The Two's

They don’t call it the terrible twos for nothin’. Little Miss Kate gave me a run for my money yesterday. First it was a potty accident. Those used to just be a bit annoying, but now they are truly maddening, since she used the potty flawlessly while we were away for two entire weeks. This was quickly followed by her telling me to be quiet when I scolded her, which of course went over well… She lost her beloved Sesame Street, which of course means I lost my beloved hour. We both survived though. She picked and fussed until nap time. Ah, what a wonderful time of day that can be when we’re having a rough spot. It’s a break for both of us and a new start.

The afternoon was marginally better. She dumped the bin of toys I gave her sister, stole Gabby’s plastic keys, and refused to pick up her puzzle that she dumped while I was trying to quiet Gabby down. She wet her diaper—twice. I took away two toys. This is war. As I always told my students, you can be stubborn, but I’m better at it and I will win. I even left her with Justin when I went to the grocery. The girl loves to shop.

She finally fell asleep after my bed time last night. She kept crying for the Welcome Inn—the place we stayed when we were visiting Justin’s parents. At first we thought she was missing her Nan and Pop or the constant on the go life style, but we finally found out that she liked that the room had two twin beds (one for her and one for Gabby, when she gets bigger) and that her mattress was put on the floor because we didn’t have a bed rail for her. There was nothing we could do—there's not enough room here to put her mattress beside the bed and even if there were it was just silly. We hugged, kissed, and comforted to no avail. So we gave up and eventually so did she.

It was a long day.

I suppose I did it to myself. I named her after my most stubborn student and what did I get? I just hope that this tenacity will serve her well as she grows older. She can use it to hold on tightly to those things she values and those she loves.