Terrible twos!
My household is experiencing a case of the terrible twos...about 5 months early! Ayla's latest obsession is hitting, kicking, and slapping me. Also, when she finds something she isn't supposed to have (usually something expensive and/or breakable) and is told to give it back, she instead runs and LAUNCHES said item at the nearest hard surface. It is exhausting. She is so smart (all moms think that, but I've had non-biased parties tell me so, so it must be true-wink) so we spend a lot of time talking about her behavior.
Me: "Do we hit?"
Ayla: "Nooo!"
Me: "Is hitting nice or..."
Ayla: "Meeeen!"
Me: "What do you say?"
Ayla: "Sawddy" (sorry)
Then, she says "aww" and hugs me. Which is sometimes followed by another slap. The struggle is day-to-day. Do I give her a mean mommy face? Do I ignore her since she's looking for a reaction? Do we do (another) time out? I vary my strategy because I'm trying to figure out the most effective one so we can use that one and stick to it. Except that there isn't really one good strategy-she is an ever-changing being, reacting differently as quickly as she grows. Dr. Sears has a great post about time out that I really enjoyed reading. Right now, we are working on more "time in" because at the end of a long day of work, mommy and daddy want to unwind. But little bitty wants our attention. Of course, when we sit down to give her our undivided attention, she doesn't really want anything to do with us. It is frustrating, but I know it is a stage. That it won't "be like this for long."
On a high note, Ms. Sassy never ceases to amaze me. She says so many wonderful words-her vocabulary just grows and grows and grows!
My current favs:
"Lub you"
"Two" (when asked how old she is...she jokes around and says 'two' and we always say 'not yet'...but it isn't long!)
"Moe-ning" (morning, as in "good morning")
"Goo-de" (when asked, 'how are you?')
She also has taken to making a fish face when kissing, a big change from her big ol' fat pursed lips. She's a big fan of baby dolls, wrapping them in blankets and giving them lots of hugs and kisses (before violently dropping them on their heads in abandonment). It makes me excited for when she will become a big sister.
I guess when she's going through an episode of terrible two-dome, I can think of all the ways I get to embarrass her when she's older. Or how when she wants nothing more than to sleep in, I will insist that she "rise and shine valentine" so she can have a productive day. (Not sure who I'm kidding on this one...sleeping in is my addiction, right up there with chocolate!)
Of course, some mom out there is reading this right now thinking to herself, "Just you wait honey. You think two is bad? Wait til she's THREE!"
Me: "Do we hit?"
Ayla: "Nooo!"
Me: "Is hitting nice or..."
Ayla: "Meeeen!"
Me: "What do you say?"
Ayla: "Sawddy" (sorry)
Then, she says "aww" and hugs me. Which is sometimes followed by another slap. The struggle is day-to-day. Do I give her a mean mommy face? Do I ignore her since she's looking for a reaction? Do we do (another) time out? I vary my strategy because I'm trying to figure out the most effective one so we can use that one and stick to it. Except that there isn't really one good strategy-she is an ever-changing being, reacting differently as quickly as she grows. Dr. Sears has a great post about time out that I really enjoyed reading. Right now, we are working on more "time in" because at the end of a long day of work, mommy and daddy want to unwind. But little bitty wants our attention. Of course, when we sit down to give her our undivided attention, she doesn't really want anything to do with us. It is frustrating, but I know it is a stage. That it won't "be like this for long."
On a high note, Ms. Sassy never ceases to amaze me. She says so many wonderful words-her vocabulary just grows and grows and grows!
My current favs:
"Lub you"
"Two" (when asked how old she is...she jokes around and says 'two' and we always say 'not yet'...but it isn't long!)
"Moe-ning" (morning, as in "good morning")
"Goo-de" (when asked, 'how are you?')
She also has taken to making a fish face when kissing, a big change from her big ol' fat pursed lips. She's a big fan of baby dolls, wrapping them in blankets and giving them lots of hugs and kisses (before violently dropping them on their heads in abandonment). It makes me excited for when she will become a big sister.
I guess when she's going through an episode of terrible two-dome, I can think of all the ways I get to embarrass her when she's older. Or how when she wants nothing more than to sleep in, I will insist that she "rise and shine valentine" so she can have a productive day. (Not sure who I'm kidding on this one...sleeping in is my addiction, right up there with chocolate!)
Of course, some mom out there is reading this right now thinking to herself, "Just you wait honey. You think two is bad? Wait til she's THREE!"
Ah, yes. We're experiencing some of this too. I'm still making my way (re-reading a lot) through the "Positive Parenting" book and plan on blogging about it. It's pretty common sense for us educators, but I like it because it reminds me to do what I want to be doing and why it's the right choice.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Mama!