The terrible twos

A couple times this past weekend my Mom would say aloud "Is there a two year old in this house?" Betsy has developed this habit of throwing a tantrum when she doesn't get what she wants. I can usually figure out why she is throwing a tantrum (she wanted the whole box of goldfish, not just a handful in a cup that I gave her). Yesterday she threw about 3 tantrums. This morning there was another one. I emailed my Mom and offered to mail her to Atlanta and she accepted the offer.

No, really, it's not that bad. Her crying doesn't get to me (though it DOES get to Ben). If she cries before bed I tell him to stay tough and as soon as I say "You can get her if you want," he sprints down the hall and cuddles his girl.

I think this is all compounded by teething. She's been sticking her two fingers in her mouth and I think the two year old molars are coming in. And mostly her tantrums are at night, when I know she's exhausted after a full school day.

We've been lucky enough not to experience a tantrum yet outside of the house. When she starts to throw a fit I just leave her on the ground, walk into another room and start doing a chore. She figured this out, and once yesterday she actually stopped crying, stood up, followed me into the kitchen, laid back down and started crying again. Then I laughed at her and walked into the living room. And she stopped fussing, followed me into the living room, sat on my lab and shared my pesto chicken with me.

Today I did some research on habits to help avoid tantrums, and what to do when they happen. I'd love input from the moms of older babies! I'm amazed that it's like someone flipped a light switch and Betsy is acting like a two year old. She wants to do EVERYTHING for herself. She wants to chose for herself. She wants to communicate for herself. Moms of older ones, tell me your tricks!!