Toddlers. You gotta love 'em.
Several months ago, I met an awesome woman, Karen, in the library. Her son, Thomas, is almost two months older than my son, Lboy. She & I are relatively the same age & we parent very similarly. We became friends almost instantly & at a time when we both needed one the most (we both live away from extended family & friends. We were both lonely!)
Today, we decided that we were going to attempt to load the boys up in their respective strollers & then head out for a walk. We thought we'd get some sun, we'd hang out, we'd let the boys have some fun together....only....
They are 2 years old. And mine is definitely in the "terrible twos." He has figured out that he is his own person & he has likes & dislikes outside of what I want for him--like getting along with other kids & sharing (I don't demand much right now. :)
And he has hit this stage where he grabs as many toys as he can & he gets very, very, very territorial about his own stuff. Thomas is in the same phase right now.
Mostly, Karen & I spent our day refereeing the two boys.
"No, no honey. You have 6 trains. Let Thomas have 3 trains & you have can have 3."
"No, no sweetheart. You can't have the truck while Lboy has the truck."
"No, no boys. You can each sit on the picnic table bench. It doesn't have to be a wrestling match."
Then as the afternoon went on we just kind of threw our hands up in the air & decided we would just have to let them figure it out. They spend a good deal of time together throughout the week, so they need to get along.
Lboy decided at one point that my lunch plate got on his nerves. So he picked it up & threw it. THREW IT. I saw the look on his face, the look that said, "I wonder how far I can push her over the edge." Needless to say, he ended up in time out. And he wailed. And he screamed. And he acted as though I was the biggest betrayer of all betrayers.
Then it was time for the visit to end. My kid is
And as soon as Thomas & his mom get out the door, Lboy starts shouting, "Thomas! Thomas! Don't go! Don't go! Come back Thomas! I want to play with THOOOOOMMAS!"
You know, the Thomas he had just spent an hour & a half stealing toys from, the Thomas he had screamed at every.single.time he came near him because he thought he was after a toy, the Thomas that he thought shouldn't come within 50 feet of me....yeah that Thomas.
Toddlers. You gotta love 'em.
It's a cute phase when they're happy, but when they aren't? It's exhausting!
How did/do you handle the terrible twos?
