Jennifer Triplett

Why, why, why?

Lately, that's all my daughter wants to know. "Why woof barking? Daddy, why you have nose? Why my name Lucy?"

Why has a companion question: what. I'll be in the kitchen and she'll say "What you doin'?" Cooking. "Why you cook?" So you can eat. This conversation will continue with little variation for several minutes until I convince her to go bother somebody else.

Right now, her questions are easy to answer. The most difficult part is keeping my cool after she's asked, and I've answered, the same one 20 times. Your daddy has a nose so he can breathe, kiddo. I don't know what else to tell you.

I know from experience the questions will become more difficult. Sam wants to know why blue whales are endangered and what happens to you after you die. I can't always explain things to him very well, but I do my best.

Talking is a big thing at our house and I've always thought it was important to talk to my kids, even when they were babies. So I basically brought this on myself. Lucy talks all the time, up until the moment she passes out in her bed at night.

Lucy is coming into her personality, and it's an amazing thing to watch. To call her wild might be an understatement. She's free-spirited and tough. She doesn't let her brother push her around and her father is already firmly wrapped around her finger.

She's always running and jumping, pretending she's a frog or a dog. She's fiercely loyal to Sam, to the point of sitting with him when he's in time out.

When you have kids, it's so easy to get caught up in the drudgery of parenthood. Then my shiny-faced 2-year-old will start begging for music so she can dance. She gets her brother to join her and before you know it, I've forgotten about the juice stains on the carpet.

Part of the fun of having kids is watching them discover the world. Lucy is an avid rock collector and loves to bring me the "flowers" she finds growing in the yard. When the caterpillars were out, she was fascinated by them but only at a distance. Now she and her brother are waiting for one to hatch into a butterfly, but I think the chances are slim. That's another thing she's discovering. Sometimes things don't work out the way you think they will.

Right now, we're trying to accomplish the daunting task of letting Lucy be who she is but also teaching her there are some things you just shouldn't do. Singing at the top of her lungs while jumping on the bed? I'll let that one go. Climbing on the baker's rack? Yeah, I don't think so.

This has been difficult because Lucy likes to either pretend it's a game and smile and look at you as she does whatever you just told her not to, or she acts like she can't hear you. When we tell her no again and remove her from what she was doing, she gets angry and says "You no not tell me no!" It's so hard for me not to laugh. She does the whole crossed arms, pouty lip thing and with her tiny voice it's just hilarious. I can't laugh, though; that's the best way to ensure a repeat performance.

I know a lot of people talk about the "terrible twos" but I just haven't ever seen them that way. Are there screaming fits, sometimes in the middle of a store? Yup. But those really are the exception rather than the rule. What I discovered with Sam and what I'm seeing again with Lucy is that 2-year-olds are really quite wonderful. She's finally becoming her own little person and really taking an interest in the world around her. It's a beautiful thing to witness.