27 Month Checkup

Dear Katie,

The Terrible Twos are not a myth made up by ugly, bitter people who hate their children.

When your head spins around 360 degrees and fire shoots from your eyes during one of your daily tantrums, I think about selling you to the gypsies. And I say that from a very loving, non-bitter place.

You walk around like a horse with its blinders on, only seeing what is directly in front of you, and whatever that is, that is what you want - what you have to have. Until you get it. By then you have turned your head and changed your mind. Today you had three different cookies, each with one bite out of them and you turned to me, looking for chocolate.

I'm exhausted by the fights over getting dressed, changing your diaper, going to school, leaving school, taking a nap, eating dinner, going to bed. It's so frustrating because though you always come around, a 10 minute tantrum is inevitable.

Its unsettling to realize that you are smarter than me. My words come back at me. I'm told "gimme a second, okay?" when I want you to come to me. Instead of telling you that you can't do something, I would just tell you that you'd have to do something else "first". That worked for a while. Now you tell me that you are going to do whatever you are doing "first". One day you told me you were going to sit in the corner and "fuss first". And you did. You had a tantrum in the corner. When you would ask for a cookie at suppertime, I would tell you that you have to "finish your (meat, veggie, pasta)". So then you just started pushing away your bowl mid-meal, saying "finished!". How can I argue with that?

You walked into the playroom where I had all the pieces to the baby swing out of the box and all over the floor and you just said, "Oh. my. God." Now, I didn't teach you that as I'd never blaspheme, but you got it somewhere and it was hysterical.

It all comes down to you getting better at expressing yourself and that does have an up-side. You've started to say, "I love you, Mommy (and Daddy and Grandma)" It sounds like you are saying it with a mouth full of marbles, but we know what you mean. You ask for "cuddles". If you are sitting next to me, you lean your head on my shoulder.

You are learning your manners. You say "please", "thank you" and "you're welcome" with regularity. You even say "sorry" when you are trying to get around someone. Your vocabulary has exploded. And you are saying it all with a mini Irish accent.

Potty training is on hiatus. You like to take off your diaper and sit on the potty, but you don't do anything there. For about the last two weeks you tell me when you have to "make a big poop in the corner" and then you do. Of course then I ask if you are finished and the answer is always no and we fight for ten minutes about cleaning your bum.

There has to be some clever saying about who the fool is when an adult actually argues and wrestles with a toddler.

I love you Katie, but I am so tired. I'm sure having a newborn in the house will make everything much better. Oh joy.

Some recent photos of Katie being agreeable...

Here's when I asked Katie to pose for a picture with her new outfit.

Katie reacting to the "Smile for the camera!" command.

And see how well Katie leaves the kitty alone?
I love this picture. Which one looks more hostile?