Uh Oh

I just took a trip down memory lane and was reading old blog posts. In many a post, I said something like "thank god this is just a phase." But...I realize that I kept saying that over and over about the same things!! Things I thought were phases have turned out to be just part of her temperament.

Namely, the strident, obstinate "I am going to do it my way, on my timetable, on my terms, and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it" attitude. Who am I kidding? I'm completely at her mercy. I have no control whatsoever. I'm terrified of the teenage years!!

Fortunately, the biting has stopped. It took about 2 years. Now we're down to scratching, hitting, and hair pulling. *sigh*

And the sleeping. I've always thought of her as a "good sleeper." But looking back on the posts, I see how much WORK we had to do to make her be what amounts to about an average sleeper. She's still a handful at bedtime. Just doesn't want to go down.

Finally, and thankfully, the sweetness and joyful spark are still there. Morning reunions after a night of sleeping in separate beds are oh-so-cuddly. "I love you" still makes an occasional appearance. She is greatly concerned for the comfort and well-being of her many stuffed animals, making sure they are properly fed, blanketed, pushed in the stroller, and comforted when they are crying. She's just full of energy and positively glows while enjoying the simplest pleasures, like jumping on the bed.

I can't wait to shake this miserable cold/infection I've got so I can keep up with her again!

Holiday Highlights

Hana's 2012 NY's resolutions include no more hitting, kicking, or otherwise abusing mommy; rediscovering that it really IS more fun to go in the potty than to deliberately pee on the floor and watch mommy blow a gasket; and agreeing to put clothes on in the morning, every morning, without a knock down drag out WWF-style confrontation that ultimately results in arriving at school naked. (OK, so those are MY new year's resolutions for her...)

I do love this girl, but I must admit I am really really hoping that the oppositional behavior has peaked and we are on a trajectory towards relative peace and calm. The good news is that she is a perfect angel at school and in most social situations. It's mostly with me and sometimes with Pete that the devil appears. I suppose it's all normal, but consistent with her temperament, Hana does 'normal' with great flair and intensity.

Hana had a great holiday, traversing the midwest and visiting with Coan and Geckeler relatives. She was quite excited about Santa. The first thing she said when her eyes opened on Christmas morning were, "I don't think Santa came!!" She hadn't heard him come in, so she was worried he might have forgotten. So we had to go out and see if he's eaten the cookie and eggnog, which he had.

Oh, and apparently she's a ping pong prodigy. Who knew?

Beach Bum or Snow Bunny?

Halloween

Tiny Adult

Potty training. Check. (Big girl underpants all day, every day. Woo hoo!)

Literacy. Check. (Can write an "H." Can recognize "M" and "D.")

Driving. Check. (Helps me park the car at home.)

Ornery when doesn't get nap. (Same as me.)

Doesn't like to clean up messes. (Ditto.)

Makes powerful and convincing arguments about why things should be done her way. (Future attorney?)

It is very challenging to maintain parental authority, credibility, and control with a 2 year old who thinks she is an adult. Fortunately, she is such a good-natured fun-loving kid that the terrible twos are really not so terrible after all. While there are fleeting moments of terrible-ness, they are far outweighed by delight. If I can get her on film showing off her dancing moves, you will see what I mean.

The Whopper

Hana told her first full-fledged, pre-meditated, manipulative lie this past Sunday as we were driving home from Tahoe.

It all began with predictable whining about wanting to get out of the car. After all, it is a long drive, and it's no fun being stuck in the car seat all that time. About 20 minutes from home, she notified us that she needed to go potty. I told her it was OK to go in her diaper and that we weren't near a potty. The next 5 minutes went something like this:

H: I need to poop.
Me: OK, you can go in your diaper.
H: [grunt, grunt, grunt] I pooped. I need a change.
Me: Hmmmm, Pete, what do you think? Can we make it home or should we stop and change her?
H: I need a change!!!!!
Me: OK, guess we should stop.
H: Mommy, do you have a plastic bag for the poopy diaper?
Me: Not sure, I'll have to check.
H: [As we are pulling into a gas station, Hana sprouted a giant grin] Actually, I didn't poop.

She knows that when she poops she needs to be changed right away, and she used that to get us to let her out of the car!!! The whole diaper thing has now become her ticket to get what she wants. She uses it at night - holds it until after I've put her to bed, then poops, then I have to get her out and change her. Last night she even took off her diaper in her crib so I would have to come in and deal with it.

Sheesh!

On another note, we had a wonderful first camping experience in the preschool back yard. Here are some photos.

Toddler Heaven

What more could a toddler want than to meet Curious George and get her face painted like Spiderman all in one weekend?

Last Friday evening, we all went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum (thanks for the membership Grandma and Grandpa Geckeler!) for a special event - meeting Curious George. Actually, the main event was a musical performance, but obviously the highlight of the evening was meeting George. The museum was well-prepared for the stir his appearance caused. George had his own bodyguard/handler that kept him safe and moved him along through the throngs of groping toddlers and hoards of parents with cameras. Hana was quite excited to meet him, although a bit nervous about getting too up close and personal without one of us right by her side. She did give him a high five though.

Then on Saturday it was "Kids Fun Day" at her preschool, where she got her face painted. Despite the best efforts of the (ahem) "traditional" volunteer parent who tried to steer her towards a princess or a butterfly design, she picked the Spiderman face out of the book of pictures. So that's what she got. I was a little worried she might be scared when she saw herself in the mirror, but she took it all in good stride. She had a nap afterwards and when she woke up, she said "Mommy, want to see the Spiderman all over the crib?" The paint was all over her sheets.

On another note, Hana has developed a serious case of the "why's." No response is ever sufficient explanation. Tonight I was patting her belly to help her go to sleep and I stopped and she said, "Mommy, why did you stop?" I said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, it was an accident." The response: "But mommy, why did you stop though?" After several fruitless attempts to claim it was an accident, I finally said, "Because Mommy's brain wandered and thought of something else and forgot to tell her hand to keep patting you" to which she responded "Oh."