The Terrible Two's

Yes, it is official, we have hit the terrible two's! As a mom, you hear about all the things that your child will go through and you hope that it won't happen to your child. I mean, you bring home this sweet and innocent baby, how on earth could she meltdown like the world was ending. This past week, whenever Ava doesn't get what she wants, she says "noooo" and then throws herself on the ground and cries. These are not fake tears either. She has full on tears running down her face and snot shooting out of her nose. At this point, I just walk away in hopes that she will see that no one is paying attention to her meltdown.  It definitely makes for an interesting day. I still love her to death and have learned to accept the little independent girl that she is.

 I mean along with the terrible two meltdowns are the case of the independents. She wants to sit on a chair and eat her meal like a big girl. It is getting increasingly difficult to get her to eat in her booster seat. She may eat a couple of bites, but then she wants down. She is not done eating though. If I put her in a seat like a big girls she will usually eat some more. We have started getting her to eat in shifts. For me, as long as I can get in some good protein to hold her over and some fruit or veggie and some milk, I am a happy mama. I have started saving what she doesn't eat to feed to her later as I don't want her to fill up on empty calories since she won't sit for a full meal these days. Yesterday, she starting using her fork a lot more, which is great. She takes it in her left hand, stabs at the food and then puts it in her right hand to get it to her mouth. She would prefer to use her hands.

We have nicknamed her the cranker pants or cranker pants 2010 as she has been "grumpy". Again, I attribute it to the terrible two's. She needs her beauty rest and when she doesn't get all that she needs, then she is grumpy and the wining and no's are plentiful. I have to really make an effort in the mornings with her to hold her and do things that make her happy or we start out on the wrong foot which sets the tone for the day.
She had started getting a good 11 hours of sleep at night and a good 2 hour nap, but that didn't last long. Lately she has been waking up around 5:20ish and taking only an hour and a half nap. That leads to a cranky Ava. I know that she will get back in her groove, but it always takes some time. The night wakings are now only occasional. We used to have them for days in a row and now we only get them here and there. I can only hope that that stays that way. That has been the hardest part for me because it wakes me from a deep sleep. Oh well, no one said you get to sleep when you have kids, did they?

I would have to say overall that she is a good toddler. She is having her moments right now, but if she is entertained with something new and exciting, you won't see one meltdown. She loves the outdoors, being with new people (once she warms up to them) and exploring new things. She loves Barney, Elmo (and most of his seasme street buddies) and Calliou. She repeats everything we say and laughs when we laugh. She loves to ham it up especially when she gets us to laugh, she will do it again and again. She is shy, but curious at the same time. She will let you know what she wants, when she wants it.   

I blog this information mostly for Ava when she grows up. I hope that one day, she will have a child and look back on how she was and maybe, just maybe have a little, little, little bit of her in her child. Is that cruel? As Ava would say "naaaooo".. She does has such a cute way of saying no that I catch myself laughing when she says it. She is a blessing and I wouldn't have her any other way. I do know that we have a strong willed, stubborn girl, just like her mama on our hands and we still have many more years to go. God Bless us!

Sorry there are no pictures. The camera is in our bedroom and I am letting Mike sleep in as Ava is FINALLY sleeping in this morning. We have family in town and we have had some long days. I will post pictures and stories tomorrow (or sometime this week). We are having a great time with everyone!