Toddler-ville

Imagine my surprise when I opened my email on Silas' birthday and discovered I am officially the mother of a toddler. When I was pregnant, I signed up for 183 email lists from mommy-to-be websites, and they just kept on updating me on Si's progress after his arrival.

Anyway, apparently, when baby starts walking and/or turns one, he is *officially* a toddler. Had no clue.

However, the word toddler seems to mesh really well with Si's new independent, "me, me, me" approach to life. It now makes sense that he refuses to be "fed" (he must do it himself so that he can maximize the mess) and that he now throws full-on tantrums when he doesn't have exactly what it is he wants in his tiny, sticky hands at any given moment (throwing the head back, stomping, wailing at the top of his lungs....no matter where we are) and that he beats me senseless with books because he wants me to read them but has not quite mastered the words "read" or "please" (thought he gave me a black eye one night) ( he does have a pretty decent vocab for a one-year-old, including "money, money, money!").

This means I'm officially putting my hat in the ring for the mayor of Toddler-ville. Can't wait for all the madness to ensue!