The above quote is there because of Lydia's recent comment she made (not while watching Beethoven, but watching High School Musical 2): "I want to get marry and I want a dog." She cracks me up!
Before I post Lydia's super cute July 4th photos, I have to talk about the "Trying Threes"...just so I don't forget about it later on.
The thing about three-year olds...they KNOW what you are saying, they KNOW the rules, and they KNOW how to push you to your limit. I don't know if Lydia has just been exhausted from this busy week or is finally become a "trying three-year old". Whatever it is, Lydia is definitely trying my patience.
The past few days she has thrown a tantrum about everything, from the fact that I don't have three blankets on my bed to her ice melting in her cup. Nothing is safe from Lydia's tantrums. When she misbehaves after a warning, she goes straight to time out (now that Daddy's home, I am teaching him to be more consistent with these time outs), but if she starts screaming and crying uncontrollably with now clear reason, she goes straight to her bedroom. Sometimes she stops crying in her room, sometimes me coming back after a minute or two calms her down. Time out has always worked well for Lydia. She needs her alone time and I need mine - both of us need time to cool off.
Today, she was very well-behaved while at the music store (went a little hyper, but no tantrums and listened pretty well to Daddy), but on the way to Michael's she started throwing a fit because I couldn't reach her juice cup, and neither could she. There was screaming and whining and it was driving me mad. Finally, I came up with the great idea of bribing. Michael's is right next to the Dollar Store, which is always a great place for a kid - everything is only $1! So, I tell her that if she stops fussing and is a good girl while we're at Michael's, she will get a special treat from the Dollar Store. This immediately quiets her and she sits calmly in her car seat until we get to Michael's. And at Michael's, she is well behaved and there are no tantrums! Yeah!
We get to the Dollar Store and she immediately starts looking for something. First she picks out a water sprayer (she has seen these before and wanted them, haha). Then she picks out Dora the Explorer stickers. And then, while I was walking down an aisle, she picked out a Dora the Explorer coloring book. And she wanted ALL THREE things. Daddy tells her that she has been so good, that she can have two things - the Dora stickers and coloring book. This maker her happy, until she remembers the word "treat". To her, a coloring book and stickers are not "treats" - M&M's are treats. I decide that we can get the M&M's (I like to have chocolate in the house to bribe her, haha) and save them for home. This makes her happy. Until we get to the car. Then she wants the M&M's. But, when we tell her that the Dora book and stickers will go bye-bye if she keeps fussing, she immediately stops! And she was very good at Sam's Club where we had lunch.
For Lydia and me, bribing works. I know not everyone likes the idea of bribing your children, but when it works, it works. As long as we are consistent with it - as in, we only give her something when she does what we asked, and then that we give her it once she does what we want - it will work.
And on to cuteness - looking at these pictures, you will never guess the tantrums this girl can throw!
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