Three going on Fifteen

I think I have blogged before about the fact that Sophia goes through occasional stages of "teen-ness." Being obstinate, opinionated, moody and silent by turns. I can't know for a fact that she'll be this way as a teen. I guess I'm hoping that by dealing with it appropriately now I might do away with it little by little in the meantime. (Don't crush my dreams.)

Anyway, last Friday was one of Sophia's teen days. Her behavior all day was actually fine. It was simply attitude and the look in her eye. Asked to do a small task or movement, she would respond with a smirk and denial. I knew that if I asked often enough, it would get done, but I'm not about to beg for action from a preschooler... So consequences came fast and frequently that day. Once I thought we had both had enough, I decided to go for an outing. It was the worst and best idea I could have had. She had moments of sweet temperament and agreeability, followed by bursts of stubbornness only matched by the grittiest and grumpiest.

One such moment came in Old Navy. In the girls' section, there was an entire wall of dresses on sale for $10. I found a very cute little dress and held it up. I was greeted with a sour face and "It's not pretty, I think." Then Sophia proceeded to point out every other single dress on the wall, probably close to twenty of them, and tell me how much she liked them. Again rejecting the one I liked. Sigh. Of course, later when I reflected on the interaction I saw it from her perspective. She just pointed out twenty dresses to my one, and I didn't like any of them...

Perspective could be helpful when this one's a teenager.

Long Week

It has been a pretty long week, and I can't really explain why. Well, two reasons pop to the surface. Sophia has been a bit of a pill. Her worst behavior tends to be followed by her most boisterous laugh, so it's hard to know how to respond without laughing. That's not really true. There have been plenty of times that I wasn't tempted to laugh. The second reason is that I have been TIRED! I don't know why, but I have been exhausted this week. I think it's the mixture of allergies, late night and early mornings.

Sophia's toe is doing pretty well. The nail is still black and loose, but it is hanging on. I'm kind of worried that it will take a long time to come off. Anyway, she is acting just like normal as far as that's concerned.

Yesterday, I took advantage of her attitude to snap a few pictures. She was ignoring me, so it worked out pretty well.

Still ignoring me...

Almost 2 . . . or is it 13?

With a birthday coming up, we've been thinking a lot about this new phase. What we didn't realize was that two would be so much like thirteen. From what I hear (I was a perfect teenager myself), teenage girls can be, um, difficult. Lots of their own opinions, they don't like anything you do, and they seem to already know everything! Enter not-yet-two Sophia.

Sophia has become very independent and it's not always cute - although sometimes it is.

What I didn't mention about Sunday's visit with my parents is that she spent the first 30 minutes or so being taciturn and anti-social. When asked a question, she would gruffly answer and walk away. It's not the typical whiny toddler response she has when she's normally being unpleasant, but it's still unpleasant.

Today, we had another phase of teenage angst. Basically, she just doesn't want anything to do with whatever I suggest. Here she is mulling it over. She's not in trouble here. It's just her way of letting me know she doesn't appreciate my input.

Another time this weekend, she and I were having a disagreement over an established boundary. I don't even remember what it was. She turned and walked to Erick, while pointing back at me. She said, "I'm kind of sad at her." It was very hard not to laugh, but in reality I was proud of her! There was nothing bad about her telling us how she felt or that she disagreed, as long as she was being nice about it. So, she's already learning, and maybe having these "trial runs" will make her teenage years more tolerable.