This is Malloy's typical "I don't want to cooperate" face. I see a lot of this lately. She isn't exactly "terrible" but she is definitely two and has a mind of her own.
I feel like I haven't posted much lately. I have also noticed that most of my blogging friends with children around Malloy's age haven't posted much lately either. I think I understand why. There are a couple of reasons I have been a pretty inactive blogger lately. First of all, Malloy is so busy it's hard to get a picture of her standing still, and secondly, I am so worn out trying to keep up with Malloy that I don't have time to write. When she was a sweet little baby that took two naps a day, it was easy to find time to post some pictures and update everyone on Malloy's latest antics. These days she is a very energetic, opinionated and smart little two year old that keeps me very busy. And while there aren't really any exciting milestones to write about like getting her first tooth, crawling, standing and starting to walk, she has mastered some of the toddler milestones such as throwing tantrums and potty training.
I figured I had better post something, even if it includes some unpleasant behaviors, because this blog is probably going to end up being Malloy's baby book. I should record everything for better or for worse - I do want to remember some stories to tell her when she has children of her own! Don't get me wrong, Malloy is still a very sweet and relatively well behaved little girl, but she is definitely getting more independent and I find myself negotiating with her all the time to get her to do the things I want or need her to do.
A few examples:
1. Malloy has a very strong opinion about what she wants to wear. She rarely ever agrees to wear what I pick out for her. We have had some major temper tantrums (lasting 30 minutes) in the morning trying to find something that she wants to wear and that is appropriate for the season and occasion. I recently did a complete overhaul of her closet, weeding out all of the clothes that are too small and putting long sleeved and short sleeved dresses and shirts on the bottom row and sleeveless dresses on the top row. I was tired of explaining to an irrational 2 year old why she couldn't wear a dress with spaghetti straps when it is 40 degrees outside. She is coming around to the concept of "play clothes" and "church clothes" and sometimes can be talked out of wearing a frilly, special occasion dress with patent leather shoes to play on the swingset. She also has a slight obsession with pink. She only wants to wear pink - pink underwear, pink socks and of course pink dresses. She also insists on wearing dresses most days, and when I can convince her, she will wear leggings underneath (preferably pink leggings).
2. We went through an extended period of time when she would not wear a coat to school. It is relatively warm in Shreveport compared to other parts of the country, but 34 degrees is cold enough to warrant wearing a substantial coat no matter where you live. When she would agree to wear a coat out of the house, she would insist on removing it before getting in the car (which essentially defeated the purpose). On the days when I tried to stand my ground on the coat issue, Malloy screamed bloody murder all the way to school. It was not pleasant. Thank goodness for spring weather!!
3. Malloy is extremely motivated by candy. We got through potty training relatively easily. When she was successful on the potty, I rewarded her with a selection from "treasure chest" full of little toys from the dollar store and candy. She chose the candy everytime and was not the least bit interested in the toys. We eventually weaned ourselves off the treasure chest for every potty success and only rewarded #2 since that seemed more difficult and certainly less frequent. Since the potty training was mastered (several months ago), she continues to negotiate for candy and even tells me when I pick her up from school that she "went poo poo lots of times at school" so she needs lots of candy when she gets home. You can't help but laugh!
4. I have done some internet research on this topic, and have been assured that it is perfectly normal, but Malloy has a very strong "Mommy Preference". While I appreciate her INTENSE love for me, it often comes at the expense of Kyle's feelings. She has made some pretty mean statements such as - "No Daddy, I don't want you. I only want Mommy"or "I always love you Mommy, but I only love Daddy sometimes". This has been extremely frustrating for both Kyle and me. When Kyle tries to help me out by offering to give Malloy a bath or put her to bed, it often backfires. Malloy freaks out, melts down and is extremely unpleasant. This defeats the purpose of allowing me to relax - it is hard to enjoy a night off of bed/bath duty when I can hear her screaming in the bathroom. If I am not around, she is pretty sweet to Kyle. This seems to only be an issue when both of us are with her. It was pretty awful for a while, but is gradually getting better. I have assured myself that it is just a phase and there will come a time when she wants nothing to do with me either. She also displays a preference for her grandmothers over grandfathers, so her discrimination is not aimed soley at her Daddy.
5. Malloy hears everything, remembers everything, and can repeat everything. She talks like an adult. You can truly carry on a complete conversation with her and you definitely have to be careful what you say because she is always listening. She also knows what you want to hear. For example, this is a conversation that she initiated the morning after a not so pleasant bedtime which involved a huge meltdown and saying mean things to Kyle:
Malloy (sitting in our bed while we are getting ready for work): Mommy and Daddy, I have something to tell you. I am really sorry about last night.
Me (completely taken aback by this unsolicited apology): What did you do last night that you are sorry about?
Malloy: I am sorry I was crying and I was mean to Daddy.
**slight pause**
Malloy: Is that what you wanted me to say Mommy?
I swear I didn't tell her to say that!! I didn't even bring up the subject of the terrible bedtime the night before. She just remembered it and knew that it would make me happy if she apologized to Kyle for her behavior. Kyle, of course, did not believe the apology was very sincere since the only reason she did it was to please me.
6. She is getting really good a reading body language. If you have a disapproving face she will ask "Mommy, why is your face looking like that?". Then she will ask what will make me happy. If I say, "It would really make me happy if you would cooperate and get dressed for school" she will reply (on a good day) "Look Mommy, I am cooperating. Is this making you happy?"
When I recently asked her what makes her happy, she told me "When Mommy is happy". She definitely has some very sweet moments, but there are just as many challenging ones.
7. Malloy is so imaginative and loves to act out her favorite stories. She is really into Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast. She wants you to tell her these stories over and over. She also wants to perform them. She can very dramatically fall into a deep sleep in which the only way she can be awoken is with a kiss from a handsome prince. She has perfected running with her shoe unfastened so it will fall off like Cinderella's shoe as she is fleeing from the ball at midnight. Then, of course, we have to search throughout the kingdom to find on whose foot the "glass slipper" fits.
Wow, this post is getting long! I think that I have given enough examples of what life with Malloy is like right now. Fortunately, the weather has been great lately (with the exception of some snow flurries yesterday) and we have really been enjoying our backyard and swingset. In an effort to get a few new pictures to post on the blog, I snapped a few of Malloy playing outside today.
When we came in after playing and had an unsuccessful attempt at a nap, Malloy was in her delirious/hysterical state of mind. She thought it was so funny to goof around with the painters outside who were scraping paint off the glass. She was squeeling and jumping on the couch. She was even standing on the window sill at one point but I wasn't able to capture that with my camera.
Bedtime often doesn't come soon enough these days - especially when she doesn't take a nap. I try to keep reminding myself that I need to enjoy this time even though it is trying. One of my favorite quotes is "the days are long, but the years are short". This year has gone by so quickly and I do want to remember it - all of it - even the challenging parts. I think my parents must have amnesia because they say I was a really easy going and good little girl. If they had a blog, they could look back and say, "Oh wait, remember when Molly used to sneak out of her bed and hide under the kitchen table because she didn't want to go to sleep". Speaking of my parents, I have been SOOOO lucky that they have been in Shreveport since the beginning of February. They are staying until Easter and I don't know how I would have made it through the last two months without their help. They have done A LOT of babysitting including watching Malloy several times (including this weekend) while Kyle and I have gone out of town.
Hopefully, I have inspired some of my friends to update their blogs so they can look back and remember what life with a two year old is really like!
