We've all heard of the Terrible Twos, right? I remember thinking with Ava that two wasn't so bad...it was when she turned three that it all went downhill. Those threenager years were tough with her! Gradually, she grew out of it, and has become a mostly sweet and smart, yet sassy, young lady. And while her ears appear to be broken at times, she still does as we ask, and very rarely disobeys.
Things are different with G. He has fully embraced the life of a treacherous toddler. Oh, he hears what we say, and then he gives a mischievous grin, and looks you in the eye as he does it anyway. His favorite word these days is "no" followed by whatever verb/noun he doesn't want anything to do with. Sometimes there's an emphatic swat that accompanies it, and every once in a great while, he still tries to take a chunk of skin with his sharp little teeth (for the record, there have been no biting incidents at daycare...I think it must have been that one little girl who he was targeting last summer, and that was it.) He knows immediately that his swatting/biting is very, very naughty, as it's at that precise moment he ceases to make eye contact.
So, it's all a boundaries thing with him...what can I do to get away with being naughty? Will the benefit of the action outweigh the punishment? I think he also plays to Scott and I differently. Personally, I don't think G listens to Scott as well as he does to me...there appears to be more contention between the two of them than between G and me (the reverse is true with Ava and us.). And at the end of the day, G really just wants to be with me. (Ava was this way with Scott, so don't feel like he's been shortchanged or anything! He's had five more years of being the favorite parent.)
Last week, as we were sharing those sweet moments reading and snuggling before bedtime, I told G that I love him. "I love you, Momma" was the response (ok, fine, it was garbled, but this momma knew exactly what he was saying!) and he's been saying it every night since, accompanied by a big hug. This warms my heart beyond belief. And it's what makes those terrible twos bearable. We've only got 11 more months until he hits three...let's see how bad it's going to get!
Things are different with G. He has fully embraced the life of a treacherous toddler. Oh, he hears what we say, and then he gives a mischievous grin, and looks you in the eye as he does it anyway. His favorite word these days is "no" followed by whatever verb/noun he doesn't want anything to do with. Sometimes there's an emphatic swat that accompanies it, and every once in a great while, he still tries to take a chunk of skin with his sharp little teeth (for the record, there have been no biting incidents at daycare...I think it must have been that one little girl who he was targeting last summer, and that was it.) He knows immediately that his swatting/biting is very, very naughty, as it's at that precise moment he ceases to make eye contact.
So, it's all a boundaries thing with him...what can I do to get away with being naughty? Will the benefit of the action outweigh the punishment? I think he also plays to Scott and I differently. Personally, I don't think G listens to Scott as well as he does to me...there appears to be more contention between the two of them than between G and me (the reverse is true with Ava and us.). And at the end of the day, G really just wants to be with me. (Ava was this way with Scott, so don't feel like he's been shortchanged or anything! He's had five more years of being the favorite parent.)
Last week, as we were sharing those sweet moments reading and snuggling before bedtime, I told G that I love him. "I love you, Momma" was the response (ok, fine, it was garbled, but this momma knew exactly what he was saying!) and he's been saying it every night since, accompanied by a big hug. This warms my heart beyond belief. And it's what makes those terrible twos bearable. We've only got 11 more months until he hits three...let's see how bad it's going to get!
Comments