18 months going on 2 years.

It turns out that Charlotte is not easy-going all the time….

Charlotte’s latest thing is screaming. I’m not talking about a little yelling. I’m talking ear-piercing, glass-shattering high-pitched screeching. It is actually very painful. It hurts my ears.

It turns out that our lovely child is very strong willed, and has quite a temper. If she wants something and she can’t have it, she will clench her fists, bow her head, and screech until her face is red like a tomato. If she is really mad her hands and her head shake. This is serious anger.

Honestly, it is hard not to laugh. Clearly the poor soul feels VERY strongly about…whatever it is at that moment….but it looks so hilarious to see such a small person having such a strong reaction.

She screeches about the usual stuff: items she can’t have (scissors), toys grabbed by her sister, food not offered fast enough. Here’s the one that got me though: clothes. The other day I selected an outfit that clearly was not to her liking. She screamed, “NO”, tore it off and I just stood there stunned. She then walked to the drawer and chose a pair of pants that were more to her liking. OMG we are in for it when she becomes a teenager.

The other clothing related thing is the act of dressing. She is determined to do it herself. Again, I was prepared for this – every kid goes through this stage – but not so soon. By the time AJ got there she was old enough to say “Do by self,” thus avoiding the screeching. Charlotte just yells, grabs and then sits on the floor for 20 mins getting frustrated trying to put socks on.

The bad news: the already slow process of getting ready in the morning just go worse. She always needs about 15 extra minutes in order to have time to attempt to put her clothes on herself.

The good news: she is getting more coordinated, and we’ve taught her the word “help”. The other day she managed to get some overalls on her legs and pulled up. Then she said ‘help’ so I could do up the buckles. (guess that was OK) She is now able to get her socks (mostly) on, and this morning she successfully pulled her shirt over her head.
Every day I am reminded that patience is a virtue that requires regular practice.


The Potty

In other ‘do by self’ news, Charlotte has shown an interest in the potty. Last weekend she did her first pee in the potty. We also attempted a poop, but she got stage fright. Nothing happened while on the potty, and then she promptly stood up, walked to the kitchen and pooped on the floor. Thank God for hardwood. The photo beside is her successful attempt.

All this week she has shown zero interest in the potty, however. I imagine she will be just like AJ. Despite our enthusiasm, she will announce to us when she is ready, and it probably won’t be any time that we expect. With AJ, there were months of stickers, cheering and other bribes to use the potty. All this generated some interest, but nothing that really stuck. The potty was just an occasional toy. Then one day, out of the blue, she came home from her caregiver’s house and announced, “Owen has Spiderman underwear and I want some too. Julie said if I can use the potty and I’m dry for a week she would buy me some. I’m not going to use diapers any more.” And that was it. She was in underwear from that point on. There was a tense week with a couple of accidents while she figured out how much time there was between ‘sensation’ and pee running down her leg, but by the following Friday she was officially a big kid and proudly sporting Spiderman underwear in addition to her boring old training pants.

The will of a child is truly an amazing thing to behold.