Being a Toddler is Hard

If you recorded everything I said during one day, you would hear a lot of...

"Please put that down..."
"Please don't dump that......uuuugh....."
"I can't understand you when you're whining."
"You can play with _____ when you put away _____."

Please clean up your flash cards...

Along with the word, "Charlie" about 10,000 times. In the grand scheme of things, Charlie is a very good kid; he's generally quiet and amiable, can play independently, and I can safely leave him in a room alone for more than five seconds and not return to complete destruction.

When it comes down to it, however, he is two and a half and being a toddler is tough. Most things in your environment are not made in your size, don't belong to you, and can be considered death traps if you're creative enough. People generally can't understand you, don't agree with you, and constantly insist you go places/do things that you don't want to do. It's frustrating and the whine, the cry, and the occasional meltdown are direct results.

Recently, I came upon the most perfect explanation of having a toddler - "Reasons My Son is Crying." It is hysterical because its true. Recent things that made Charlie whine/cry/meltdown are...

I wouldn't let him wear a hoodie in 80 degree weather.
He ran around the living room screaming and riled up the puppy, who eventually ran him over.
I changed his dirty diaper.
I ate something in front of him.
I wouldn't let him stick a crayon in his sister's nose.
He was hungry, but couldn't remember the word "hungry."
I didn't let him eat his coloring book.
The sticker he threw in the dirt wouldn't stick anymore.

No toddler is exempt from the occasional meltdown and I knew it was guaranteed once Ginny arrived. Hey, the baby cries and gets all kinds of attention, why can't I? Though it is pretty solid logic, it drives me batty. As we ignore the whine and respond to the talking, he's slowly getting better, but its been a long (and slightly funny) seven weeks.

All of this is part of growing up and as much as its frustrating now, I know we'll miss the funny things he says, does, and flips out over at this age. They grow up too fast to wish it away. Even the tantrums.