3 going on 13!

Just recently, Jelly Bean has hit the "I am a big girl now and don't need your help so please leave me alone" phase.

(Wiping away my mommy tears.)

In the morning (and at night) while in the bathroom brushing her teeth, she turns to me and says, "Walk away mommy!"

Ok, so that wasn't so nice...but after a few days of inserting manners teaching her a nicer way to say it, she said, "I need some privacy please."

"I need some privacy mommy." You know that lump you get in your throat, the lip quiver...yeah, I got that.

My 3 year old is growing into a little lady...and what will 13 look like?

You big bully!

Jelly bean has been visiting the next classroom up, Preschool, a lot more lately. She is expected to transition into that room in the Fall. And even though she is full of personality and has held the reigns in her own classroom as Miss Bossy-pants the big fish, in Preschool she is the little fish and object to other Miss Bossy-pants big fish.

"Mommy, J and A were not being nice."

"Why, what happened?"

"They said I was a baby and they were big girls, but I a big girl!"

"Yes, you are a big girl."

"I a big girl mommy, but they say I a baby."

She was really crushed.

And my civilized answer was...
"Well sweetie, next time you'll have to go find someone else to play with and ignore those girls."

And my uncivilized answer was...
"Well sweetie, next time they say that to you, you tell them they are big poopy-heads."


That'll teach them! Those big bullies!

Split personality?

Yes. No. Yes! NO! Ok, all of you parents out there, young and old, must be or maybe will, or already have..experienced your toddler going through split personalities. That is right, split personalities. And here you thought you were only dealing with one.

HA! My soon-to-be 3 year old has it...and let me tell ya...it is a delight.

In the car we have a dvd player (yes, I am one of thoooose parents), and I turned it on the other day..."NO! I don wann it on!" Ok, so I turned it off, crying, "I wan it on, mommy!" Yes or no?

In the bathroom, "Do you want to go pee pee on the potty?" "NO!" "Ok, let's change your diaper." "No mommy, I wan to go pee pee on the potty!" Yes or no?

At dinner, "Are you done eating?" (As she flings macaroni across the table) "Yes!" (As I take her plate.) "No mommy, I am not finished!"

If only they had a magic 8 ball to help them decide...Maybe, Ask me later, or Outlook not so good...

But then again she is a girl, and we all know that us girls are entitled to change our minds as much as we wish...No, on second thought, she is doing it to drive her parents insane.

Rebel with a cause

Terrible twos? What do they call the three's? Cause two, two was not bad, two was pretty easy, two was a breeze...but now that we are nearing three...what the?

Yes, my Jelly bean has a new flavor it is called Rebel with a cause...it isn't just a sweet flavor, but it has a little spice mixed in...to give it that bite.

My little Rebel is now master staller...bedtime, brushing teeth, going out the door, doing anything that mommy and daddy need her to do...

She is the drama queen...she can fake a cry better than Tammy Faye Baker ever did. I have even caught her practicing in the mirror!

She is master tantrum thrower...yes, that is right, just when you think you may have escaped the falling to the ground kicking and screaming, pounding the fist on the ground like someone just stole your lollipop.

She is master manipulator...ahhh yes, you think you read the book and know how to raise your child, then all the sudden they outsmart you. All it takes is that sweet smile or pleeeeaassee...and she has you wrapped around her little finger.

Now, don't get me wrong, she is still my sweet angel, but wow, she isn't officially three yet and it has already started. Yes, my little Rebel has a cause, it is keeping mommy and daddy on their toes.

I have that toddler crazy look in my eye

When doing an internet search on "toddlers who test limits," I found links for:
gentle discipline, terrible twos, toddlers becoming bullies, and some other toddler-developmental issues.

First let me just say, gentle discipline...what is that? If you are disciplining your child, how can you be gentle? Second, let's not leave the testing limits to the terrible twos, I for one know that I continued testing my limits up until the day I moved out of my parents house. (Maybe even until I got married...) And third, if testing equals becoming a bully -- oh boy, am I in trouble!

Jelly Bean was in full testing gear this past weekend. Needless to say, we are right around the corner from the big 3, so this is not a terrible twos thing, it is a "I'm a big girl now" thing.

I took Jelly shopping at the outlets to find some Spring clothing. The weather up here is pretty mixed-up lately, 40's one day and 70's another...so we really need those in between clothes. While I am attempting to find Jelly's size on a rack I see her go under a clothing rack...fully amused by her own actions, I had to ask her (gentle discipline) to come out from under there. She comes out giggling...only to go to another rack and hide. This time raising my voice, (not so gentle discipline) "I am not going to ask you again. That is not a safe choice." (could this be happening to me? I, too used to run through the racks and my mother used to scream at me for it...I am! I am my mother...or maybe she is just my mini-me?) By the third try, it was time to leave the store.

In another store, Jelly decided to push her baby in the stroller...no, not a play stroller, the stroller that she should have been in this entire time...well, you can only imagine what damage a toddler (without a stroller license) can do while pushing a stroller around the store.

And then we stopped for lunch. That amazingly went ok, until I went to throw out our remnants of lunch...Jelly decided to leave Wendy's by herself, excitedly exclaiming "I did it mommy!" I turned and yelled, NO JELLY! (Of course in these uncomfortable moments in parenting, the entire restaurant (filled to capacity at the lunch hour) became silent and turned to look at what all the commotion was about...No, don't worry, Jelly was ok...she just looked at me like I was a mad-crazy-lady who was once a calm mommy.)

Yes, and this is why parents get gray hair and have that "crazy" look in their eyes. It is from toddlers testing their limits. So, what I think Google really needs to add to their search of "toddlers who test their limits" results..."Crazy-lady" or just plain "parents going insane."

Toddlers and nesting instincts

Jelly bean is going through an interesting phase right now. She has decided that after I give her a kiss and hug goodnight, when I am clearly out-of-sight, she gets out of bed and starts gathering things...things like shoes, diapers, baby doll blankets, books and stuffed animals...what ever she can lift, and places it into bed - under the covers. The one morning Hubby noticed she had her shoes on when she jumped out of bed.

Not only is this strange, but a safety issue...and to be honest I am a little worried about her "nesting" habits. Hubby thinks she is using her imagination. I am worried that there are too many things in her bed. So, I went into her room and took all the little stuff out.

I asked her, "Why did you put all this stuff in your bed?"
"What?"
"This stuff?"
"It was cold."

Makes perfect sense to her.

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Imagination

"Everything you can imagine is real." Pablo Picasso

There is nothing like a child's imagination. A child can dream about anything they want, they can be anyone they want, there are no boundaries no limits...this is when thinking out of the box is at its best.

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Picasso

As we grow into this world we are surrounded by "the right way" to think, act and who we "should" be or become. Our imagination gets lost. I hope Jelly-bean never loses her imagination.
We woke this morning to our daughter screaming, "No! Walk away monsters!" Monsters? Where did she come up with this? I said, "You mean Elmo and Cookie Monsters?" she said "Yes, they want to tickle me"...ok, phew, this is manageable.

Later she handed me a baby, well more like air, and asked me to rock her...so I did thinking, this is where her imagination is being formed - how amazing!

And more importantly...how will she keep it!?