The past few weeks have been really tough with the girls. Big A hasn't had a huge tantrum in over a week, so hopefully whatever little phase she was going through has passed. But she is really copping an attitude lately. She ignores me on a regular basis, which is infuriating and disconcerting. When she began playing with the universal machine in our home gym last week, I warned her to stop because she was going to either break something or hurt herself. She didn't listen and jammed the weight stack, which ended up stretching the cable. Now Adam and I have to pay to have someone come and fix it.
Big A also talks back. If I say, "Please brush your teeth so we can leave for school," she will come back with something like, "The only way I am going to brush my teeth is if I get 10 more minutes to play first!"
Little A has become, well...a really terrible two! She has been melting down over every tiny thing, no matter how irrational or absurd.
For example, the other day at breakfast she was eating red grapes. When she asked for more, I asked her if she wanted red or green. She said, "pink." Since she was smiling, I assumed she was just joking, which she does a lot. But when I returned with another bowl of red grapes, she pushed them away and started screaming that she wanted pink grapes. Trying to explain that there is no such thing did little to help.
She also refuses to take turns with Big A. In order to try and curb fights between them, we make rules that they alternate taking turns on coveted activities (pushing the button at cross-walks, getting out of the bath first, holding the snack bag, etc.), but Little A will go bananas if she doesn't get her way EVERY TIME.
Her daycare teachers, who swear she is a perfect angel all day, have suggested she is still adjusting to the transition from her old daycare. This may be true. She has been asking to go back to her old daycare and I think she is starting to really miss her two best friends there.
Little A does occasionally show glimmers of her old sweet and funny self. Yesterday she made me chase her around the house in order to get her undressed and into the bath. Her favorite trick is to stick her little bum over the drain in the tub while I am trying to drain it so that the water can't go down. She thinks this is hilarious. And she continues to be the dirtiest, messiest child on the planet. She LOVES rain and refuses to let me cover her in the stroller or put on her rain jacket or boots in wet weather. Instead she adores getting soaked and jumping into mud puddles. She also continues to show no interest in toilet training and, in fact, when we were at a playdate at my girlfriend's house a few days ago, she would not even stop playing and allow us to change her diaper after she'd pooped.
If I didn't talk to my friends and know that they are not the only ones dealing with this kind of stuff, I would think I needed another parenting intervention (perhaps an exorcist this time?). But for now, I've decided to let things ride for a bit and see what happens. I know transitions are difficult for kids and the girls are going through some big ones with the start of the school year. Hopefully by Christmas they will have adjusted??
Big A also talks back. If I say, "Please brush your teeth so we can leave for school," she will come back with something like, "The only way I am going to brush my teeth is if I get 10 more minutes to play first!"
Little A has become, well...a really terrible two! She has been melting down over every tiny thing, no matter how irrational or absurd.
For example, the other day at breakfast she was eating red grapes. When she asked for more, I asked her if she wanted red or green. She said, "pink." Since she was smiling, I assumed she was just joking, which she does a lot. But when I returned with another bowl of red grapes, she pushed them away and started screaming that she wanted pink grapes. Trying to explain that there is no such thing did little to help.
She also refuses to take turns with Big A. In order to try and curb fights between them, we make rules that they alternate taking turns on coveted activities (pushing the button at cross-walks, getting out of the bath first, holding the snack bag, etc.), but Little A will go bananas if she doesn't get her way EVERY TIME.
Her daycare teachers, who swear she is a perfect angel all day, have suggested she is still adjusting to the transition from her old daycare. This may be true. She has been asking to go back to her old daycare and I think she is starting to really miss her two best friends there.
Little A does occasionally show glimmers of her old sweet and funny self. Yesterday she made me chase her around the house in order to get her undressed and into the bath. Her favorite trick is to stick her little bum over the drain in the tub while I am trying to drain it so that the water can't go down. She thinks this is hilarious. And she continues to be the dirtiest, messiest child on the planet. She LOVES rain and refuses to let me cover her in the stroller or put on her rain jacket or boots in wet weather. Instead she adores getting soaked and jumping into mud puddles. She also continues to show no interest in toilet training and, in fact, when we were at a playdate at my girlfriend's house a few days ago, she would not even stop playing and allow us to change her diaper after she'd pooped.
If I didn't talk to my friends and know that they are not the only ones dealing with this kind of stuff, I would think I needed another parenting intervention (perhaps an exorcist this time?). But for now, I've decided to let things ride for a bit and see what happens. I know transitions are difficult for kids and the girls are going through some big ones with the start of the school year. Hopefully by Christmas they will have adjusted??
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