I know all toddlers are a challenge, but I sometimes think ours are exceptionally so - especially when my friends say things like, "Our 3 small children regularly go with us on 6 hour car rides and happily stare out the window without making a fuss the entire time..." or "Our little one falls asleep at 8 pm, sleeps through the night until 10 am and then takes a nap in the afternoon." Are you kidding me? These are real examples, by the way, of parents for whom I am very happy. I'm not complaining....just saying.
Olivia resists going down much before 10:00 most nights, and once we hit 5 or 6 in the morning she keeps me awake for a good hour, falls back asleep and then continues to wake up every 20-30 minutes the rest of the morning. There are nights I'm able to put her down around 8:30-9:00 like a normal child, but that for some reason prompts her to wake up around 3:00 am and think it is morning. This is nothing new for us and I have long ago come to terms with the interrupted sleep.
And then there is the general strong-willed nature each of our kids have. I am honestly grateful for their ability to assert themselves and stick to their guns. I hope it will serve them well one day. In their youth, however, it can get a little old. Based on anecdotal evidence, my genetics are to blame for this so I guess this is the "pay-back" parents secretly (or sometimes not so secretly) wish on their difficult children. Even on our 5th round of toddlerhood, I can still be amazed at the events that can trigger a tantrum.
Here's Olivia throwing a fit because we changed her clothes. Oh, the horror. She went through a few months of doing this every single time we changed her. Then it was every bath. Lately it's been most car rides. And also every time I set her down to try to accomplish something around the house.
Last week, however, Olivia had a meltdown that took the cake. We were driving in the car and she had been crying because, for one, she was strapped in her car seat and then - double whammy - I stepped out of the car for a second. Anyway, Frankie said he was thirsty and I told him he would have to wait 5 minutes until we got home. Improvising, he decided to wipe the tears off of Olivia's cheek to get a tiny morsel of liquid in an attempt to quench his thirst. So then this happened:
Olivia will still get upset if anyone mentions this and starts repeating, "Frankie took my tears!!" with a very distraught voice. Although, sometimes she confuses the word "tears" with a similar sounding word and it comes out "Frankie took my beer!"
Fortunately, I am well aware that the challenges are well worth it and are teaching me patience far beyond anything I ever imagined before becoming a mom. And the best part is that along with the "spirited" personalities that can be so difficult comes a whole lot of fun on the flip side! Not a day goes by that Olivia doesn't hear "You're so cute!" In fact, that's what she says to her dolls when she plays with them.....if she isn't hitting them for biting which, I might add, we have never done to her. Just for the record.
