Thursday, May 20, 2010

life with a toddler.

Cassidy attends Little Gym classes each Thursday. Each week has a theme. Today's theme was "Your Enchanted Child" & the teacher talked about how much & how quickly children change, particularly at this age. She mentioned how they could change in a matter of 5 weeks...to which I responded, "Or a matter of 5 minutes or 5 seconds!"

I'm clearly not the first person to raise a child or have a strong-willed toddler. Each day has it's ups & downs, blissful squeals & raging screams. According to Mary Sheedy Kurcinka, the author of Raising Your Spirited Child, spirited children fall somewhere into the spectrum of the following nine traits: intensity, persistence, sensitivity, perceptiveness, adaptability, regularity, energy, first reaction & mood. Things that may not necessarily bother or trigger another child will cause a scene for my darling girl. 

As a parent I've learned to be a master of prevention...always carrying snacks, staying on a nap schedule, constantly introducing new distractions or activities at home or on errands. It's kind of exhausting, quite honestly. I've had to recognize my somewhat "spirited" self in the process of learning to parent. I never would have guessed that I'd have to give myself a timeout because a two-year old was getting on my very.last.nerve.ever. I probably wouldn't have guessed how excited I'd get over watching ants march down the driveway or using the potty or playing with Dora either.

Amidst the meltdowns about putting the milk away or having her chair in not quite the right place - Cassidy is growing into an enchanted, beautiful, thoughtful little girl. And perhaps too quickly for her mommy's liking. Life with our toddler is a daily adventure. I'm such a thankful & lucky mom to get to grow & learn with her.

4 comments:

Rathi said...

Motherhood is definitely a lot of work and persistence... i have given my mum a hard time.... maybe my daughter will take the revenge on me... haha

Sarah Kimmel said...

My daughter is definitely in the spirited category. It's a challenge on most days.

Unknown said...

Challenge is a good word for it, glad to hear I'm not the only one!

CoconutPalmDesigns said...

I'm currently reading Raising Your Spirited Child and anxiously awaiting Sleepless in America, also by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. It's good to know my son isn't the only one who goes from hysterical laughter to screaming in a matter of minutes.

Stopping by from SITS to welcome you!

Cheers :-)
- CoconutPalmDesigns