Different worlds

What does it mean to be two? If I ask my monkey a question, this is the kind of answer I get.
Me-do you need to go pee? You just had a whole lot to drink.
C-No mama, I'm not have to.
Me-are you sure? You've already been through 6 pairs of panties today.
C-I'm sure.
Great. She knows her own mind, right? Of course she does. She also knows that all I'm able to do when she pees her pants is put on a new pair. 5 minutes after the above conversation, she's peed in various places.
What else does it mean to be two?
I sneezed. She brings me a tissues and says 'bless you mama, do you need to blow your nose?'
Oh, and she has quite a little potty mouth. Her favorite thing right now is to complain about the cat by saying 'Friggen Cat', and then laughing maniacally. The cat is a little prick so it's not unfounded but that's not exactly what I want to hear come out of her mouth. Try NOT to laugh when she says it though. Really, she only says it when he swats her or scratches her.
Being two also means that the hugs are the be all and end all of your existence. And the kisses. Always the kisses and always 'kiss my mouth'. If the hug isn't quite big enough, she'll tell us to squeeze her more and if it's too hard, she says 'gentle'.
Two is wonderful and sarcastic. It's moody and pushy and demanding. It's also that much closer to three, which is just around the corner. I like two. I adore the little person behind the two. She is a princess, always wanting to be dressed up. She's been shopping in a tutu more than once. She loves to pretend and all of her princess dolls are friends. Today, she was a garden fairy and she was flitting around the house with her soft (her blanket, her world) draped over her shoulders saying 'look at me mama, I'm a garden fairy and I am flying up the sky'. Then she took her blanket off and said 'I'm not a garden fairy anymore, I'm Caelan now'. She kills me with her cute and I can't get enough of it.

Then there's what it means to be eleven.
Eleven is testing boundaries and pulling away. Today, D went to the mall with her friend. She had a gift card for Hot Topic and I gave her some money too. She bought an Edward Cullen shirt with her gift card. So there's the boy (well, LOL). Then she got herself a cell phone make up thing from Claire's. She *knows* she can't wear make up outside of the house. She called me and asked if she could go to church with the same friend she was at the mall with and I said of course. She comes home in her Edward Cullen shirt wearing blue eye shadow. I reminded her of the rules but at the same time, I had to admire how well she had put the make up on, lol. We watched the Grammy awards tonight. Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers are her right now cool. But when Green Day performed, she said "OMG, He's CUTE" and I nearly fell off the couch because I've had a crush on him since they first came out when I was in high school!! It made me realize how fast my baby has grown up and how alike we really are.

And what does it mean to be mama to these two girls?
Even at the end of my rope they can and do make me laugh. On my worst day, I can always count on a laugh and a hug and an 'I love you, mama'. I'm learning how to introduce rules, how to be the enforcer, how to get over my shyness and open myself up so that my girls can be exposed to all of the wonderful things in this world. I'm learning how to help with hurt, remembering when a crisis was SO big that it seemed unfixable and remembering how turbulent life is when you're growing up. I adore being mama. It's not easy. It's not always pretty or calm but there is ALWAYS love lurking in the corners and below the surface and it's always ready to be spoken out loud and often.