For my part, I am working very hard on patience. My brain is probably tired of hearing "she's only two... she's only two..." over and over each day. But really, I often try to make Amelia older than her 107 weeks. She doesn't understand Mommy's obsessive need for organization. Nor Mommy's intolerance of clutter. She has no idea why Daddy freaks out about crumbs (although she does notice the new ant visitors we've been battling in the kitchen). She needs some room to be a kid, and I'm trying my best to give her that space.
I'm also consciously manging her expectations. It's amazing that something so simple as "choo-choo show, then diaper, then nap", repeated a couple times, can really cut down on the tantrum when naptime comes around. I try to use my new-found "first this, then that" strategy throughout the day. She knows what to expect, and she accepts my timeline pretty well.
I'm proud of my girl. It's be a very challenging few weeks. That's not to say the Terrible Two monster won't rear it's ugly head again soon. But I'm happy. Two days where Amelia and I can be friends and have some fun. Not too shabby.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Fingers crossed! Making progress.
I'm fully prepared for a setback, but I have to take this evening's post for a little brag about my girl. Amelia has been extremely well-behaved for two full days! We're getting along really well, and I couldn't be more proud of this cutie-pie.