My girl.

My Charlotte is a busy girl. Her mind and body run at full tilt all day long. She must touch everything and taste most things. She must see must see how much she can cram into the furnace ducts, vacuum outlet and flush down the toilet. She doesn't let much stop her. I have locks on all of the doors, the backyard gate and shelves are being built ever higher on our walls to protect things we don't want broken (we are on to our second digital camera). There is crayon and marker on the walls. She tires me out and the mischievous glint in her green eyes always has me on high alert.

I live almost every day in frustration and am exhausted by bedtime. I need to keep reminding myself of a few things:

• Charlotte is a free spirit. She is energetic and creative. These things are going to make her a fantastic adult some day. She is going to give this world great things.
• I need to spend more time trying to help her brain grow and stimulate her. She can't sit still with a colouring book without drawing on the wall. She can't sit with a story book without tearing pages. A couch is for bouncing on. A rocking chair is a launch pad. She can't walk past a puddle without jumping in it. Her feelings get hurt because the birds in the yard don't want to play with her and she will run down the street to follow them.
  
• She doesn't mean to be as destructive as she is. She just needs to fully immerse herself in life to figure out how it works. I need to make her world safe so she can freely explore.
  
• She is a constant source of frustration and joy for me. Just when I think my head could explode she sings me a song (with her own improvised lyrics and choreography) and I can't help but laugh through my tears. The outfits she puts together are very original and always fun to see.
  
• Matthew worships her. All she has to do is look at him and he is convulsed with laughter. At 8 months of age he already knows which buttons to push to make her scream. I look forward every day to watching their relationship grow.
  

I just needed to remember that the things that make her a challenging preschooler are going to make her an amazing, adventurous adult. I can get through this, right???