I know I have perhaps devoted too much time to my Sophie-girl’s terrible two’s, but the girl confounds me. And blogging about it is cathartic, so until you beg me to stop, or Emily forces me to, here is another tale in the Sophie chronicles.
Monday at both lunch and dinner Sophie refused to eat her fruit, and was rewarded both times with a post-meal time-out in her crib. At the end of said time-outs, I said, “Tell Mommy you’re sorry.” She just looked at me and grinned and spoke the Hindu language at which she is so fluent. “Sophie, tell me you’re sorry,” I demanded more firmly.
More I’m-so-cute-babble.
Infuriating!
You see, Sophie doesn’t talk all that much, but she can say a good 75ish words and phrases, one of which is “Sorry.” If she falls down, or bumps into something, she says, “Oops, sowee.” It’s very cute. But it’s not cute when she CAN say and she SHOULD say it and she WON’T say it.
She wouldn’t, and didn’t, and tired and frazzled at the end of the day, I didn’t know what to do. I felt like a total failure and Sophie’s lack of repentance hurt my feelings and reduced me to tears.
That was Monday. One of my friends who’s thinking about quitting her job to become a stay-at-homer asked me how I liked being at home. “Well, I love it most of the time, ” I said, “but sometimes, like today, Sophie makes me want to go get a job at McDONALD’s just to get away!” (She asked me to be brutally honest!)
Thankfully, she was a pretty sweet girl the rest of the week. Then yesterday, Sunday morning, I wasn’t feeling too well, so Bobby got up with the kids and let me sleep in. But when he got Sophie out of her bed, she wasn’t satisified. “See Mommy?” she asked. So Bobby brought her into my bedroom where she immediately adhered herself to my side. “Hi, Mommy, ohh Mommy,” she said sweetly as she snuggled into me. After a minute or two, Bobby tried to get her to go with him, but each time he tried, she just burrowed herself closer to me. I was loving it.
“It’s ok,” I said. “Just come back for her in awhile.”
So Sophie and I snuggled there on my bed for a good half an hour. She stroked my hair and patted my cheek and pressed her little face up against mine. Occasionally she’d decide we weren’t close enough and lay on top of me for a minute or two. It was so, so sweet. Just us, no entertainment, no snack, nothing but mommy and daughter and snuggles.
Once again she reduced me to tears. But in a good way this time.
Such a duplicitous little booger!
I love those morning snuggles. It’s one of the things I love BEST about co-sleeping. I get those every morning! Well, during the week. When my husband is home and in bed Aiden has to show his boy side I guess…and jumps and acts crazy. But when it’s just the two of us, it’s a full on snuggle fest 🙂
Isn’t it funny how kids can be so different? For example, with my two, (a son and daughter) the dreaded “terrible twos” never existed…it was more like “the terrible three through fives…” with my daughter and my son, who is 3 and 1/2, is now in the midst of all that.
So look up! Maybe Sophie’s terrible twos means that she’ll have glorious threes, fours, and so on!
BTW, I’m expecting my third child in late August (don’t know and don’t want to know the sex!) and if it’s a girl, we’re going to name her Sophie! I just love that name!
The sweet/cute moments keep us from leaving them on the side of the road. That and the fact it is illegal. Heh.
The snuggles make the frustrations worth it!
I love those moments so much, at 8mo PG I still adore my 2yr to climb on my lap and drape herself across my big tummy and lay sweetly with me while patting my sholder saying shhhhhh mama….LOL I wonder if she is trying to hush me to keep me from fussing at her.
My daughter has just recently started being real huggy and kissy – I love it! And it makes up for the not-so-sweet moments, which seem to come more often than I’d like…!
I hope you’re feeling better.
I’m sure you’re worried about nutrition and setting in place a firm foundation for a healthy diet.
SURRENDER. Give yourself a break and forget about the food war. It isn’t unusual for young kids to go through phases of likes and dislikes. Hold off on that food 4-5 days and reintroduce it, again, without fanfare.
One thing we always did was to hold off on second portions until they had at least taken their age in bites. If they wanted seconds but refused to eat a particular food it was fine. Dinner was over. As the kids got older (elementary school age) we’d tell them they only had to eat their age in bites but, if they fussed (“I HATE broccoli!”), they’d have to eat everything. It’s worked well for us. The kids all have great appetites, love fruits, nuts, veggies, fresh juice, etc and will devour everything in site come mealtime.
BTW, mommy-daughter snuggles … PRICELESS. Feel better soon.
I’m late for work far too often due to the adorable snuggle-fests P & I have in the morning. It’s sometimes just not possible to break away from her and start the day.
I doubt she’ll remember those mornings when she’s grown, but I know I will.