My baby is two, crossing that milestone officially last Sunday. I could easily run out of energy and money hosting childhood birthday parties before the girls run out of childhood years. Therefore, I skipped having a party this year and am saving up for when she will really want one. If there is truth in MTV’s show My Super Sweet 16, I better start saving big. Instead, we celebrated with a family visit to Marbles Kids Museum in the morning, followed by cake and ice cream in the evening.

Now that the day has passed, I am once again facing the terrible twos. The tantrums, the tirades, the tears, and the temper, it is a year to remember. As challenging as it is, I’ll trade you a two-year old for a two-month old any day. For me, a toddler is so much more fun than a little infant. A two-year-old laughs, talks, walks, hugs, jumps, plays and, in general, is a little person. It is the year the baby starts to disappear and the child starts to emerge. In between the “terrible” part, it is a wonderful transition on the path to growing up.

Instead of dreading that “terrible” part, I am just getting ready. I am not prepared, because as a parent I am never fully prepared. But, I have been through the twos before. I survived and so did Sarah. Every child is different; so I know the twos with Jaley will be different as well. However, some things remain the same and for that I have a bag full of parenting tricks. Below is my list of toddler truths and how I plan to survive them.

Toddlers have tantrums at the store. It is just that simple. The good news is that Harris Teeter doesn’t care how loud my child is or how many tears she sheds. As long as I pay for the groceries in my cart, they keep letting me back in the store.

Toddlers can do everything themselves. While this statement may not be true to parents, it is in the mind of a toddler. Therefore, I am ready for one million utterances of “my do it.” When time and circumstances permit, she can try to do it herself. When they don’t, she will learn that sometimes life isn’t fair.

Toddlers despise sleep. They need sleep, but they hate it. They fight naps, bedtime, and everything rest related. That is until you want them to stay awake, then they are down for the count. My solution is simple, turn off the baby monitor and lock the bedroom door. Eventually my child will fall asleep. If not, she is contained in a safe environment.

Toddlers are hot and cold. One minute life is great, the next minute it is not. Come to think of it they are kind of like me when I have PMS. Just as my husband does with me, with Jaley I will wait five minutes (or five days) and the moment should pass.

Toddlers hate hearing the word no, but love using it. How can such a short word be such a giant source of parent-child angst? I have no idea. I also have no solution for this toddler truth. However, I figure that any skills I develop in the no-yes debate now will fully transfer to when my girls are teenagers.

Now I will sign off, I just heard the first scream of a tantrum. It is time to start putting a few of these tricks into practice.

Gigi appears every Friday on TriangleMom2Mom. To read more about Gigi, go to her blog Stroller Lane.