Terrible 22 Months?

Lucy is taking this "terrible twos" thing to a whole new level.  Apparently she misunderstood and thought since she was 22 months this month, she should start with the "terrible twos."

When I told my daycare provider how Lucy was acting, she said, "She's too young for that." 

My thoughts exactly. Perhaps we are getting a jump start on this and it will be over sooner as well. :) 

The other morning I tried to get Lucy ready for daycare. She was a mess. If I tried to brush her hair, she batted my hand away. She wouldn't let me brush her teeth and kept yelling, "No!" Even putting her in the car seat was a struggle...literally.

I think Heath considered it to be a bad mix of inpatient, tired Cori and stubborn, tired Lucy.  I tried to tell him that she was just being testy, and perhaps she was a bit sleepy. That would help explain the extreme testiness.

He then got a taste of it that evening. Lucy was acting up at the dinner table. She was spitting water out and laughing. I told her, "No. Don't spit water." She laughed and continued. This went back and forth a few times, until I threatened to take the water away and ended up doing so. She thought that was hilarious and spit in my general direction.

Heath told Lucy to "tell Mommy sorry."

Her response? "No!"

This was followed by an eyebrow dip and a stern head shake. He insisted that she tell me sorry and she insisted on not doing so...I think he was finally starting to understand what I was talking about.

You see, Heath doesn't discipline Lucy much. He is completely wrapped around that little girl's finger. If she wants to eat bananas, pineapple, and peaches for supper, so be it. If she wants to sleep with us, while sleepily kicking Heath in the head and pulling my hair, so be it.

He'll see. Pretty soon, he'll see. I have a feeling the terrible twos have just only reared their ugly head. We have a year or more to go of unpredictable fits...in the grocery store, while putting her in the car seat, in restaurants...

I simply pray for patience. Please Lord give me more patience. Remind me to speak calmly and try to explain myself to her. I know she doesn't understand; but, it is good practice.

"I love you; but, you can't have that."
"I love you; but, you can't scream in the grocery store."
"I love you; but, you need to eat your ham first."

Please Lord give me the patience to not just turn the radio up when she is screaming in the car seat, after miles of pleading.

I feel like a bad mom admitting that I don't handle her fits well. I don't like raising my voice to her. I don't want her to think I just yell all the time. I try very hard to be cognizant of my own behavior during the fits. But, sometimes, I can feel the annoyance. Perhaps I need practice? Perhaps I will learn how to deal with these situations as time passes?

I usually do pretty good during the first five minutes or so. I just need to learn how to prolong that...

Heath does well at trying to avoid any melt downs by distracting her with toys or television. I kind of forget about the "distraction" option. I am worried though that it won't work some day or that she will become spoiled and not actually learn to behave in public.

How do or did you all handle the unavoidable terrible twos? Fits in the middle of a restaurant meal? The flopping on the floor, rolling around, crying tantrums?

As of now, when I feel frustration, instead of yelling I usually huff. "Ugh!" 

Unfortunately, when Lucy is frustrated, she has started huffing too. It only reiterates why I shouldn't raise my voice!

Lucy's Ready. I'm Not.

We play with Lucy's baby dolls at home. She feeds them with a spoon. She puts them in the high chair and stroller. We have tried to teach her how to love her babies.

Last night, we were sitting in the living room. I had just pulled chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. I was blowing on one of them, trying to dodge the reaching Lucy hand coming at me. In between blows, I was chanting, "Hot, hot, hot."

Lucy began to mock me, whispering, "Haaa, haaa, haa."

Finally it was cool enough and I gave Lucy her bite. Yum. Chocolate chip cookie. Wait, "Lucy! No! Bad girl!"

I watched as Lucy stuck her chocolaty tongue out and scraped the cookie onto the floor with the side of her index finger.

One dish towel later, I was scrubbing the floor, the side of the couch, and Lucy's face, all covered in chocolate. She promptly took the towel away from me, wiped her babies mouth, the couch, and the floor as well. Alright - how could I stay upset with that? :)

She then proceeded to use the dish towel as a blanket. She went around the room, wrapping up every doll or stuffed animal. Once I figured out what she was doing, I tried to help her. She settled on carrying around a stuffed pig the rest of the night. He would come unraveled, then she would bring him to me or Heath for "re-wrapping."

Heath and I watched as she rocked him, hugged him, and even put him in her chair "to sleep." When she laid him down, she said "shhhh" and "night-night." Then, she leaned over and kissed him on the nose.

I teared up. It was the cutest and sweetest thing I had ever seen. Heath and I just kept looking at each other, beaming with pride.

I said, what everyone is now thinking, "I think she is ready for a baby."

Then I thought, "I'm not though!" haha.

We still need more Lucy-alone-time. Either way, it is nice to know that any future babies will have a wonderful bigger sister in Lucy. :)

And, this is where the pig slept all night -

We tried to get pictures of Lucy holding him and rocking him; but, she wouldn't sit still for us. These were the best, blurry images we could get, haha -

Motherly? Yes. Model? Not yet, anyway. :)