Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee

Until this past year, Gracie had a reputation for being sweet, good-natured, compliant and easy-going. With only a handful of exceptions, she rarely displayed any temper tantrums or dislike. Her doctor, teacher, etc., all commented on how good natured she is, and it was very accurate -- at the time.

She even seemed immune to the "terrible two's" cliche.

However, lately, Gracie has really become quite bold and has been asserting her boldness to those close to her. Lauren tends to take the brunt of her newfound assertion. Before you feel sorry for Lauren, the reality is that Lauren has been herding Gracie around for the last three years. Occasionally Gracie would put Lauren back "in her place," but most of the time she just went with the flow.

She no longer defers to Lauren, and she makes sure Lauren knows the era of her compliance has ended. I think she announced, much like boxers announce their intentions in upcoming fights. In the version I have in my head, I see Gracie channeling Mohammed Ali.

After observing some infraction or other, we often mumble, "Well, Lauren does have that coming to her..." Or, as Skip has grown fond of saying whenever Gracie thrashes Lauren about, "When you mess with the bull, you get the horn!" Not that Gracie is a bull (except that she can be sometimes) and not that she has horns (well... maybe). Obviously, we have a "no hitting" policy, and we police that carefully. Disputes occasionally arise, though, usually when our backs are turned for split seconds of time. Those two can be very crafty.

A month or so ago, our sweet Grace-bug even picked up some colorful language from one of the adults in her life (we're all looking at you, Skip) -- one of the more inflammatory selections, of course. We have been holding our breath that she doesn't use that new word at church or at school when it resumes in a few weeks. And that she doesn't yell "I'm the greatest!" at a classmate during a routine dispute.