So everyone knows about the "Terrible Two's", that oh-so-precious age when toddlers are such a delight to be around.

Not.

How come you never hear people talk about THIS particular age - 19 months?

I can't be the only one on the planet whose 19-month-old is tantrummy, whiney, fussy, and just down right annoying most of the time.

What I'm hoping is that Joshua is getting all this out of his system early. When he's 2, he'll be a complete angel.

Yeah, that's it. I'm sure that's exactly what he's planning.

The thing is, amid the hours of annoyingness, out of nowhere he'll smile at me, come up to me, and plant a great big smoocher right on my lips. He'll be charming, flirty, playful, and a whole lot of fun.

Until the tiniest thing goes ever-so-slightly NOT his way, then it's terror child all over again.

My first two kids where never this way. Were they?

I guess that's the main thing. In a few years, I'll have completely forgotten this phase. By then I'm sure there'll be plenty of other behaviors to annoy and delight us.