I haven't been taking many pictures of Annalise because it seems like she is throwing a tantrum every 20 minutes. I understand that it is an important developmental milestone (asserting her independence and all) but it gets very frustrating sometimes.
Reasons for tantrums
1) She's not allowed to play with the iPhones
2) She's not allowed to flip the lid on the trash can
3) Not allowed to put random things in the trash
4) Not allowed to retrieve things from the trash
5) Not allowed to get dirty clothes from the hamper and put them on
6) Not allowed to pull Mommy's books out of the bookcase (and I have them way up. She has to pull either her step stool or her chair over there to climb up and get to them).
7) Not allowed to throw shoes at people's faces
8) Not allowed to throw open drinks
9) Not allowed to stand up on the couch
10) Not allowed to stand up and dance in the tub (this one I feel bad about, but it's purely a safety issue.)
11) Not allowed to use her wipes container as a step stool (she already slipped and busted her butt doing this one time).
The list goes on.
I really don't think I am being unreasonable. I try to maintain the mindset of "fight only the essential battles." If she doesn't want to get dressed yet...well...it won't kill her to run around semi-naked for a bit. Or if she doesn't want to eat, well, she can eat later. It's hard to remember that you simply cannot reason with a toddler. There's no point trying, they don't have the capacity for it.
Doesn't make it any easier or more fun.
On the up side, her vocabulary is expanding at an extraordinary rate and she's constantly surprising me with new skills. She'll make a funny kissy sound and then run across them room and give me a big smooch.
AND she ate not-so-common big people food tonight. I made Kale and White Bean soup (kale, white beans, celery, potato, orzo, and seasoned with rosemary, delicious BTW).
And can I just say that I LOVE living somewhere where I can go "Oh dear, we really need some sort of bread to go with the soup I'm making tonight. Why don't I just run down to the corner French bakery and pick up a baguette or two."
You are cracking me up...all valid points of safety and reason from a parent's point of view-- not so much from the toddlers...something that really helped me to "cope" w/ the tantrums is that you have to stop and think for a second, that getting whatever out of the trash REALLY matters to her, not to say allow it, but the things she is trying to do, REALLY matter to her, she doesn't care/know safety, etc, etc...
ReplyDeleteYou are def. being reasonable about everything. You of course are doing it all right, not sweating the small stuff, and making sure she is safe. Just remember not a toddler forever, that's the nice part. And there is all the good stuff that happens, like becoming more loving even though she is throwing a tantrum in between kisses, hehe.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes your soup sounds amazing!!