Oh, the Highs and Lows

Most of this week has been a 'low.' Vivi was acting particularly 'toddler-y' and it got progressively worse as the week went on. The most frustrating part is that she is her most uncontrollable, inconsolable toddler-y when she's with me (which is most of the time), but when she's with Nana or Papa, she's mostly her fun-loving self. That is great, but also really irritating...and exhausting.

For example, I went to work without her on Friday morning because I went to court for my speeding ticket (another fun moment this week), so I left her with Nana (great-grandma). By all accounts she was great all morning, but by the time I got home her toddler-ness was in full swing. For the first full hour she screamed and cried about everything. She wanted a cracker, I gave her a cracker. Then she put the cracker with peanut butter in her hair and then threw it on the floor, so I threw it in the garbage. Then she wanted a cracker, which I didn't give her. That was a good 10 minute tantrum. Then she wanted out her high chair. Then she freaked out when I went to take her out. You get the picture?

It was so bad, as Doug left for cycling class, he asked if he should worry about finding both of us alive when he got home. I did throw her in the shower (not a cold one) after she put ketchup in her hair (bad mom confession: I wasn't going to bathe her after just the peanut butter because I was soooo 'done,' but I couldn't not wash her after the peanut butter and ketchup).

She may be getting her 2 year molars and I hope, for the all of our sakes, that's the case and they break through soon.

So, oh, how I was in love with today! Doug knew what I rough time I'd had and so he woke up with Vivi this morning and read to her, gave her breakfast (canned Salmon lol), and was so helpful with her. And she loved every minute of it. She loves her papa so much, so I think some of her frustration during the week is that she doesn't get to see her papa, play with him, and she's just sick of me. So Saturdays are usually glorious because I'm not a single parent anymore and Vivi is so much happier. And that makes all the difference; it allows my patience, compassion, and sympathy for Vivi to be renewed and my loved and adoration for Doug to be extended.

On that note, we went to the park today, which meant my daughter needed to accessorize. Even though, she's not 2 years old yet, Vivi definitely has some opinions about what she wants to wear sometimes. Note: the scarf, rain pants, polar bear coat, hat, and sunglasses; missing: the polka dot rain boots that she REALLY wanted to wear but were much too big for her to even walk in. I think she looks pretty cool, but Doug took off her hat and sunglasses when we got to the park.