That explains it!

It occurred to me, a couple of weeks ago.... that my daughter is nearly 4 1/2 years old. Yeah??? So?? You say to yourself... but you see, this was an important light bulb moment for me...... There are cute little sayings about how trying toddlers are.... the "terrible twos" for example..... but how often do you hear a cutesy saying about other ages???? I think there are no sayings because anyone that has made it passed the four-year-old stage (or other trying ages) with both parents and child still intact, is so relieved, that there is no *cute* way LEFT to describe it...... a two year old temper tantrum can be a sight to behold..... but even then, there is still an endearing element to it all...... after all, a two year old is basically still a baby, discovering how the world around reacts to him/her and reacting to the world in turn, but a four year old has already figured that out.... except now, he/she can effectively communicate and has VERY strong opinions to go along with it..... a two year old probably throws him/herself on the floor and cries dramatically, perhaps escalating to some hitting and throwing and maybe some biting... a four year old does that as well, but with some strong arguments, poor language and extra stamina and energy..... EVERYTHING can be a battle for a four year old.....

In our case, Chey skipped the terrible twos (so did Eli, for that matter)... and was the easiest, happiest, sweetest toddler. She did her chores, she ate almost everything, she liked to do things for herself, she didn't have temper tantrums (well, rarely... she did whine, but I wrote that off as a girl thing).... she was EASY...... then a few months ago, things started to shift.... she started to whine... a LOT more, she started to refuse to do her chores or argued about what she was supposed to do, she started calling me names or saying she hated me.... I wondered what went wrong..... that's when the light bulb went off...... Eli also turned at around the same age and we went through a period of about 6 months where I was at a complete loss..... I felt like the worst mother in the universe.... but we made it through and when I spoke to my friends, I discovered that all of their children turned at around the same age...... they may not have done the exact same stuff, but the age from 4-5 was the most difficult for almost all of us........

This was a relief to remember..... I am doing nothing wrong, she is growing and developing and the "F***ing Fours" are a big part of learning independence and developing personality.......

This Too Shall Pass........