Yep, 2 posts in 1 day. The earlier one was when I thought (hoped, prayed) N would take a nap. This one comes much later in the day after she didn't take a nap and jumped on every last one of her mama's frayed and pregnant nerves.
Every year we go through this in the months following her birthday. She was a sweet wonderful baby until she turned 1, and then she started doing weird stuff. Same thing happened after she turned 2. History is repeating itself yet again. She has gone from being an agreeable little girl to a mischevious, push-the-limit, whiney stinker.
God love her, I know she is just doing what any self-respecting 3-year-old would do, but it is so annoying. She is working on her negotiation skills, trying to see just how much power she wields in this relationship and in this family. It has to be hard being so little and so essentially powerless. I get pissy whenever I realize how little control I actually have over things, and I know she doesn't have the reasoning skills to cope as well as I would.
So what has she been doing?
Trying her darndest to forego her naps, which she still needs because she is in meltdown city by 5:00 (if she even makes it this late). She keeps hopping out of bed, turning on the light, coming out of her room, trying to get me to give in and let her come downstairs. Today was a little weird because she took a "power nap" in the car on the way home from the zoo and didn't want to return to sweet slumber once I got her out of the car. Plus Nana being around makes N worry she is missing far too much.
And then there is the trying to get what she wants by dragging a chair, climbing up and straining every upper body muscle in order to reach something I've just told her she can't have. The "Well, I'll show you. I'll get it myself" stage.
There is also the whine....that only a female 3-year-old can do. I've just been telling her mommy doesn't answer to a whiney voice and hopefully in a couple months she'll stop (before mommy gives in just to make that cloying sound go away).
And she is becoming (or trying to become) a power negotiator. She gives me this sweet look and says, "We'll leave it open all the way (her bedroom door), ok?" When I give her the real choices she has, she just sweetly repeats her original idea over and over until she eventually loses her mind and screams. By God, one of us is more stubborn than the other and I've had 30+ years to cultivate mine so I WILL WIN!!!!
I try to stay calm. I try to give her choices whenever possible. I try to use logical discipline with her. And maybe part of my issue is simply that I'm pregnant and tired. But I just can't help but think the person who said the "2s" were terrible had never hung around a 3-year-old for any extended period of time.
Of course, then she goes and says something hilarious. Like the other day when I asked if she wanted her ceiling fan turned on (since it's been so warm), and she said, "No, it'll blow me out of bed."
She has always been cute, but thank goodness she is developing a sense of humor because I just don't know that the cuteness alone would be able to save her during this stage.
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