Of Course It's Personal

I often hear people talk about the 'Terrible Two's" and I'm not sure why. Kids at the age of two are easy. They're cute. They're talking all the time and their personalities are coming to the fore. Any trouble you have with a two year old stems from their emotional development. They don't know why they are angry, they're just angry. That kind of thing. Three year olds on the other hand. Well, they make it personal.They know full well that buttons are made to be pushed.

Bo is now 3 years and 5 months old and hitting stride as a sh** disturber. If Josh is crying, Bo is involved. If William is crying, Bo is involved. Even if Bo is crying it is highly probable that he was the only person involved. Intellectually, we get it. He's sandwiched between his brothers. He's trying to establish his place in the family and in his world. Unfortunately, most days I'm too tired to step back and think things through from his perspective. My first impulse after he's lit the powder keg that is our home is to stick him in the freezer for 10 minutes, pour a glass of wine and re-group. Still, we manage to survive each day and every night he manages to save his butt by yelling after us from his bed as we limp downstairs after story time  ..."Goodnight Daddy. I'll love you in the morning and in the afternoon."

It's because he means it that we cut him some slack.

On the rare occasion his 'true' self shows through and he makes us laugh. The other day he walked into the kitchen saying 'Ho Ho Ho....here's a candy cane'.