You Tell Us, Ava
Our strong-willed little girl, are you ever pushing the limits, now that you are 20 months old. You are going to do everything that you KNOW you shouldn't do, all with a smile on your face, just to see how we respond.
You are going to fill things up with water, run quickly to the other room, and dump them on the carpet, on the floor, or on yourself, and then you are going to get mad when your Mommy and Daddy take the cups and buckets away.
You are going to repeatedly go into rooms, close the door, and then cry because you are stuck. You are not going to either listen or understand that when your Daddy and I say to you, "Ava, do not close the door, because you are going to cry," or "Ava, do not close the door," and without question, you are going to cry. Soon, I am sure, you are going to get your finger stuck in the door, because it will just be worth it to you to smile at us while we ask you not to, and then do it anyways.
You are going to demand that we get something for you, but then refuse to say please. When we say, "say please, Ava" you are going to say "No!' and then cry because you are not getting what you are demanding. You are going to demand it up to 5 times, through tears and yells, before you just give in and say, "please."
You are going to squish the cat in the gate at the top of the stairs, or pick up his bowl of ice and dump it on him, or step on his tail or poke him in the eye, and even though your Mommy and Daddy remind you that Sawyer is starting to get mad, inevitably, one of these days, he is going to hit you back, just as your Mommy and Daddy warned you he might.
You are going to fill your bath toys up with water and throw them out of the tub and you are going to stand up in the bathtub even though Mommy and Daddy have both told you to sit down because you might fall or actually sat you back down. You are going to fall, like you did last month, and hit your head on the tub, but eventually, you will figure it out. Right?
You are going to ask your Mommy or Daddy, or Gramma or Grampa to do something, and if they do not do it, you are either going to say "Puhhhhlease!" or you are going to grab our hands and lead us to what it is that you want us to do. You are not going to take no for an answer because "no" is just not an option in your world.
You are going to want to stay at the park, or at the party (or at Party in the Park!) all night, spending your time dancing and playing. You are going to run away when we tell you it is almost time to go, and then you are going to run away again when we tell that it is now time to go. You are going to scream when we try to lead you or pick you up to leave and you are going to fight for us to let you down. So far, we are lucky that you get over these tantrums in record time.
In addition to this is a little story. Miss. Ava, we took you to Party in the Park in Chilliwack this week, where several streets in downtown Chilliwack are shut down to play host to food trucks, vendors, face painters, bouncy castles and live music. We started at the music and were so amazed and proud to see how independent and free you were. There were so many kids out there dancing to the music, and you were so excited to leave your Mommy and Daddy and join in with the kids. Your Daddy and I took a front row seat with the rest of the music-lovers and made sure we could always see you. You joined in with the kids, and every now and then would take a few steps closer to us just to make sure that we were still there, and then run back into the crowd where you would dance, laugh, and play with the others kids.
After 15 minutes or so, we decided to go check out the rest of the event, much to your dismay. You made it very clear that what you wanted was to stay and dance, but like always, your tantrum ended quickly and you found other things to catch your eye.
Like we promised, after a half hour, we returned to the music, where there was another musician on stage. You took up on the dance floor, just as you had left of earlier in the night, and gave it your everything. You RAN, and ran and rain, and DANCED just as hard, and every now and then, paused to look between your legs at the other kids dancing. After about a half an hour, it was very clear to us that you were ready to crash and burn, but your legs could just not stop dancing. Your eyes had glazed over, you were longer focusing on anything, and to be honest, you looked much like a zombie. Your Daddy jokes that you kept checking in with us because you wanted us to rescue you, because you were so, so tired, but you just COULD NOT stop dancing. You sweet thing, we love you so much.
Our darling girl, you are not lacking in communication skills and you have dozens of ways to get your message across. I respect that you are learning about boundaries and rules and I also understand that this "phase" is likely to continue for several years. Please know, that even when we have to tell you "no," or correct your behaviour, we love you SO very much and always will.
You are going to fill things up with water, run quickly to the other room, and dump them on the carpet, on the floor, or on yourself, and then you are going to get mad when your Mommy and Daddy take the cups and buckets away.
You are going to repeatedly go into rooms, close the door, and then cry because you are stuck. You are not going to either listen or understand that when your Daddy and I say to you, "Ava, do not close the door, because you are going to cry," or "Ava, do not close the door," and without question, you are going to cry. Soon, I am sure, you are going to get your finger stuck in the door, because it will just be worth it to you to smile at us while we ask you not to, and then do it anyways.
You are going to demand that we get something for you, but then refuse to say please. When we say, "say please, Ava" you are going to say "No!' and then cry because you are not getting what you are demanding. You are going to demand it up to 5 times, through tears and yells, before you just give in and say, "please."
You are going to squish the cat in the gate at the top of the stairs, or pick up his bowl of ice and dump it on him, or step on his tail or poke him in the eye, and even though your Mommy and Daddy remind you that Sawyer is starting to get mad, inevitably, one of these days, he is going to hit you back, just as your Mommy and Daddy warned you he might.
You are going to fill your bath toys up with water and throw them out of the tub and you are going to stand up in the bathtub even though Mommy and Daddy have both told you to sit down because you might fall or actually sat you back down. You are going to fall, like you did last month, and hit your head on the tub, but eventually, you will figure it out. Right?
You are going to ask your Mommy or Daddy, or Gramma or Grampa to do something, and if they do not do it, you are either going to say "Puhhhhlease!" or you are going to grab our hands and lead us to what it is that you want us to do. You are not going to take no for an answer because "no" is just not an option in your world.
You are going to want to stay at the park, or at the party (or at Party in the Park!) all night, spending your time dancing and playing. You are going to run away when we tell you it is almost time to go, and then you are going to run away again when we tell that it is now time to go. You are going to scream when we try to lead you or pick you up to leave and you are going to fight for us to let you down. So far, we are lucky that you get over these tantrums in record time.
In addition to this is a little story. Miss. Ava, we took you to Party in the Park in Chilliwack this week, where several streets in downtown Chilliwack are shut down to play host to food trucks, vendors, face painters, bouncy castles and live music. We started at the music and were so amazed and proud to see how independent and free you were. There were so many kids out there dancing to the music, and you were so excited to leave your Mommy and Daddy and join in with the kids. Your Daddy and I took a front row seat with the rest of the music-lovers and made sure we could always see you. You joined in with the kids, and every now and then would take a few steps closer to us just to make sure that we were still there, and then run back into the crowd where you would dance, laugh, and play with the others kids.
After 15 minutes or so, we decided to go check out the rest of the event, much to your dismay. You made it very clear that what you wanted was to stay and dance, but like always, your tantrum ended quickly and you found other things to catch your eye.
Like we promised, after a half hour, we returned to the music, where there was another musician on stage. You took up on the dance floor, just as you had left of earlier in the night, and gave it your everything. You RAN, and ran and rain, and DANCED just as hard, and every now and then, paused to look between your legs at the other kids dancing. After about a half an hour, it was very clear to us that you were ready to crash and burn, but your legs could just not stop dancing. Your eyes had glazed over, you were longer focusing on anything, and to be honest, you looked much like a zombie. Your Daddy jokes that you kept checking in with us because you wanted us to rescue you, because you were so, so tired, but you just COULD NOT stop dancing. You sweet thing, we love you so much.
Our darling girl, you are not lacking in communication skills and you have dozens of ways to get your message across. I respect that you are learning about boundaries and rules and I also understand that this "phase" is likely to continue for several years. Please know, that even when we have to tell you "no," or correct your behaviour, we love you SO very much and always will.
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