Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Tantrums and Biting and Scratching, OH MY!

Once upon a time, Annelie was the poster child for the perfect baby. Minus the morning sickness, my pregnancy with her was heavenly. And when she was born, she was the cutest, quietest, sleepiest little baby, who never made a peep. I was probably the calmest and most well rested mother of a newborn who ever roamed the earth.

Lately, Annelie has become a scraggly little ragamuffin with a bad attitude. At 18 months old, she is a force to be reckoned with. Like a little tornado, she leaves no stone unturned, and is loud, opinionated and of the philosophy that all arguments can be settled with a cat-scratch of her claws across the face, or teethmarks on the arm. And, with the wisdom of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, any attention is good enough for her, even if it leaves Gracie crying and me yelling like a lunatic.

She wants things done. She wants things done her way... and she wants things done NOW! She has also learned that what goes up, must also go.... in her nose. How very scientific, and as a result, I am constantly pulling cereal, green beans, and toilet paper balls out of her nose, as well as desperately trying to remove the washable (are they really?) marker illustrations from her nostrils.

Ah, the joys of motherhood.

As for her hair.... "No cut, no cut!!!" she screams with the lung capacity of a hot air balloon. And as for me, I would rather not have my arms scratched off and the scissors jammed in my eyes as I fight for control, in order to trim her unruly bangs.

Little Annelie is a great communicator. She has understood language from a very early age and had always babbled to anyone and everyone as if she were baring the depths of her soul. Since the discovery of words, however, we have learned that the only things she would really like to tell us are:

"I want!" and "Me do it!" and "That's mine!." Not to mention, "Let me go!" and "No water! Want juice!"

And her favorite phrase of all times, one that is shouted and screamed about 12 hours a day...

"Help me, I'm STUCK!!!"

Now don't be completely alarmed. I have taught my daughter manners and some of them have stuck with her. She says "thank you" often (although it sounds more like "geek guck" but hey, at least I know what she is trying to say), and never hesitates to say "please" when she want something, although she is very persistent when I say no ("Pweeeeeeee! Pweeeeeeeee!" she shouts, as if she will get her way if she just screams it a little bit louder each time).

We've got about 6 more months until the blessed "Terrible Twos" begins.

Hurray. I can't wait.

I'm a huge fan of motherly wisdom and advice born from experience, so if you would like to leave some in my comments, please do!

And as for Annelie... I hope that one day she has a daughter just like her... because apparently, I have a daughter just like me.

xoxo,


21 comments:

Marie said...

That was hilarious! What a little character God has blessed you with.

I would certainly be the last one that should be offering any motherly wisdom. My oldest 2 are very quiet and calm around people, hesitant to try anything new and shy. But, alas, we had Madeline, who is a little spitfire and it feels as if I don't know what I'm doing sometimes. I used to look at other mothers with wild children and think how lucky I am to have such calm children that stay glued to my side and never throw tantrums in public...but then we had Maddie. Never say never. That's what I learned!

sweetpicklespottery said...

I am laughing so hard right now.
That is completely hilarious!
I know my dad always says I am paying for my raising.. So I feel ya on that one. Thankfully Makenzie is older now and over those things.. And Mason well he is 6 but sometimes those tantrums come sneaking out of him still.

Carry Grace said...

Oh no, that was quite funny, but I do feel for you.

Auntie Dis said...

Awww, but she's so precious! Bless her little heart, how can you say no to that baby?

Don't be fooled, the mothers with calm children that are glued to their sides and never throw tantrums in public have threatened them with death and dismemberment!

The funniest book I've ever read was "The Girlfriend's Guide to Two Year Olds" or something like that. Hilarious, and oh so true. Check it out if you get a chance!

Anonymous said...

Oh Elegant...you and your daughter are a riot...does it help to tell you she will grow out of it! Hey, how bad can the terrible 2's be after this...lol

Momma J said...

Too funny! As the mother of 3 girls, I sympathize!! My advice - Zoloft does wonders (taken by mom of course - didn't mean to imply we drug the children!!)!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh hunney, I hope things get better for you soon.

Just wait until the days that she starts to enjoy shopping, and baking and doing girly things... you'll have so much fun!

