More Antics and Observations

* Little L likes to interject every so often in our conversations with, "Hmm? I wonder..." I think she got that from a Berenstain Bears book.

* Sometimes when we read books now, we will do so in fill-in-the-blank fashion and let Little L finish the sentences.  It is surprising how many words she has remembered from each page of each book.  Alarming, actually.

* "S" is proving to be a challenging consonant for Little L sometimes.  Instead of saying, "I sit!" when she plops herself down on her step stool, it sounds more like, "I sh!t!"

* Little L is really identifying with the subject-adjective/noun format in her sentences, particularly when the subject is "I" and the adjective or noun is something kind of obscure and not really even a word sometimes.  Example: "I shouter!" "I loud!" "I light!" "I sweet!"

* My dear girl has started repeating simple sentences, like "I like it!" Sometimes she will read along in her books (like Hop on Pop) and I can almost make out every word from the page.  It's like she already knows how the page should sound, but it's just a matter of slowing down and articulating every syllable that she has yet to master.

* Temper tantrums and power struggles have commenced.  If she doesn't want to do something, Little L will say, "No no!" but not in a defiant tone.  Rather, she will use a sing-song tone that is similar to what you might use if you're warning someone, "Let's not do that;" it's adorable.  If she wants you to read, she will command you with the word, "Read!" and then turn on her waterworks if you don't immediately start.  And when she thinks you've been bad, she will tap you gently and say, "Bad! Bad!" followed by a long nonsensical sentence that I presume is her way of telling you how you've been bad.

Whoever said that toddlers are a bit like teenagers were so totally right, except of course toddlers still like to cuddle and they still poop themselves.  Plus, their vocabulary is still limited.  The stubbornness, emotional outbursts, and refusal to listen are pretty similar, however.  And though we haven't had to do any form of "discipline" yet, we have had to start letting her pitch her fit when it's an issue of her just freaking out because she isn't getting her way.  When she is upset or there is a root cause, however, we've begun trying to label her feelings and empathize, using distraction to help redirect her attention and holding her tight to help her know that she is loved and safe.  Naively, I hope that things don't get more intense than this (ha! I know you're laughing at me now), because I am just not very good at holding my ground against this face:

Yeah, you wouldn't be, either.