Where Did My Baby Go??

I had a baby around 18 months ago and I don't know where she went. All I know is that a little toddler has taken her place. A walking, talking, angry if you try to take something from her toddler. She's really cute, and she has A SAY. But where did that baby go that would let you do things to her? I could feed her when I wanted and she would eat. I could lay her down and she would sleep. I could dress her and she would stay in the same clothes all day. The toddler who has taken her place has her own agenda. She will bring a chair to get to whatever she wants. She will scream and struggle with you if you try to take something from her. She says many foreign words and many discernible ones. She puts her nose up at food she dislikes and decorates my floor with it afterwards. She loves pens and will write on everything she sees, even her own clothes, arms and legs. She is very aware of what everyone else is doing and wants to be a part of it. The baby I remember had big rolls of fat. Each thigh was separated with a big crease. I loved that crease. Now it's gone. The baby used to love the baby swing. Now this toddler refuses to be put in that swing. She must swing on the big kids swing...all by herself.

There are some things I really like about this toddler. I hug her and she hugs back! I give her kisses and she give them back! She laughs with the rest of us like she is a foreigner trying to fit in when she doesn't know the language. She imitates me constantly. She speaks a gibberish and looks at me with all kinds of expression like she just wants to go straight to the conversation part. She has a smile that melts me. My baby has become a toddler. She's unfolding before me and showing me who she is really is. And ultimately, despite all the cleaning up I do after her, and the consolations I give her during tantrums, I love her to pieces. I thank God for her. My little Mary.