Tantrums

Last night at bedtime we experienced the most epic 2-year-old tantrum to date. Gabbie is definitely not the kind of kid who calms down through crying; she just gets more and more upset until she's practically hyperventilating and we need to step in to calm her down. This kind of sucks because she gets the attention she wants which doesn't help to discourage the tantrums. But, she was over-tired (she has had short naps two days in a row, plus she refused to nap over the weekend), over-sugared, and over-indulged (it's hard not to give her what she wants these days because I feel guilty about how much her world is about to change without her having a choice in the matter), and she just lost it.

Also not helping the situation was the fact that Aaron and I couldn't help but laugh, something that sets her off even more because she gets embarrassed.

We finally got her calmed down and she was, of course, asleep two minutes later. Oh, Two. Two is interesting to say the least.

She's not the only one who regularly loses it these days, either. I am having a very hard time with concentration and patience, which doesn't lend itself well to finishing up tasks at home and work, or when dealing with a two-year-old. Last week I was feeling overwhelmed, over-tired (she's definitely not the only one; we're all exhausted these days), and it was my turn to lose it. Aaron laughed at me a little as I burst in to tears, exclaiming, "Everything is going to change!" (um, duh), and "How is my baby (Gabbie) going to handle it?" (As Aaron pointed out, we (both oldest children) and several million other oldest children have handled it just fine for thousands of years).

Someone else in our house, who shall not be named here, also threw a mini-fit about potato chips (or, really, the lack of) and how I need to replace what I finish off when I go shopping.

We're all clearly a little anxious. Even though I want the baby to show up now (GET OUT BABY!), I'll be fine with her coming next week, because then at least I'll be done with work (2.5 days left!) and then some of the anxiety will be alleviated. We're also reducing Gabbie's days in daycare during my leave, so hopefully that will also help her relax. I'm looking forward to a day of just the two of us together if we get it. If not, well, of course I have something else I can be excited about.