She's got that lovely artist side in her too... you'll find it, you'll see. ♥
;)

RetroRugrats said...

These pictures are so adorable! Apparently, your girls have more manners than my little son. I rather hear "I'm stuck!" all day than, "Stinky Poo-Poo", my son's favorite thing to say these days. Thanks for sharing a cute post today.

Oh Mandie said...

I'll trade ya for a day! Gage, who is 21 months old's favorite thing to do is yell "I pooped" right after taking a dump and then peels all of his clothes off (including his diaper) then says "I help" and hurls poo everywhere.

Trust me, it could ALWAYS be worse!

And anyways, that sweet little smile of hers more than makes up for the longs days I'm sure :-)

Anonymous said...

She's adorable! And she sounds like a handful - just like my daughter who is now 5 and is still a handful. LOL

Love the pics, the one w/ the red box thing on her face made me laugh out loud! :)

Denise Felton said...

hahahahahaha

I got a daughter just like me, too. In fact, she was just like Analie, so maybe you and I are related. When she said "Thank you," it sounded more like "tattoo." And when she was your wee one's age, I thought, "Well, we're getting the Terrible Twos out of the way early." But....nooooooooooooooo....

Rosebud Collection said...

Oh, the little darling is getting a mind of her own..I have to say, it sure tests the patience..The nose thing is something one of my girls did..We had an emergency room visit..another one did a vitamin up the nose..it started to melt and she sneezed and it went flying..You know, the twos may not be bad..this might be her twos now..How do you like my logic?

Aurelia and Annalise said...

Oh my!

That was really funny:)
My daughter is 15 months and her favorite things to say are "bad!"
and "go away!".. I guess were in for some of the same as you!! lol:)

Marie said...

My calm and shy children that don't throw tantrums in public don't always do this, they have their moments...those horrible meltdown moments all mothers experience at one time or another. It's just their tendency to be more hesitant around people because of their timid natures. I hardly think this means that they would threaten death and dismemberment towards me when they're older!

Lorissa J. Longfellow said...

cute Marisa. I just started ignoring DD when she is like that. She is slowly getting better (sometimes.) They really know how to test you, but you seem to be handling it just find and some of those qualities (without the fits) will be blessings one day.

Hullabaloo Boutique said...

Uh? I think you are speaking of my daughter.

3 is worst than 2, btw.

Cathy said...

lol i have no advice...but i can totally relate!!! oh, how i can relate!!! i just battled the both of them to get them into their own beds where i hope they'll stay so i can have a decent night's sleep (i don't remember the last time i had one!)

Alisa Nordholt-Dean said...

lol...so glad I'm not alone! My dd is 21 mo. and a complete terror! We've certainly been there with the washable marker that is nearly impossible to wash off of skin...oh and the sharpie marker that somehow ended up on our hardwood floors, couch and coffee table. What a joy it is to be a parent!

I completely forgot about the terrible twos, although I definitely agree that the terrible threes are far worse!

Good luck!

Anne said...

hahahaha!!! This thoroughly made my night! Please save this post and show it to her when she's older. This is such a great snapshot of her little toddler personality.

The only advice I can offer is to pour yourself a glass of wine and to be thankful that her hormones haven't kicked in yet. That's what we do at our house at least. :)

beka said...

Wooohoo for you, dear!
Ha.
What a firecracker.
LOL :)

Unknown said...

I feel for you, Marisa! Allyssa is one of the best at tantrums. I swear I am going to get her vocal lessons. We have actually tested to see how far outside the house we can hear her. Across the street you can still hear the siren. Bubby is learning from her and isn't content with just an occasional tantrum. He prefers to follow me around the house screaming at me to hold him so that he can wallow me. Thankfully, they are both well behaved in public, but like mentioned earlier sometimes that requires a little threatening. Also, when at home and the kids are acting up, I just take them to their room, tell them they can come out when they stop acting up, and shut the door. Allyssa always comes out and says "I be good." Of course, ten minutes later she is back in her room. Raising kids takes a strong heart, nerves of steele, a crap load of patience, and lots of cotten balls, but it's so worth it!

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