The Terrible Terrible Twos

I have a 9 month old, a 2 1/2 year old, and a 4 year old. While I cannot properly judge the difficulty of any older ages I will assert that 2 is the hardest for me. There are so many fun things about 2 year olds. Kids really start to develop a personality when they are two and it's exciting to see. When it comes to molding what people assume are such pliable little minds, two is certainly not what I would deem pliable. It is the worst for misbehaviors and annoying behaviors. Fortunately I had forgotten what 2 was like but Beya is swiftly reminding me. Three is not much better than 2 but 3 year olds tend to find things to do that aren't as destructive as 2 which makes that age slightly more desireable. Novan's age of 4 is really awesome. Four year olds have so much more sense and they can almost be reasoned with. They also have a lot more self awareness and awareness of consequences that it keeps them from doing the crazy stuff 2 year olds like to do. Pre-two year olds aren't smart enough to get into to too much trouble, and when they do they are pretty much oblivious to it.

Whining is the first sign of the terrible twos. If your 2 year old starts whining you have much fun to look forward to. If there is one behavior I wish I could wipe from the repertoire of children it would be whining. Nothing wears me down faster than a whining child and at two it comes in at full force. Only since Novan turned 4 last October has the whining abated to a more tolerable level. At 2, whining is at it's peak and there is nothing to stop it short putting the kid away in their room or a closet if you prefer. =)

I am sure you recall my fun from last Sunday. Well even after my rampage the toilet still seems to hold some fascination with Beya who frequents it repeatedly even when she doesn't have to use it. Twice this past week I have caught her playing with her mermaid doll in it. Yeah, mermaid doll has had a lot of baths this week. Then when I picked her up at my friend Wendy's from babysitting on Wednesday, Wendy asked me "uh, is it normal that she likes to play around the toilet?"

Two year olds are also excellent at testing boundaries. Actually, they are just excellent at living like there are NO boundaries. I feel often that Beya doesn't care what the boundaries are. She just keeps doing the same things over and over no matter what kind of punishment or reinforcement I use. She must just not care about the consequences at all. I am almost sure that Novan was not nearly so bad. I have not yet found that thing that is effective for her. Last night Brad was watching the kids on our bed while I was making a cake for the church dinner/dance and in the middle of it I hear Brad yelling at Beya, "BEYA! DON'T DRAW ON THINGS!", "DID YOU DRAW ON MY SHIRT???", "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" I found out that Beya had located a marker and had drawn all over the sheets and then was proceeding to draw on the back of Brad's sweatshirt..... WHILE he was wearing it. I thought it was hilarious that this happened while Brad was sitting on the bed where the offense happened without realizing it until he felt the pressure of the marker on his back. This is certainly FAAAAR from the first time drawing on innappropriate things has happened. I have tried my hardest to keep writing utensils out of her reach but the girl must have a secret stash somewhere because I swear they appear out of nowhere. I have cleaned so much marker and colored pencil off the walls and furnishings more than I can count and ONLY with Beya. Novan drew on the floor one time at that age and my displeasure was enough that he never did it again on the floor or anywhere else except paper. I fear the only way to stop her, ah, creativity is to invest in a collection of those makers that only write on special paper. She's like this with pretty much everything though. There is not a behavior that she has done that she has failed to repeat more than once, twice, and more times after. It doesn't matter if I peel her down to a bare bum and spank her, she will do it again, and again, and again, and again. After the drawing on the sweatshirt incident Brad said to me, "so what are we going to do about her?" Yeah, if I knew I would have already done it.

She is so good at putting on an act that her feelings are all hurt and "sorry momma" and hugs and kisses and hanging on me like my disappointment in her has wounded her deeply or something. Not five minutes after if given the opportunity she will do the same thing over again. Novan is a lot of things that Beya's not with his emotional issues but he is GREAT at following the rules that he knows. Rules to him are pretty much set in stone and once he gets a rule and it makes sense to him, he does it without question and even gets mad at me if I try to let the rule slide just once. Ohhhh Beya. That girl better get her act together before she's a teenager or she won't go anywhere out of my sight. 

So my suggestion box is open for any of you who think you know how to quell my wild and rebllious daughter. Please though, no charts, she just doesn't get that stuff yet. Plus, she'll just draw all over it too.