When my daughter was born, I thought God had given me my calm second child.

At 22 months old, my son was still a psycho–incapable of sitting still for more than literally four seconds at a time.

Then my dark haired, dark skinned baby showed up at a itty-bitty 6lbs 4oz, filling my life with pink and bows and the dresses I’d stared longingly at during the duration of my time as a boy mom.

I had no idea how wrong I was.

Today, she is two.

Today, the dark hair and dark skin are gone, replaced with long blonde locks, bright blue eyes, and very light skin. She oddly looks totally white, despite being part Palestinian (Dad) and part Chinese (Mom.) We truly thought somewhere in there at least there would be a hint of ethnic.

Today, she is my wild child–there is not an ounce of calm to be found in her. She is strong spirited, her stubbornness rivals my own, and she knows exactly what she wants. The day she learned she could voice her opinion was the day she started making it known loudly and with a passion.

In fact she’s me, twenty two years ago. Mom and Dad, how did you do it? You are fantastic and you deserve many, many medals and a very long vacation.

This girl pushes buttons I didn’t know I had. She tests her own physical limits and our mental and emotional ones daily (hourly…) and she is never content to do less is she’s able to do more. This girl is a warrior–she is fierce–and it will take her places.

My favorite thing about her is that she knows she is adored.

The other day, she walked in with a blanket over her head as if she was wearing a cape and confidently, she stood in front of me and announced in her tiny baby voice, I am precious.

Yes, my darling, you are.

She is me many, many years ago, so I fear what she will put us through as a teenager, but at least I’m well equipped and I know all the tricks.

Alia, named after her firecracker of a great grandmother, is a wild one in her own right and she’s perfect that way. As I write this, she is stomping around on the table where I work, hair unkempt, dirty pajamas, yelling her victory cry because she’s clearly the queen of the world. A wild one for sure.

There is never a dull moment with her and we love her so, so much!