Terrible, Terrible, Terrific (?), Twos!

Ok, so I am learning more and more each day why they are called the "terrible twos!" I have to give the munchkins credit, though, there are also some really great things happening at this age too. Tyler testing out his peripheral vision while spinning in circles was hilarious, even more so when he kept saying "all fall down" when he got too dizzy to stand up as if he was just doing ring around the roses! Miss, "I do it" Bug, will "read" Brown Bear to you complete with sound effects for every animal and she gets so excited when she guesses the next animal correctly - and her dancing that now includes a shoulder shimmy for some reason is still hysterical. They are getting less frustrated about communication nowadays because they are really doing outstanding at putting words and phrases together and figuring out how to tell us about things (everything). On the otherhand, they are getting more frustrated when things don't go their way because they now have a better idea of what they really do and don't want. They did excellent at the zoo on Friday and I was kind of lulled into thinking that we were in a blissful period of them being cooperative - BIG mistake. We went to Target on Saturday and all was well until we were looking at shoes for Tyler (aka - pod foot, he is the widest little feet that just keep growing almost before we can get him new shoes). Katie proceeded to throw her shoes off and "demand" that I put some new ones on her feet too (I had put the shoes against Tyler's foot to make sure they would fit and she saw me). Well, she doesn't need new shoes and we weren't getting her any and so we started to leave at which point she began to stand in the cart and wiggle her way out of the constraints to literally attempt to jump out. When I realized that keeping her in the cart was not going to work I offered to let her hold my hand and walk around. She did it, unwillingly, for a couple of minutes but then jerked her hand away and threw herself down in the middle of the aisle. So, I picked her up and told her that she would have to be carried until she could hold my hand like she was supposed to. She would do it for a minute and then jerk away again and was then picked up again. It was miserable, but I chalked it up to it being past her lunchtime and rapidly approaching naptime. Well, part two happened at Publix. We walked in and Tyler happily got into his cart (we have started just using one cart each because the car carts are so much trouble), but Katie laid eyes on the lone car cart and wanted in. I told her it was broken and put her in the cart. She promptly threw her shoes, started yelling and stood up. I caught her as she was about to fall out, again, and tried the hand holding thing again. Well, she threw herself down in the pasta aisle and since Lance was with me and knew what we needed I picked her up and went to take her back to the car. She was yelling "down," and "stop" and luckily "no mama." I say luckily, because if she hadn't been saying mama I swear I would have been stopped by other customers who thought I was stealing and/or abusing her. It took me about 20 minutes to get her in her carseat and then she was still screaming when Lance came back out and until we got home. I was so embarrassed - I know that many toddler parents have dealt with the same thing, but by looking at everyone staring at me you wouldn't think so. I just don't know what to do. Everyone says to ignore the tantrum, but you can't very well do that in the middle of a store (especially when I don't really like her laying on the ground at those places) and it just doesn't seem very effective even when we do it at home, but then again neither are time-outs and especially not a spanking since she is in a major hit, slap, grab, claw phase, so I am at a loss.

Poor Tyler was the victim in one of her many shenanigans this weekend. He had to go to the doctor on Sunday because he woke up with his eyes swollen shut and what looked like bruising on his eyelids and cheeks. He was diagnosed with a sinus and ear infection and we were given medicine, but he didn't seem to feel bad so he was playing as usual. Well, he was working on his blocks that Katie apparently wanted too and she bear hugged him from behind, clawed his cheek, and then wrestled him to the ground right onto a lego that pierced his neck. It was very red and bleeding and matched the gash on his already swollen cheek. He is such a trooper though, that he didn't even seem to care other than the perfunctory mention of "cheek hurt" and then he reveled in the fact that his daddy picked him up and gave him lots of special attention while Katie was being held in time-out by me. Don't think Tyler is an angel, by any means. He had meltdowns and tantrums, too - just nothing like his sister's. So, I go back to the title of the post - these episodes really are terrible and I hope that we can figure out some way to deal with them and that they don't continue to escalate as has happened with so many people that I know that really are not enjoying their children at this age. I want to remember that there are also so many wonderful things happening in the midst of the meltdowns and that for the most part it is really fun to be around these two in this time of so much learning and when they are starting to let their spunky and funny personalities shine through. I know that I am going to miss these days, and I will try to continue to tell myself that as I deal with my little Bug, who is fast approaching earning a new nickname - "brat."