The Terrible "Halfs"
Niall consistently hits the "terribles" right around his half birthday marks. He had some TERRIBLE one-and-a-halfs and then went back to being a sweet little angel (...well, about as much of an angel as a toddler can be). Well now he's hitting the terrible two-and-a-halfs.
Here's what the one-and-a-halfs looked like:
And here's what the two-and-a-halfs look like:
It's very deceiving, I know. See the difference? The first is genuine frustration and the second is a smug little devil who can say "Just try me" using only his eyes.
Now I have to put out the disclaimer-- Niall is a REALLY good boy 75% of the time. But the other 25%, it gets ugly. As in: he turns ugly, and then I turn ugly. It's what I like to call "the perfect storm."
It's weird, though, because he's not a huge temper tantrum thrower, but he's doing these little devilish behaviors that are so strange and I sometimes don't know how to correct them.
For instance, he doesn't do anything maliciously, but he has recently started throwing things at his friend's heads for fun. It's like he thinks it's a game. I take the toy away, give him a time-out, he cries, moves on to something else eventually... and then goes right back to it, even though I've disciplined him.
Yesterday, he decided to run away from me in the parking lot and almost got hit by a car. As it was happening, my voice turned into this horrifying manly bellow as I screamed "NIIIAAALLLL!!! NOOOOOO!!" (imagine Will Ferrell being shot in the neck with a dart gun tranquilizer in Old School).
Apparently, my angry voice scared him so much that he pooped... so when we got home, instead of letting me change his diaper, he ran around the house laughing uncontrollably and kicking me whenever I tried to pin him down for the diaper change.
There have been a lot of days like this lately. And sometimes I find myself staring out the kitchen window, taking deep yoga breaths, chanting "Ommm" to myself while Niall throws diapers and sippy cups at me, cracking himself up.
But then I think back to the previous day when Mr. Hyde was Dr. Jeckel, saying really cute things like "Come on noodle, we can do this!" (referring to his trouble getting his pasta to get onto his fork)... or "Oh, time out over! I gotta work!" (because he likes to do "yard work" with his lawn mower and weed whacker).
And suddenly, I'm rejuvinated.
Ready to take on a new day of tickle fights, sweet hugs, and of course, the occasional shoe thrown at my face ;)
Here's what the one-and-a-halfs looked like:
 |
| (no more TV today, pal) |
And here's what the two-and-a-halfs look like:
 |
| (too cool for school) |
Now I have to put out the disclaimer-- Niall is a REALLY good boy 75% of the time. But the other 25%, it gets ugly. As in: he turns ugly, and then I turn ugly. It's what I like to call "the perfect storm."
It's weird, though, because he's not a huge temper tantrum thrower, but he's doing these little devilish behaviors that are so strange and I sometimes don't know how to correct them.
For instance, he doesn't do anything maliciously, but he has recently started throwing things at his friend's heads for fun. It's like he thinks it's a game. I take the toy away, give him a time-out, he cries, moves on to something else eventually... and then goes right back to it, even though I've disciplined him.
Yesterday, he decided to run away from me in the parking lot and almost got hit by a car. As it was happening, my voice turned into this horrifying manly bellow as I screamed "NIIIAAALLLL!!! NOOOOOO!!" (imagine Will Ferrell being shot in the neck with a dart gun tranquilizer in Old School).
Apparently, my angry voice scared him so much that he pooped... so when we got home, instead of letting me change his diaper, he ran around the house laughing uncontrollably and kicking me whenever I tried to pin him down for the diaper change.
There have been a lot of days like this lately. And sometimes I find myself staring out the kitchen window, taking deep yoga breaths, chanting "Ommm" to myself while Niall throws diapers and sippy cups at me, cracking himself up.
But then I think back to the previous day when Mr. Hyde was Dr. Jeckel, saying really cute things like "Come on noodle, we can do this!" (referring to his trouble getting his pasta to get onto his fork)... or "Oh, time out over! I gotta work!" (because he likes to do "yard work" with his lawn mower and weed whacker).
And suddenly, I'm rejuvinated.
Comments
Post a Comment