Miss T.

Harlie spent 30-40 minutes in her room throwing a tantrum tonight. It went on so long we ate supper without her.... it was actually pretty comical and also very similar to a scene in Lord of the Rings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLvIFRNbqOs. Her battle was 'I hate timeouts' vs. quiet/calmness/control (which goes back and forth).  If you actually listen/watch it all you might want to skip minute 5-6 - it's just silence.  And you might like to know this is about 10 minutes into the tantrum before I started taping, meaning the worst of it was already over : )  http://youtu.be/0eLJXj8Kl_Q It goes back and forth until she decides she's done. Tonight was definitely her longest amount tantrum yet.  We actually kind of had to end it, not let it runs it's full coarse, because she was taking so long.  I got some of it on audio/video but it'd be better if we had a video monitor so show us what she's doing.  Oh well.. the audio will be a good memory some day.  

On a side note, this can be a very difficult stage (I call her Miss T. for her tantrums) and she's also very much 'I do it' (taking something out of your hands with that look on her face like, how dare you touch her zipper or shoe), then in the same breath say 'help pease' (tapping her foot until I do it : )  ... which gets very annoying.   

But it's also very funny.  Such stubbornness.. it's almost fun to watch until I try to take her shopping or to do something fun.

Another example of stubbornness (mine : ) is that she INSISTS that she can climb in the car seat herself but she often chooses not to follow the rule that she is supposed to get in and sit her bottom down (it's winter, which means its usually cold here in northern Iowa and I have to buckle her in which I can't do until she sits down).  She likes to take her sweet time by playing with toys that are laying on the floor first.  So because she can not get in the car without getting distracted, then I took the distractions out..  meaning, no more toys in my car.  (They're all in the trunk, but don't tell her : )

This weekend we did learn a new trick.  We've been reading a book that talks about going to the potty and when you gotta go, you gotta go.  So this weekend we went over the spiel of when it's time to leave (the library, church, the park) then she needed to leave without becoming Miss T.  Well she coined the phrase, when you gotta go, you gotta go.  So it's been a fun way for us to leave places together, peacefully, instead of me carrying her out upside down kicking and screaming (not easy at 8 months pregnant).   

Anyways, I'm sure the grandma's will love the 'video' but for the rest of us parents of 2 year old. hang in there.. it'll get better.

** special thanks to Sarah for inspiring me to write this post, another fellow mom with a terrific 2 year old : )