The Grouch

So...what did you think of those pictures??? A little different than my usual posts, huh? Well, remember I told you a few posts back that I was going to make sure to satisfy one reader of mine that made a comment implying I thought my child was a genius (and, well, I sort of took it as also implying I thought maybe Luke was perfect). Well....here it goes....a whole post just on how "not so perfect" my little man is.

The pictures taken above were taken this weekend during one of Luke's 2 year old meltdowns. This is how his meltdown's usually start. He asks for something - like, for example, he may go to the refrigerator and say, "Do you want an ice cream sandwich?" (Which, remember, is his way of asking for the ice cream sandwich - he gets his questioning all mixed up.) After I say, "No, Luke, you have to wait until after dinner." Then, he asks the same question again but much louder. I usually will answer him one more time with a brief explanation. He will continue to ask me for whatever it is that he wants louder and louder almost like he is yelling at me. This is usually also accompanied by a whine (which I can't stand). Instead of yelling back or spanking him every time he begins this tone, I just walk away and ignore him. Well, this ticks him off even more. He then gets upset because I'm not paying him any attention and that is usually when the full out cry comes on. How do I handle these crying fits? I calmly tell him that he has two choices - (1) continue to cry and no playing will occur and he's still not getting what he wants or (2) he can quit crying and use his words to tell mommy what he would like to play with and I would love to play with him. My thoughts here are - I want him to know that I'm not ignoring HIM, I'm ignoring his behavior and if he will change his behavior, then I will show him attention again. I only repeat these choices 2 times and then I go on my way - that might be that I go ahead and sit down and begin reading a book of my own or I go to the kitchen and work on the dishes - I do something that allows him his own time and his own space.

In the video that you will see below, it looks like I'm being mean by following him around with the camera, but I just couldn't help it. One day, I need to remember these fits so that on a day where I need patience I will be reminded that, at one time in my life, God gave me a triple dose of it and that time was NOW! :) You all know how living with a 2 year old can be - the most fun you've ever had and then 2 minutes later, you are using every ounce of energy not to lose your temper. :) In the video, Luke gets mad because I told him to get out of the bathroom and quit playing in the cabinets. He would not listen to me so I removed him from the bathroom and then shut the door. So, he asks me several times to open the door back up and I did the routine that I talked about above and he continued to cry for about 30 seconds. That's when I grabbed the camera. You will notice that he is coming towards the camera - it looks like he's wanting me to pick him up, but he's not, he's brushing his hands toward the camera trying to swat it away because he doesn't want me taking pictures of him! Looking back, it's quite humorous. So, when you see it, don't think I'm a cruel mommy. He was over the tantrum about 2 minutes after I put the camera down and then probably had another one about an hour later. :)

Enjoy "The Grouch!" ....

Along these same lines, lately, Luke is ill as a hornet for the first 30 minutes after he wakes up in the morning and then the first 30 minutes after he wakes up from his nap. For example, in the mornings, when we walk in the living room, it's pitch dark so I turn a lamp on. I always turn on the dullest one of all. Well, Luke will say, "Don't turn that light on" and begin whining. So, just to prove a point I will say, "If I turn the light off, you can't see where you are going." He says, "Okay, do you want the light off?" So, I turn the light off. What do you think he says next? As he whines, "I can't see a thing. Do you want the light on?" Oh my!!!

He does this same scenario with a banana and a nutri-grain bar sometimes. He will ask me to peel the banana or unwrap the nutri-grain bar and then as soon as I do it he will say, "Put it back together." When I explain to him that we can't put the paper back on and we can't put the peeling back on the banana, he begins a fit, I begin the ignoring process, and then after that, he's usually ready to play and change his attitude. It's almost like he's got to throw a few fits to shake off that morning tiredness.

He does something very similar after his naps.....when he wakes up, I will hear him and see him on his monitor in the corner playing (or sometimes doing a stinky). :) I will go the door and crack it and talk sweet to him, "Hi, Luke, how was your nap? Mommy missed you." He will grunt and growl and then push the door closed right in my face. It's the craziest thing. He just doesn't want to have anything to do with me until HE'S ready! :) I will go back in the living room and watch him on the monitor and he will begin playing and singing and talking - he acts like he's in the best mood ever UNTIL I go to the door and then he grunts and growls again. I have gotten to the point where I just poke my head in real quick and say, "I love you and I'm glad you had a good nap. Tell Mommy when you are ready to come out." This seems to work and within about 10 minutes, he will come out and slowly warm up to me. I sure do miss my after nap hugs. Thank goodness - He usually makes up for the hugs later in the day or evening.

I guess the bottom line is that my baby is showing me that he's not a baby anymore. He knows what he wants when he wants it and he is able to express that. In the meantime, he is also having to learn that he is not the boss-his parents are - and, right now, that's hard for him to swallow! Anyway, the training will go on and we will get past all of this - but, then, as you all know, another challenge will lie ahead. It's what being a mommy is all about.....and, I still love it - every single second of it!! :)

Speaking of loving it - on a much lighter note, please stay tuned because Luke and I (even with a few temper tantrums) have had a blast during this 4 day weekend that I was so fortunate to have - we haven't done anything wild and crazy - only one small field trip - other than that, we have just played around the house. It's been a lot of fun and I have a ton of cute pictures to post. I may post them tonight. If not tonight, then it will be soon....so check back soon! :)

Thanks for reading - have a terrific Tuesday!

Oh...and, if you haven't visited in the last week or so, you should keep on reading - this is my second post this week and I don't want you to miss anything! :)

Toddy