Terrible Twos

As Maddie nears the end of her 'terrible twos', I fear what's to come...Over the past week she has begun trying my patience in so many new ways.  I'm tired exhausted.  I can't leave her unattended for 5 minutes without her doing something that's going to get her in trouble.  She's bitten me, hit her sister with toys, colored on the walls with crayons (thanks to the zoo for giving out non-washable crayons!!!), spit on Sadie's highchair, spit on the floor, discovered that sidewalk chalk is more paint-like when dipped in water (or submerged in water), decided Murphy's head is a good place to color with paint-like chalk, finger painted all over the table, a little on the wall, on the bathroom door (although this has been done in the past, I still need to include it so you see how "nice" my week has been).  In addition to those things, she has been very argumentative about E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.  If she asks for juice and I tell her, "No, you already had juice today." She replies with, "NO I DIDN'T".  If I tell her it's time to go upstairs for nap time she tells me, "NO IT'S NOT".  You get the idea...and what a negotiator she's turning into!!  Yesterday I she wanted to watch TV.  I said yes, but she could only watch two shows all day.  So she had the choice of watching one show now and one later or just watching both shows right then.  She wanted to watch both shows right away (which didn't surprise me...toddlers are all about instant gratification, right?)  Well, after she watched two shows then she asked for another.  Of course I told her we already watched two so now it's time to play.  She said, "Ok.  But after I play I want to watch two more shows."  I reminded her that she made the choice to watch both of her shows for the day first thing in the morning.  So she gets a smart smile on her face and says, "Ok. But I really want to watch one show now AND two shows later.".  Uhhh.......no.  Little smarty pants!! 

You see, all this time I've been bragging about how smart Maddie is.  And, yes, she is VERY smart.  Almost too smart for her age.  I've been outsmarted by her a few times.  She's quick to think.  And she thinks outside the box.  She's amazing.  This is one little girl who's going to be keeping me on my toes!  If she can outsmart me before she's even three years old, I'm saying I'm in BIG trouble when she's a teenage!  Oh goodness...

Lessons learned from my first-born that I will be practicing with my second-born:  DON'T ENCOURAGE YOUR BABY TO TALK EARLY!!  I will be keeping Sadie quiet until she's at least 5.  I'm not kidding. 

Goodnight for now...I'm off to have a glass of wine.  I've been needing that since I woke up Friday morning!  :)