Moriah is now 21 months and she's still with us. :-) Sometimes I think she would rather be somewhere else, but her patience will pay off in the future. :-)
The two teeth on the top that are filling in the gaps have come down almost completely now. A third new tooth on the bottom is filling another whole and we're waiting for the companion on the opposite side to show itself. She has graduated into size 5 shoes and 24 month clothing. She takes the stairs like an adult sometimes and her personality is large enough to match. She loves to climb on to chairs, the sofa, anything she can swing her leg over. And she absolutely must stop every time to buckle an open buckle. She loves to go outside. Her energy reminds me of boys, very rambunctious, loud, running everywhere, etc.
We continue to do flash cards - early, informal homeschooling - and she is doing very, very well. She picks up new words everyday in passing and is singing The Alphabet Song up to "J" with correct pitch and everything. :-) "L" through "P" is a little difficult, but she knows "Q" through "Y" well also. She amazes us all the time. She has the desire to do it and she loves to learn.
Potty training is coming along. We, as parents, could be a little more consistent but she is doing well. When we're out and about, she can hold her bladder up to 3 hours! When we're home, she doesn't hold it more than 30 minutes usually. That's a bit frustrating, but it's a hurdle that will be overcome with time, I suppose.
Here lately she's been throwing temper tantrums and it's thrown Jeramy and me for a loop. We're not exactly sure how we should deal with it. When someone leaves our home, she runs, throws herself down and begins to scream/cry loudly. When Jeramy or I leave her in the nursery at church, she kicks and screams . . . hard. She will calm down after a few minutes, but all of her exhibition can be dangerous and this is NOT! the behavior we want to encourage. We are currently ignoring her whining and complaining. But with the tantrums, do we spank her? Or restrain her? Deal gently with her? Reason doesn't communicate with a two-year old, but we're open to experienced ideas if you care to comment.
Other than that, she is still a fun little girl. This is a funny face!
There are new pictures from this month in the right sidebar.
4 comments:
She is so cute! She's looking so grown up lately!!
Now, I only have boys, and from what I hear, girls need discipline differently than boys, but yes, we definitely spank for tantrums. And very firmly (not angrily) explain that that sort of behavior is NOT allowed, no way, no how. And then we encourage them to "fix their faces" with a smile and remind them that God desires our countenance to be cheerful.
Consistency is really important, too. However you do decide to deal with it, make sure you do it that way every time, both of you. If she discovers a "weakness" between the two of you (one is more lenient than the other) she WILL use it to her advantage. Its amazing how sin nature is already full grown even in a toddler, isn't it?
This is definitely where parenting starts to be real work... but God has equipped you to do it well in His strength!!
OK, after writing that all out I started to think about it more. We spank for tantrums over things like selfishness (not getting your way), rebellion (not wanting to do what you are told), etc. But it sounds like she is tantruming when someone is leaving, which is a little different. While the behavior is not appropriate, her emotions are sincere, she is sad that someone is leaving. Could she sit with y'all in church now? She's probably old enough to be learning to sit still and quietly. Perhaps if you encourage her to say goodbye with a big hug and kiss and remind her that whoever is leaving always comes back, it will help reassure her. Be firm, but kind. Maybe play hide and seek to help her "get" that people can go away and come back again?
Again, the behavior is not appropriate, so that aspect does need to be dealt with, but the emotion behind the behavior is just as important.
just a thought! :-)
Erin,
Thanks for your responses and ideas. We attempt to be consistent with spanking, but it gets pretty wearisome at times. Disciplining appropriate emotional responses now are almost impossible b/c of the lack of communication and understanding.
Consistently is so hard sometimes, but so good. Kids love it. And I've found that if we back off from consistency just a bit, the kids pick right up on it.
No matter how bummed Eli is when we leave him, we smile and wave bye-bye as if to say "we're not sad, why are you?"
Hang in there, mama!! She's a sweet girl and you are a great mom.
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