We've got Trouble!

Trouble, oh we got trouble,
Right here in River City!
With a capital "T"
That rhymes with "P"
And that stands for Pool,
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So I've had these lyrics running through my head for the last month or so, but not because of any billiards halls or such. Nope. Our trouble is actually on account of one little girl who has gained a MAJOR attitude. So our trouble starts with a capital "T" which stands for 'Tude! That's our Sweetsa these days. She still has a sweet smile, but get on her bad side and she will let you know!!!
She is quite opinionated for such a little girl...she has a definite idea of how the world should be. The interesting thing is that she really doesn't say a lot of words (her total vocabulary might be 15 words right now), but the words that she does say she makes count! Being two now, one of her favorite words is, of course, "NO!" or "no-no!" which she will daily yell at Buddy or Mimi or Mommy. She is also our champion tantrum-thrower. And unfortunately I get to see those a couple times a day. *sigh* Unfortunately she has also picked up on what we term "nursery behaviors" but most kids go through them, whether or not they go to nursery: hitting and biting. We are trying to discourage these, but so far haven't been too successful. Although, she may have been deterred from the biting today. I was at a PTA meeting, when I heard her start screaming under the table. The "little" one year old she had been playing with bit her right on her forehead! Happy Birthday Sweetsa! She was pretty traumatized by it, and kept sobbing saying "beebee!" and pointing at her forehead. It was pretty sad, but maybe she understands now that biting really does hurt!

She has just picked up the word "Hi!" and will say hi to some one for literally five minutes... it's so cute I have to laugh every time I hear it! She will repeat "I love______." I have yet to hear her say it unprompted, but it still melts my heart when I hear it.

The easiest way for us to get Sweetsa to help out right now is to ask either Buddy or Mimi to do something. (Especially if we had previously asked Sweetsa to do it) She will suddenly run to do the task (turn off the tv, empty the trash, whatever!) yelling, "ME! ME! ME!" One thing we don't have to ask the others to do in order to get her to help is to clean up. She loves picking things up and putting them away...so she's the special helper in the toy room!

The following picture is a collaboration of Buddy's talents and Sweetsa's great personality.



Sweetsa still loves to be outdoors. The other day I realized that the older kids were downstairs watching tv, but I hadn't seen Sweetsa come in from the backyard. When I asked Mimi, she said Sweetsa didn't want to come inside! I went out to check and she was there playing in the sandbox, as happy as can be, filling the bucket, dumping it out and doing it all over again. She also loves to swing and could probably stay on the swing for hours if allowed. She really enjoyed swimming lessons this summer and wanted to be mommy-less for them (It was a mom-n-me class in 3.5' of water...not really an option!) When we went swimming with some family at a different pool, she walked right into the pool, and started swimming (with floaties on, thankfully!) She didn't wait for anyone else to get in the pool! That was a heart stopper for me!

Sweetsa loves Buddy and Mimi so much. Whenever one is gone (most recently Mimi to school), she will walk around with a searching look on her face her little hands turned over saying "Mimi?" or "Buddy?" She loves being with them so much that she has finally started going to bed at the same time as them! Hooray! This means that she actually stays in her big girl bed and falls asleep there !!(something that hasn't happened too well since we moved her out of the crib, when she was climbing out of it all the time.)

Another recent accomplishment is that Sweetsa is showing signs of potty training! After going through it a few months ago with Buddy, I can hardly believe we may be out of diapers by the end of the year (my expectations are not too high, are they?) She uses the toilet a couple times a day a today actually pooped in the toilet, and boy was she pleased!

She is so fun and sweet despite her new-found feisty-ness
Just like they sing in My Turn on Earth

"You've got to taste the bitter so that you can know the sweet."
Even though you've recently gained some 'Tude girl, you are Sweet and we love having you in our family! Happy Birthday Sweetsa!