I've been falling short on my blogging duties, and I seem to have an excuse for it every time. Really, I suppose the ultimate reason for less entries is that having a toddler is more work! Less free time means less time to blog. And the small amount of free time I do have, blogging is not my first priority. I'm going to work on it, however. It remains important to me that Evie have these stories to read one day, and that Will and I have them to reflect back on as well.
Anyway, today's theme is "no" (today, tomorrow, the past month, lord knows when it'll stop...). I hear Will giving Evie a tub in the background right now and I can hear her responses to his questions, and the answer is always no. Even if she then decides she wants to answer yes, her first response is an emphatic "no". She's gotten very good at pronouncing the word, rivaling only "mama" in its clarity.
Part of our strategy to combat the "no's" is giving her more choices, either 'a' or 'b'. That way "no" can't be an answer. And, if it is, then we'll choose for her. Easier said than done though. Sometimes it's just a "do it because I said so" scenario, putting all of us in a bit of a predicament. I say so, and she says no (yes, Dr. Seuss is a current favorite). Then what? I can't force her to eat her dinner or brush her teeth. I've tried! Having a toddler is a clear exercise in patience and consistency. Some days I'm better at it than others. So, clearly not as consistent as I ought to be.
Today on our walk to the gym, she saw me pull out the stroller and immediately said "no!". Shoot. Forgot to give her a choice. "Okay, Evie, would you like to walk to the gym or ride in the stroller?". She ran for the door. Guess she chose walk. "Evie, when we step outside you'll take a right instead of a left. We're not walking to the car <which is to the left>, but to the gym, ok?"
We step outside and sure enough she went right. Off to a good start! I prepared myself for what
would inevitably be a long walk. I pushed the stroller along with us in case she decided she no longer felt like walking, as I surely wasn't going to carry her the whole way. When we walk anywhere, the rule is she must hold my hand crossing the street or when cars are around (i.e. a busy parking garage), otherwise she can walk on her own. She was following these rules nicely and doing well at keeping up with our pace. We made it about 3 full city blocks before she started losing interest in walking on her own. Next, she wanted to push the stroller. Which is a lovely idea except she can't see as she pushes it, so I was trying to help guide her away from oncoming foot traffic and dogs. "No!" she would say if she noticed me helping. Finally, with only 1/2 block to go (and 20 minutes into our what should have been 6 minute walk), she got distracted by an alley. I really wanted her to keep going, so I pointed to a house ahead decorated for Halloween. "Look, Evie! That house has spiderwebs and pumpkins out for Halloween!" She turned to look, then took off full speed yelling "Lily!!"
Right. The only other house she's seen with those decorations at this point is her friend Lily's house. The friend's house where she's been napping if showings of the condo overlapped. The friend's house who gives her all the things I don't normally give her to eat.
She ran up the stairs and started knocking on the front door. "Lily!" (knock knock), "Lily?" (knock knock). She turned to look at me, realizing no one was coming to answer the door.
"Honey, this is not Lily's house. Come on, let's keep walking. We're going to see our friends at the gym!"
"No".
We played this little game for about 5 minutes, which was cute at first, and then vaguely annoying, when I finally said "Evie, you have a choice, I can put you in the stroller or you can walk".
"No!" She then shoved her arms into the air to indicate her choice was for me to carry her the rest of the way.
"Bummer, Evie, that wasn't a choice. I'll choose for you, you're riding in the stroller".
She went boneless, trying to make it as difficult as possible for me to put her in the stroller, screaming and saying "No!" the whole time. I didn't even bother buckling her in, we had such a short amount of the walk left. When we got to the gym, her friends greeted her and she returned their gazes with a glare. She was clearly unhappy with my choice. C'est la vie.
Will and I are both learning more each day about how to be the parents of a toddler. I say it a lot, but realize more every day just how true it is: this is when the real parenting begins. It would be so easy to give in to what she wants, to let her get her way, to prevent her loud annoying noises by just making it exactly as she'd like it to be. But, I know that will hurt us all in the long run. So, we trudge through this phase, comforted by the smiles and giggles, and challenged by the constant battles. One day we'll reflect back on these as wonderful moments when Evie was young, forgetting how stressful it can be in the daily grind.
