond our expectations! So, hopefully this means we're on for the long haul this time; which will translate into more, consistent blogging!!!

There's really no way to catch you all up on what's been going on in our lives for the past 3 months so instead, I'll start things off with some BIG NEWS! I'm so happy to announce that ... (and no, I'm not pregnant!)...

The Bea Team is back! And, we're excited to kick-off our 2012 March for Babies team. Last year, The Bea Team raised over $2600. $2600?!?!?!?! That's incredible. I know it's likely that we won't come anywhere near that amount this year, but... frankly, I'll be proud if we raise $5. Because that's $5 that can help support a family like ours, a baby like ours.

Prematurity sucks. There's no way around it, and March of Dimes is doing everything in their power to help find the causes of prematurity and eliminate them. For good.

If you're a faithful reader of our blog, I hope you might consider supporting The Bea Team this year. Donating is easy! Just click this link: www.marchforbabies.org/team/thebeateam OR you can mail a check (e-mail me for the address).

Anything you can spare helps support families with critically ill and critically small babies in the NICU. It also helps March of Dimes fund programs that educate the public about prematurity and prenatal health.

As a doula, I can say that birth can be a magical, exciting experience, one that every woman deserves to have; but as a mother, I can say that every baby deserves a healthy outcome and a safe start in life. March of Dimes is helping make that happen.

We'll be back tomorrow with a photo catch-up of the past few months!