It was the fastest Ikea run in my history, and hanging up the swing was almost as fast.  The one thing that slowed us down was not picking up the brackets that are supposed to attach to the ceiling beams.  Ikea is 45 minutes away and Home Depot is only 10, so we decided to head there to see what we could find.

These large industrial hooks were 79 cents a piece and we screwed them right into the ceiling beam.  Chris pulled down with all his body weight and they didn’t budge–success.

The instructions for the swing said to leave a width of 10 cm (4 inches) between the hooks.  We eyeballed it.

As she gets older and taller, we can easily adjust the height, but for now it is pretty low so she can climb up and “read” a book all by herself.

As for us, we are adjusting to life with a two year old.  We are learning they don’t call them “the terrible twos” for nothing.  The tantrums are in full swing, but what is even more terrible (and wonderful at the same time) is knowing my baby is now a little girl.  When did her skin lose that baby softness?  When did the rolls on her thighs disappear?  She is getting too heavy for me prop her on my hip and carry with one arm. Her hair is thickening.  She is taller than most 3 year olds.  She wants to sit at the table now and eat with a real fork.  Her imagination now allows her to mother her baby doll–high-pitched voice and all.  She is so independent.  She is definitely not a baby anymore.

Greta, my two year old, this year you are going to grow up even more and as much as we will miss the “baby Greta” terribly, you have nothing but wonderful things in store for you.  Let’s just try to keep the public tantrums to a minimum this year and I promise to keep the freezer stocked with blueberries.