Happy Crazy Terrible Twos

Oli is two now. A year older. More mischief. More tantrums, More funny talk. More giggles. And I can safely blame the not-so-pleasant behavior on the Terrible Twos! :-) Takes me back to the time I used to write post about San's terrible twos moments, Time really flies!

I have so much to talk about Oli. So many things. So many anecdotes to share. So many emotional and funny moments. So many frustrating moments. Can't find enough words. And also, I've been lazy about writing, as you can see from the frequency of my posts.

Life's really a roller coaster with the girls! They grow and move on to a whole different phase overnight, and surprise (read 'shock') you the next morning. And then you sit there, with either a super messy or a blank mind, trying to decipher what just happened. And then there are days when you can't stop beaming about their adorable gestures.

=========================================

Lemme tell you some little things. Oli is big on hugs and kisses and cuddles. She likes to comb my hair, wipe my face with the towel when we are done brushing, has learned to say thank you and please (which is an achievement), can wear shoes without help (of course the left one on the right and vice versa), and has memorized all her friend's names.

She makes me laugh all the time! Well, most of the time, when she is not making me cry with her hurricane like behavior, and when she does not want me to have even a single moment of peace, and when she does not eat well, and throws super tantrums when we are shopping or eating at a restaurant. She has successfully broken dishes and spilled food in restaurants. Also thrown around, licked, torn, and mishandled stuff in the stores. This must be the story with so many kids but it is so new for us! All of this. It's funny and embarrassing! Are we having fun? Umm, maybe!

And yes, she also delivers the groceries from the front door to the kitchen with her big sister's little help. So proud of my girls! :D

==========================================

Leaving it at this without saying much about San in this post, but just this...

Terrible Twos make a comeback

And I"m finally writing the new year's first post after a long, long gap of a quarter! *hides faces* And I have the same old excuse for not having written here... I was being lazy! *hides face again* Bad, very bad.

Do I have a lot to tell? Not really. But I must tell you that San's Terrible Twos are back with her five. Yeah, I was told that they keep coming back, and here they are. Same old phase of screaming, whining, howling, stomping, and a lot of crazy girly things. I did write a lot about the Terrible Twos here, here, and here.

So tell me what's with the fives. Does it happen with all kids? The arguments, the Nos, the stubbornness, the grumpiness, the meany ME... sigh! I, as usual, run out of patience. And Papa dear, cool as a cucumber, handles it all like a pro. :-)

=============================

It's that time of the year again when San has to dress up as a freedom fighter for the Republic Day celebration in school. Last year's Mangal Pandey act was a hit. This year's Bhagat Singh act is due in two days. Hopefully, San will recover from the little viral infection that she is down with, and rock it again. ;-)

And lastly, let me tell you what keeps her (and us) busy these days. A little game of Snakes and Ladders that she received as a return gift at a Christmas party.

Slow and steady what?

Remember the story of a tortoise and a rabbit with the moral "Slow and steady wins the race"? I told San this story a couple of times during her mealtime, and she seemed to understand it well. Yesterday, I showed it to her in one of the Disney episodes. Her expressions changed every time the tortoise led the race, and the rabbit indulged in some time-pass stuff because he thought he'd win anyway. The tortoise won (he had to) and left San disappointed.

"Why did the tortoise win, Mommy?"
"Because he was steady and kept running!"
"What is steady? Tortoise is slow. Rabbit is fast!"
"Steady means that he kept walking and did not stop. The rabbit slept, thinking that he'll win because he's fast."
"But the rabbit was faster!! He should have won. Why did he not win? I don't like the tortoise!" Hmph.

I gave up. I couldn't explain her the meaning of being slow and steady. Maybe, some other time!

===

People always told me (and I always told myself) that the Terrible Twos are here to stay, always waiting for an opportunity to make a comeback. And here they are, in the form of my whiny little three and a half year old! She loves to whine, and I'm almost tearing my hair and losing the last few drops of my patience over it.

===

And in these whiny times, we do have some light moments with San's wonderful vocabulary. :)

"Mommy, stop feeting my foot!" (while San was enjoying a siesta with me by her side, my feet happened to touch hers and I couldn't help tickling her)

"I'm gonna grow up, become a doctor, and check everyone with my telescope." (you would know what she actually meant!)

The ant-bit-me tale

San's second summer session at school started this week, it's the third day, and the third I-don't-wanna-go-to-school day too. I wonder why! And to top that, she came home from school with an ant-bitten foot and a runny nose on Wednesday. Runny nose, I can handle, but the ant bites that looked nothing close to an ant bite were scary!

"Mommy, the ant came in my shoe and bit me."
"Noway. Where did you play today?"
"No water play, Mommy."
"Did you play in the sand-pit?"
"No."
"Then?"
"The ant came in my shoe and bit me!"
"Where, San?"
"Ahaana no water play."
"San. did you play in the grass?"
"Yes, grass!"
"Ughhh!"

