Tag: terrible threes

children, mommyhood, surgery, tantrums, terrible threes

Wiseguy

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T.Puzzle showing off some personality (and energy).

You know your day is long if you are spending a majority of it praying to the ‘napping gods’ that your very contrary three year old will take an afternoon snooze.  T.Puzzle is on the dreaded cusp of outgrowing his nap altogether.  It’s not such a bad thing on days we are on the go and everyone is in a good mood.  On the days when despite all appearances (crazy running, yelling and jumping), T.Puzzle’s little body needs recovery time post-surgery; a nap can be a much needed thing.  In addition to the health benefits it also should hopefully improve his mood as it seems he woke up on the oppositional defiant side of his bed this morning.

Apparently, ‘No!’ and ‘I not!’ can never be overused in his wiseguy opinion.

Thank god he’s asleep right now.  At least if he’s sleeping he ain’t talking and therein lies the real beauty of a napping child.

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children, life in pictures, mommyhood, tantrums

A Leopard’s Spots

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I’ll admit it. I’ve been avoiding long public outings with little T.Puzzle on the days he is home with me. I just don’t have it in me. The span of my motherhood experience (going on almost six years), has seen more than its share of bad situations in which one or more of my children reaches meltdown status at the most inopportune moments.

I can’t avoid the public forever so I took little T.Puzzle to the mall.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

It is not.

At the mall there are several transitions that have to transpire. As each transition builds upon the last the odds of little T.Puzzle reaching meltdown status increase exponentially.

First, the dreaded play area. This is where I have to watch him like a hawk so he doesn’t tackle innocent toddlers or bite someone who rankles him.

So far so good. He did okay.

Then on to the train.

My favorite.

All aboard!

We actually had a great time.

After that, it was lunchtime and then a potty break.

He was handling all these many transitions like a pro. I can absolutely tell he is maturing and can be coached verbally to avoid tantrums…

That is until it was time to leave the Thomas the Train table at Books.A.Million.

Yikes!!

I’m still not out of the woods yet, people. And my apologies to all the passersby who witnessed little T.Puzzle’s unfortunate descent into the realm of tantrum.

Little T.Puzzle gears up for a full-blown meltdown. It started mild and then went to the extreme rapidly.

He is who he is. He’s a kid with a colorful personality that gets frustrated if you ask too much of him. Is it really his fault that he melted down or mine because I didn’t leave earlier?

You can’t change a leopard’s spots, but you can keep him locked in his room until he’s eighteen, right?

mommyhood, terrible threes

You Must Be Lion to Me

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I took little T.Puzzle to Applebee’s after his physical. He had to be checked over by the pediatrician for his upcoming eye exam under anesthesia. He got the all clear.

I listed his choices for him for lunch: hot dog, grilled cheese, chicken tenders, mac ‘n’ cheese, and a cheeseburger. He stated his choice clearly and made his mind up quickly, “Mac ‘n’ cheese,” he said.

Great.

When the mac ‘n’ cheese arrived he took one look at it and said, “I not eat it. I not like mac ‘n’ cheese.” He then proceeded to climb around the booth and table as if it were a jungle gym and repeatedly roared at me like an angry lion.

Really? Well guess what? I not like the mercurial tastes of a three year old.

All I could do was box up his lunch even though I would have preferred to put him in the box instead.

children, life in pictures, mommyhood, self-discovery

The Little T.Puzzle That Could

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When we were at the beach and precariously attempting to navigate the two blocks to the restrooms, I had a strange moment of observational clarity. I was feeling frustrated with little T.Puzzle because he was lollygagging behind and then to slow matters even more, one of his crocs slipped from his foot.

nine month old T.Puzzle

“My croc!” he yelled, and then proceeded to take an eternity to retrieve it and place it back on his foot. Once the croc was correctly placed he determinedly rose red-faced from the sand and swiftly marched (and I mean MARCHED) to catch up with me. As I watched his arms and legs pump forward I felt admiration and a pause of understanding. If I were three years old in this big, big world I bet that I would hit a few bumps and meltdowns as I made my way, too.

In this moment I saw little T.Puzzle’s stubborn streak as a gift because I know that once we channel it for good, he will make his own way. Then I will have an even harder parenting task than anything I have faced thus far.

I will have to let him.

me and little T.Puzzle, took this pic myself
children, mommyhood, terrible threes

Game Time

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All I wanted to do was go for a simple bike ride.

First, it started with this:

Little T.Puzzle refused to put his shoes on, proceeded to run away from me repeatedly and seemed to be having a dandy of a time in doing so.

After 15 minutes of threatening, pretending to leave without him and chasing him all over creation it came down to this:

Hey, at least ol’ Mom’s still got game because I eventually had enough speed to catch the little stinker.

And, how was your day?