I ask her what she wants to do. She says she wants to go outside. I say okay - let's get your shoes. Nooooooo! She does not want shoes. Now she says she doesn't want to go outside. She wants a snack. I let her pick her snack. She picks Goldfish crackers. I put the crackers in a bowl. Nooooooo! She doesn't want that snack anymore. She wants to go outside. With no shoes.
I can only hope & pray at this point that Amelia is a normal 2-year old. Maybe a little feisty, but not beyond the range of normal. I'm terrified every day that I'm not handling situations correctly and creating a monster child. I'm already near the point of begging to be on Nanny 911.
So, anyway... it has been a doozy of a week. In the past 7 days, Amelia became terrified of getting her hair washed, furious over brushing her teeth, and afraid of the dark. I don't get any freebies or money for product reviews - my blog just isn't that big (yet?). But these three items really saved our lives this week:
(1) Shampoo Rinse Cup.
I found it at WalMart. When we first tried it, Amelia had every muscle in her little body clenched, just waiting to scream at Daddy for getting water in her eyes. But when her hair got rinsed and her little face stayed dry, she immediately exclaimed, "Daddy did it!". She is thrilled with this new bathtime helper, and is no longer afraid to get the shampoo rinsed out of her hair.
(2) Battery-powered toothbrush.
Amelia used to love to get her teeth brushed. Until this week. For three nights in a row, we endured painful battles over a chore we feel is not optional. Based on the advice of other moms, I took Amelia to the store, showed her the battery-powered toothbrushes for kids, and let her pick the one she wanted. Despite my best efforts to steer her towards something girly, she chose the ugly Diego one. But she carried it proudly through the store and couldn't wait to use it when we got home. We call it the "tickle toothbrush". She starts the process by touching her tongue, then each of her teeth. And she lets us finish the tickles - or brushing - for a squeaky clean smile. Crisis #2 averted.
(3) Night Light.
I've been taking over nighttime duty for a couple nights because Steve is working. Amelia has been acting up more and more at night, and tonight she adamantly refused to lay down. My heart broke as I had to listen to her scream and cry after I left the room. I gave it almost 10 minutes, then went back in to soothe her. I asked my girl if she would like a small light in her room. She looked at me with that red, tear-stained face and puffy eyes. Then she just nodded her head. "Amelia scared", she said. So out came the standard, nothing fancy nightlight. She loves it! I hope if she is having some nighttime fears, that this light will help her. Crisis #3 (hopefully) averted. She's asleep, and we'll see what happens in the morning.
Whew. Life is ever-changing in our household these days! I hope I can keep up.
