We never really had the 'terrible twos' until about a month ago. But now we are starting to see what our friends have spoken of forever. However, now that Drew turns 3 in just a month, we're going with the 'trying threes' instead.
For the most part, this kid truly is wonderful. I've always admired his laid back approach to life, but lately he's been acting out more and more. Anything can turn into a tantrum and although we're learning ways to deal with them, sometimes they are completely uncontrollable. When it started, Derek and I were pretty much clueless in how to handle them. I'll admit I yelled at Drew a couple times and I hated myself for it. Those times were generally when Derek wasn't around to help and I was at my limit.
We had a long conversation the other night about how we've done good these last few weeks with remaining calm and talking to him like he's an adult. He's so intuitive that often just talking to him or changing the subject works, but when the bad ones hit, there's no going back. We just have to ignore him or wait it out. Sometimes I'm not sure how we can get through another year of this. We will, though, just like everyone does. It's a phase, and that's what we tell ourselves everyday. Just like his excessive slobbering or his nail biting. It's just a phase.
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| Picture taken by my beautiful and talented friend, Virginia. |
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And just for shits and giggles, I need your help on another challenge. But a far more fun one at that. We're going to have backsplash installed into our kitchen in January and we're stuck on which one to get!
Click to make larger if you'd like to see a bit closer......
Option 2 is a mini subway tile that's always in a subway pattern.
Option 3 is a travertine square tile that is turned on the diagonal.
Keep in mind we have very dark granite and cabinets most similar to those in option 3.
THANK YOU!!!
Oh Drew! Did you send this memo to your Buffalo girlfriend? Because every morning before daycare has been HELL these past two weeks. Andy has way more patience than I do. I can't give you advice. I can just tell you I'm experiencing it here and she's only 26 months.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I voted option @ two. I love simple tile because you can always change up accents easier. But that's just me!
We are going thru it too. Sometimes we have to ignore him and walk away. I hear it called the bring them to their knees three's!
ReplyDeleteI love the option #3 for the back splash!
Honestly I don't the terrible twos and threes being that bad with Nick. I remember he went through a stage where he would spit at me. I don't miss that! It's okay to be frustrated sometimes. We are only human after all:)
ReplyDeleteAs for the back splash I am TOTALLY jealous. We need one in our kitchen but there are other projects that come first. I like the colors in the first option, but like the style of the 3rd!
Good luck choosing which one to go with! I remember how hard choosing everything was when we were remodeling our house.
I like the first or second for the backsplash... and the terrible 3's, yes, I think it is a thing! C was worse at 3 than 2 because he had the ability to rationalize in his own little head, and it his head, it was right. We sat down and did rules as a family, and let him pick them out and it really seemed to help. Here is my post about it: http://daffoldilshope.blogspot.com/2012/10/ralph-came-back.html Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI love the second backsplash! All of them are beautiful though.
ReplyDeleteGotta love the 2s and 3s! I find that sometimes what works best for us is *not* talking to our girls like adults. Problem is they start to get wise to the situation, and talking to them like an adult sometimes allows for more conversation which leads to debating and arguing and defiance lol. So much of the time I flat out say "stop the tantrum or go to your room...you have until I count to 3 to make your decision". Rarely my girls tantrum about anything worthy of a conversation....it's usually something pointless just to test me and see if I'll give in :-P Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE option 2!! Love love love it!
ReplyDeleteAnd that picture of Drew...it is hard to think a face like that could be in his "trying threes." ;)
Can you just take notes on this little stage so I can refer back to them later? :) And I vote for #1, but they're all great!!
ReplyDeleteDark cabinets and counter you should pick a light back splash so it pops. :) Just make sure you seal it because it's such a pain to clean!
ReplyDelete3 wasn't terrible for us at least not at first. The end of 3 and early 4 gets crazy then now he's into 5 some and because of school I'm getting a bit of attitude from him. I'm not traumatized from it though can't remember him being too awful.
I wrote a whole post about the incorrigible threes! The twos have nothing on them. My three almost four year old is still going through this. And my two year old is obviously in his "terrible" twos, which actually aren't that bad. But I feel for you, and this too shall pass. haha :)
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone, girl. We went through this so so badly when our son was 3 - 4.5. He is very strong-willed, so that didn't help the "phase" you're talking about...The phase where you and your husband scratch your head, sometimes at a complete loss, when you aren't proud of the way you react to the tantrums, when you canNOT contain the magnitude of the meltdown. It can be like walking on eggshells, as the smallest thing can set them off! So, hang in there. You aren't bad parents - you're doing a great job. {Things that work for us: Countdowns. Like, I bet you can't go brush your teeth in 20 seconds! 1,2,3... Challenge them with time frames. Set a buzzer if you have to. Also, we do a cotton ball jar. If he does positive actions, we put 1 or more cotton balls in, and he works towards something he wants. Negative action = taking some out. Look for opportunities to praise him and reinforce listening.} Hope this helps. XOXO
ReplyDeleteIt has been my experience in working with preschoolers that 3 is WAY harder than 2. Which means we are really in for it with Leland. Ha ha. He's my sweet angel too, but definitely has his trying moments. You'll get through it. It sounds like you're off to a good start.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of a lot more people saying 3 is worst than 2... I don't know but how our week is going with Charli teething is there a terrible 1's?! lol! ;) I like option 2!! :)
ReplyDeleteI've heard people say that 3 is worse than 2, so I'm pretty scared because Jackson already throws tantrums and does NOT like to be told no!! I know your pain and hope this stage is short lived for both of us.
ReplyDeleteI have heard so many people say 2s are easy and 3s are terrible. So far there have been some tantrums in the 2s for us, but nothing terrible! Good luck. And I don't know if it helps, but I have much less patience than my husband and I get to my breaking point after 1 tantrum for the day.
ReplyDeleteI'm so scared that three will be worse... we started our (double) terrible twos around 18 months. Not fun!
ReplyDeleteLike you said, it's a phase!
I voted for 3, but I equally like 2! We have 1, but I like the others :)
Hang in there momma, this (phase) too shall pass.
ReplyDeleteI'm fairly certain we hit Terrible 2s a couple months ago. I can only imagine what the Trying 3s will hand us.
The 3s have always been more challenging for us (Logan was by far the worst...so far) than the 2s, but you're right--it will pass. Eventually. Hopefully sooner than later (maybe don't go read my archives about Logan now though...;) )
ReplyDeleteNo real advice but I've definitely heard 3 is worse than 2 if that is any comfort. My mom used to have a pillow for me to hit when I got frustrated and she said that helped a lot.
ReplyDelete