Why raising a 2 year old rocks!

I love my Monkey.  He is a truly awesome little person.  Yesterday I was watching him play and I realized that I think 2 year-olds, even with all their trials and tribulations, make their parents' lives pretty awesome.

Example 1: Teaching him to be polite.
We have been teaching Monkey to always say please and thank you when he wants something.  My parents were sticklers for good manners and it was something that always stuck with me.  Ethan both say please and thank you and do them in sign-language.  The sign-language appears crucial for when he is asking for something that will end up in his mouth because the thank you will be signed in that situation.  While he remembers them 75% of the time, he has taken to some odd moments of using them.
"Mommy, I have kiss please?" (give kiss) "Thank you Mommy!  Thank you!"
"Mommy!  Daddy!  I stuck!  Help me!" (Open door for him in the morning to let him out of his bedroom) "Thank you Mommy!"
Or my personal favorite: (I take something from him because he was being naughty and put him in time out.  He cries for 2 minutes because he is in time out) Mommy: Ethan, you can come out now.  Ethan: Thank you Mommy!

Example 2: Teaching him colors, numbers, animals, well... just about anything we want to teach him!
Watching him learn things is about the coolest part of being a parent.  Maybe it is because both my hubby and I have a large love of learning, but we could endlessly watch him learn to do things.  I love the fact that he loves books and loves to listen to me read and learn new words (even if we have read the book a zillion times before, I swear he finds new words in the book).  He could sit for hours listening to me read books on numbers, letters, colors.
But my favorite learning times are animals because he *loves* animals.  I mean, he *L-O-V-E-S* animals.  So we take trips to Barnes and Nobles to find books with new animals.  We take trips to the Bronx Zoo, local petting zoos, aquariums, local parks with ducks, and pretty much any place we can think with animals in it.  And he can name them all.  I love it.  My personal favorites to watch him name (mostly because of the looks surrounding people give us): platypus (I give credit to Phineus and Ferb for this one), jaguar, iguana and yak.  For some reason, people find it absolutely amazing he can name them.  It has become a dinner party trick.  People try to find pictures of random animals on their IPhones and blackberries and see if he can name the animal.  I'd say 90% of the time he can name the animal or at least something very closely related.  And I glow with pride.

Example 3: Potty Training
Yes, this is a very frustrating time in parenthood.  One filled with more errors in the beginning than any other process yet experienced for most parents.  A time when you can lead them to the potty, you can show them by example, but you cannot make them do it or learn it unless they want to.
So why do I love potty training?  Because it is cute to watch him be so proud of his underwear.  (like shouting loudly at preschool to his teacher "Look! I got Mickey Mouse on my hiney!"  Because it is amazing to watch his growing awareness of his own body.  ("Mommy!  I need to go peepee!  I need to use potty now!")  Because it is awesome to watch his sense of accomplishment when he succeeds.  ("Yay!  I super Ethan!")  And because with every accident, he slowly understands that when he doesn't succeed, Mommy and Daddy will still love him and help him.

While the tantrums, bath-battles, bed time-battles, and separation anxiety can quickly run their toll on my emotional well-being and make me want to hide in my room for some quiet time of my own (When can Mommy have a time-out?), most of the time, I have to admit it: raising a 2 year old rocks!