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Why We Love 2-Year-Olds

As your child's second birthday approaches, you may be mourning the end of babyhood. But there are many (funny!) things to look forward to. This is an enchanted age of firsts -- first sentences, first songs, and first glimpses at a burgeoning personality. It's also a year of boundary testing, emerging fears, and some seriously inappropriate responses to frustration. But even when the twos are terrible, here are just a few of the many reasons why to love this amazing age.

Learning to Talk

Typically, children can say about 50 words by the time they're 2, and more than 200 by age 3. "I'm amazed at how quickly he picks up words," says Chantal Sales, of Austin, Minnesota, about her son, Evan. "One day he counts to 3, and the next he's counting to 11 -- skipping 4 and 5, of course!" Kids this age are beginning to speak in simple sentences, although we're not always sure what language they're using. "My son Maxou just started talking up a storm," says Stacey Dolezal Susini, of Dallas. "And those times when you don't understand him, he closes his eyes in exasperation!"

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