7 more months. 7 more months. 7 more months. Until she is 3. Can we survive the 2's?
I really REALLY have a hard time with much that comes with the age of "2". Three's aren't a walk in the park, but I feel they are a bit more rational with some more understandable speech thrown in for good measure. (I know, Linda..."terrific twos" and "tantalizing threes" and "fantastic fours"...and on and on...you are a better mother than me...let's just leave it at that).
So Lily is almost, ALMOST 2 years 5 months. Today she had a huge HUGE tantrum first thing in the morning...for the 4th day in a row. All four days about the same thing...her oatmeal is too hot. Lily only eats about 5 foods...and right now she wants oatmeal and only oatmeal for breakfast. But oatmeal must be heated to be cooked, and this is UNACCEPTABLE. I, being the loser mother that I am, also add sprinkles on the top of her oatmeal (which may be why she wants oatmeal every morning...so sue me...one teaspoon of sprinkles=one bowl of good wholesome oatmeal in her tummy=so totally worth it). This morning, our conversation went like this...once she was done screaming to have it out of the microwave.
*Microwave beeps*
Lily- Oh-meal ready yet?
Me- It still too hot. -sings- "oh yes it's too hot, too hot, too hot for Lily" (in a feeble attempt to distract her)
L- AHHHHHHHHHH. OH-MEAL OH-MEAL
M- Lily, it needs to cool off. Do you want a yogurt until it's ready?
L- UP UP UP IN CHAIR. OH-MEAL-OH-MEAL (full on thrashing on the floor ensues...boys watch half interested...her tantrums don't even phase them...)
*after a minute of thrashing*
L-Oh-meal ready yet?
M- Nope still too hot. Should I add an ice cube.
L-NO NO NO. EAT OH-MEAL NOW. OH-MEAL OH-MEAL.
M- Okay. Here's your oatmeal. It's too hot...but you can discover that for yourself.
L-SPINKLES SPINKLES NEED SPINKLES
*I put sprinkles on top, warning her that it is too hot to eat*
*Lily put a spoonful up to her lips*
L- TOO HOT. AHHHHHHHHH. OH-MEAL TOO HOT. NEED ICE NEED ICE.
M-Here's the ice. Let's stir it in.
L- SPINKLES GONE. AHHHHHHHHHHHH.
*thrashing ensues*
*Lily goes in time-out to calm down.
So THAT is fun...Terrific Twos. I honestly am glad that my "oops" baby came when Lily was 18 months old. She was still pleasant and easy-going...for Lily anyway. I really admire parents who have their kids 2 years apart...which is A LOT of them. How do you deal with this craziness and power struggle when you are only sleeping a few hours a night? Seriously...Lily would have to go LIVE with my MIL.
We had some neighbors over (it was a snow day), went sledding in the backyard, made froot loop necklaces and then it was time for lunch. Lily had eaten her body weight in Froot Loops, so I wasn't expecting much. We made chicken nuggets for the older kids and a pb&j for my friend's 2 year old. Through it all, I kept asking Lily if she wanted anything to eat. At first she requested a Yo-baby yogurt, but soon left it untouched at the kitchen table. As I made the other lunches, I'd keep asking and she would continue playing and calmly tell me she didn't want to eat. The second, THE SECOND my butt hit the chair to eat my sandwich, she came running into the kitchen hollering for food as if she'd just arrived from 40 days in the desert. The conversation went like this:
Lily- Mommy, need sam-ich. Cheese sam-ich.
Me- You still have a yogurt you didn't finish. Would you like that first.
L-NO NO NO CHEESE SAM-ICH! PEESE. PEESE CHEESE SAM-ICH.
M-Okay, but this is the last thing I'm making you. (I am suspicious already because she has never before asked for a cheese sandwich before)
*I stand up from my chair and begin walking towards the food prep area of the kitchen*
L-Ready yet? Cheese sam-ich ready yet?
M- Lillian Jeannette. I haven't even gotten to the fridge yet. NO, it isn't ready yet.
L- AHHHHHHHHHHHH! CHEESE SAM-ICH! AHHHHHHH!
*after a few minutes, I serve her a cheese sandwich.
L- No yike it. No yike sam-ich. Want deese (pointing at Doritos)
M-No. You have to eat something healthy first.
L- Want apples and peanut butter.
M- No. You have the yogurt and the sandwich you asked for. Eat one of those and you can have apples.
*Huge fit ensues. Lily ends up eating nothing*
These are just 2 of the many tantrums that she had today. She WEARS ME OUT. She doesn't get me as angry as Andrew did...I'm much better at just walking around her or ignoring the tantrum. But still...it wears me out.
Then when I was putting her to bed, she started getting all angry because her shirt got stuck on her head as I was taking it off. Apparently, she thinks that having a shirt on her head makes her a princess (?). Here's that conversation:
Lily- No WANNA be pin-cess.
Me- Lily, you are so grouchy.
L- Not grouchy. No not grouchy.
M- Yes you are. You're always scowling and angry. Look you're angry now. Why are you so angry?
L- Want my oh-meal.
To which I laughed and laughed. Silly girl. It's a good thing you're cute!
5 comments:
I guess this would not be a good time to mention that 3 is really not better than 2?
glad to hear that someone else has painful meal times like we do. I've got similar 2 year old eating requests/fits, and now the 11 month old has decided that he doesn't like anything I serve him. Cries and spits everything out. *sigh* I dread meals. which is unfortunate, because I love to eat.
Bryn does similar things. I think our refrigerator constantly has a Bryn yogurt that was opened, one bite was taken, and then cellophane placed on top to go back in the fridge. Either that or it gets left out and then we have to throw it away. But yet, at the time, she HAD TO have that yogurt.
And people wonder how the U.S. has gotten to be a country of waste. lol.
Reina has discovered negotiation for cookies...or we have. Either way, it gets more food in her belly. However, the "short order cook" syndrome is alive and well in our house. As is the use of leftovers and tupperware. Its all about not expecting much for us. I've come to realize that although she is absolutely resolute in what she wants, she doesn't always knw what that is!
We had heat-oatmeal issues here, too. I sort of cheat and make the oatmeal with barely enough water to soften the oats-- and then add milk afterwards to cool it off right away. You know how patient colin is. I've also been known to mix the yogurt right into the oatmeal to cool it off.
Post a Comment