I was sure that she didn't play in the grass, and that the rashes were some kinda allergy. And I wasn't agreeing to San's ant-bit-me story, until I spoke to her teacher today. The kids did play out that day, San did not go in the water, and some kids (also a teacher) did go back home with ant bites. And then I wondered when to believe these kids and when not to. Yes, they're good at making up stories, but San has proved me wrong twice already, when I thought she made up a story. I feel so bad, sigh! :(

======================================================================
Coming back to her cute little new words, San told me that she'd been 'clean-upping' the closet. Hoho! She's clever enough to know that the verbs end with an 'ing'. But then, she is yet to know where it goes! She anyway has a long way to go before she understands all that grammar.

And then, even before we start off with the scolding session, she tells (read 'screams') us that 'she understands', with a frown! It's like, "Okay, I've said it cuz' I'm supposed to say it. Don't expect me to mean it too!" 

San says some more

The news is that San can pedal her tricycle now. All thanks to Papa dear! :) Last evening, San was showing off her pedaling skills to me and going very fast. She said, "Look Mommy! I'm fasting!"

We were taking a walk and San spotted a bunch of kids playing basketball. She said, "Mommy see! They're playing soccer."

Yesterday, we were looking at the profiles of the players who are taking part in the Olympics this year. She was watching curiously. Papa dear asked San what she'd like to play - hockey or badminton. She answered, "Hockey in snow".

=======================================================================

Wanna hear something about the Terrible Twos? They're on, and getting worse. A lot of screaming, heaps of stubbornness, loads of furious bubble-blowing, and some biting too. It's just a phase and it shall pass. Phew!

The Twos Xpress

talk slowly, Mommy,
and let me play
i usually ignore
what ever you say

be it night
or be it day
all i wanna do
is scream and play

make some cupcakes
make some tea
make some mess
and then i flee

when you start to eat
is when i wanna pee
when you make that face
i giggle with glee

what you select
is what i can't wear
i'm the king, and
i choose my own pair

i'm a laptop pro
i'm an iPhone pro
how i do that
you'll never know

anywhere, anytime
i can burst into tears
and that i know
is the worst of your fears

now i'm happy
and now i'm sad
now i'm curious
and now i'm mad

but i say thank you
and i say please
these words are magic
i get it all with ease

And the Terrible Twos continue...

Just when I was wondering what terrible twos are all about, San showed me a trailer of what they could be like. It was nothing great - just a don't-wanna-go home scene at school, topped with a don't-wanna-go-in-that-car scene. Oh yes, I did feel embarrassed - not about the scenes, but about not being able to control San. I had to give up in the end and she happily went home in her friend's car, only to present a don't-wanna-come-out-of-the-car scene on reaching home. The day ended on the same note.

What San did was so not like her, but it was her. I never knew that San was capable of doing it. I also understood how other parents feel when their kids act up in public and they watch helplessly, among the mean stares, wicked smiles, and look-at-that-kid and it's-all-parents'-fault conversations of people. I've been a part of such 'people' at times, but it's another world at the other side of the table. 

A good friend told me that it all happens in phases. You have to bear with it and just hope that one day it will pass (only to be replaced by a different one). It goes on.

So just when you'd think that I'll stop telling you the terrible twos stories, I'll be ready to bother you with a new one! ;-)

Here's a little snippet that I wrote after long... does it sound rap-songish to you? :-)

I am you,

I'm the terrible two

Everything's mine

anything I can do.

Whine, I still shine,

and stamp my feet

Scream my lungs out

and accept no defeat.

No, nothing else,

only No I'd say

Scold, tear your hair,

or run you may.

Bear with my acts

in the middle of the street

Songs or howls

enjoy every beat.

==================================================================

On a good note, here's what San's up to these days - solving puzzles, coloring pictures, and building stuff with blocks. :-)

Terrible Twos, what ARE you?

Suddenly, I feel that I'm experiencing the peak of San's Terrible Twos. She's become whiny; if you don't listen to her the first time, or happen to ignore her because you're busy, or because she is in a crazy mood, she acts up with the worst of the whines... sigh! And she's been telling me to do things 'slowly'; things like drying her hair with a towel, making her brush her teeth, combing her hair... I wonder if I've become harsher or she's become more delicate! She always demands the opposite of what I do or offer... quite common in kids, right? Why do they do that? I wanna read her mind!

Kids change avatars like clothes. Just when you're adoring the sweetest smile that she flaunted a while ago, she'll turn it all around with the ugliest scream! But then, even after battling with the different mood swings of your kid throughout the day, you end the day with a smile on your face, as you watch the angel sleep... and you know that all's well cuz' it ended well. (unless she keeps waking you up at odd hours with her sleep-talk and screams! )

I dunno when the Terrible Twos started and I dunno when it'd end. I dunno if it is even there yet! I wonder what it is! :)

==================================================================

One day, for the sake of fun, I gave her the fake-long-hair-look with her towel. San calls it the Flamingo look, I wonder why!

===================================================================

San's new-found love: The Jungle Book. She's even memorized the title song! I'm hooked onto it along with San. :)