Anyway, today's theme is "no" (today, tomorrow, the past month, lord knows when it'll stop...). I hear Will giving Evie a tub in the background right now and I can hear her responses to his questions, and the answer is always no. Even if she then decides she wants to answer yes, her first response is an emphatic "no". She's gotten very good at pronouncing the word, rivaling only "mama" in its clarity.
Part of our strategy to combat the "no's" is giving her more choices, either 'a' or 'b'. That way "no" can't be an answer. And, if it is, then we'll choose for her. Easier said than done though. Sometimes it's just a "do it because I said so" scenario, putting all of us in a bit of a predicament. I say so, and she says no (yes, Dr. Seuss is a current favorite). Then what? I can't force her to eat her dinner or brush her teeth. I've tried! Having a toddler is a clear exercise in patience and consistency. Some days I'm better at it than others. So, clearly not as consistent as I ought to be.
Today on our walk to the gym, she saw me pull out the stroller and immediately said "no!". Shoot. Forgot to give her a choice. "Okay, Evie, would you like to walk to the gym or ride in the stroller?". She ran for the door. Guess she chose walk. "Evie, when we step outside you'll take a right instead of a left. We're not walking to the car <which is to the left>, but to the gym, ok?"
We step outside and sure enough she went right. Off to a good start! I prepared myself for what
would inevitably be a long walk. I pushed the stroller along with us in case she decided she no longer felt like walking, as I surely wasn't going to carry her the whole way. When we walk anywhere, the rule is she must hold my hand crossing the street or when cars are around (i.e. a busy parking garage), otherwise she can walk on her own. She was following these rules nicely and doing well at keeping up with our pace. We made it about 3 full city blocks before she started losing interest in walking on her own. Next, she wanted to push the stroller. Which is a lovely idea except she can't see as she pushes it, so I was trying to help guide her away from oncoming foot traffic and dogs. "No!" she would say if she noticed me helping. Finally, with only 1/2 block to go (and 20 minutes into our what should have been 6 minute walk), she got distracted by an alley. I really wanted her to keep going, so I pointed to a house ahead decorated for Halloween. "Look, Evie! That house has spiderwebs and pumpkins out for Halloween!" She turned to look, then took off full speed yelling "Lily!!"
Right. The only other house she's seen with those decorations at this point is her friend Lily's house. The friend's house where she's been napping if showings of the condo overlapped. The friend's house who gives her all the things I don't normally give her to eat.
She ran up the stairs and started knocking on the front door. "Lily!" (knock knock), "Lily?" (knock knock). She turned to look at me, realizing no one was coming to answer the door.
"Honey, this is not Lily's house. Come on, let's keep walking. We're going to see our friends at the gym!"
"No".
We played this little game for about 5 minutes, which was cute at first, and then vaguely annoying, when I finally said "Evie, you have a choice, I can put you in the stroller or you can walk".
"No!" She then shoved her arms into the air to indicate her choice was for me to carry her the rest of the way. "Bummer, Evie, that wasn't a choice. I'll choose for you, you're riding in the stroller".
She went boneless, trying to make it as difficult as possible for me to put her in the stroller, screaming and saying "No!" the whole time. I didn't even bother buckling her in, we had such a short amount of the walk left. When we got to the gym, her friends greeted her and she returned their gazes with a glare. She was clearly unhappy with my choice. C'est la vie.
Will and I are both learning more each day about how to be the parents of a toddler. I say it a lot, but realize more every day just how true it is: this is when the real parenting begins. It would be so easy to give in to what she wants, to let her get her way, to prevent her loud annoying noises by just making it exactly as she'd like it to be. But, I know that will hurt us all in the long run. So, we trudge through this phase, comforted by the smiles and giggles, and challenged by the constant battles. One day we'll reflect back on these as wonderful moments when Evie was young, forgetting how stressful it can be in the daily grind.
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