10 Reasons Toddlers Are Better Than Babies

I have enjoyed the past few months parenting a toddler way more than I enjoyed the first year with a baby. Don't get me wrong, I think babies are pretty cool. But I think toddlers are even better!

10 Reasons Toddlers Are Better Than Babies

1. They can feed themselves. You can actually eat at the same time as your child (gasp!), because their fingers now work correctly to put food in their own mouth. Dinnertime is instantly cut in half. Awesome!

2. They can move themselves. Not only is it extremely cute to see a short little person walk around, but they can get themselves to the minivan or kitchen or wherever else you need them to go. (We'll just pretend they always go where you want them to, and follow you in public places. ;) )

3. They eat table food. Not only can they feed themselves, but they eat normal people food so you don't have to bring baby food, formula or special snacks with you everywhere you go. (OK, maybe you still need to bring snacks. But they can order off the menu!)

4. They can tell you what they want. At 17 months, Rooney is learning and saying new words almost every single day. Communication is awesome.

5. They sleep through the night. Those first few weeks were rough because we weren't getting more than five hours of sleep at a time. Technically she has been sleeping through the night since she was 7 weeks old, but that was only 9 hours! Now she'll sleep at least 12 (knock on wood). I actually have to set an alarm again to make sure I'm not late for work.

6. They do funny things. Rooney loves to put both her feet up on the tray when she's in the stroller. It looks hilarious! She also likes to tilt her head to the side and give the cutest smile. It makes me laugh every single time! She imitates me folding laundry. She tries to dress herself. Every day she makes me laugh! It's so fun to watch her explore and be funny.

7. They can wear dresses. When Rooney was still crawling I didn't like to put dresses on her. She wears more rompers than dresses now, but dresses are much more practical now that she travels on her feet and not her hands and knees.

8. They go to bed later. We've been able to push Rooney's bedtime later to 7:00 pm rather than 5:30 pm now that she is older. This allows us to see her more when we get home from work, go for walks, run errands and go out to eat.

9. Their diaper doesn't need to be changed as often. Those newborns need their diaper changed like 12 times a day! Now it's more like six. That saves a lot of time, and a little money.

10. They can go on bike rides. We love going on bike rides as a family, but her helmet and bike seat are not recommended for babies under age 1. Now we have another method of transportation!

I do plan to enjoy the baby stage more next time, but right now I am loving the toddler phase!