Is three harder than two?

Since blogging takes the place of keeping a journal, it's only fair to write about everything, right? Not that I hide things, but sometimes it's just much, much easier to talk about how sweet and precious our little girl is, than to talk about the trenches of parenting. The other day I was thinking, though, that someday Kendall is going to ask questions like, "What was I like when I was two?" or "How did I behave?" "What did you do when I acted up?" and I'm not going to remember. I know that sounds crazy, but she's not even three yet, and I can barely remember what she was like when she was a baby!

Kendall really is, for the most part,a sweet child. She likes to talk and while she may act shy when first meeting someone, she warms up rather quickly. Most people are amazed at how well she can communicate and verbalize things. It really is fun spending my day with a little talker. And the memory! Wow! Some of the things she remembers just blows me away.

However, there is a curse to her verbal-ness. It's that she has something to say after everything lately. For example, I could say, "Kendall, the sun is shining outside" and she would say, "No it's not." And not just say it, but say it with an attitude.

And the fits! WOW! This kid has been throwing some mad-fits lately. I remember going through somewhat of a similar phase with her last summer, but it seemed easily corrected I guess. Of course she's thrown fits here and there, but it seems like they are getting longer and louder. I've heard lots of moms say that three is a harder age than two and I'm beginning to wonder...

I know it's just part of parenting and I'm okay with it. (Not okay with the fits and sassy mouth, but okay with having to deal with it.) It's both frustrating and sad. Frustrating because I feel like we take two steps forward, then three steps back; sad because I hate seeing my little girl be so disobedient. It seems like we've had to step it up a notch on the discipline meter, since there is no way her daddy or I will let her get away with acting out or talking so ugly. It's just not the way we roll around here.

But then I see myself. I see how God uses the disobedience of my child to keep me on my knees. I see how I quickly I learn scripture like James 1:19 (Be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry) so we can teach it to Kendall and use it throughout the day with her. I see how ready I am to receive encouragement from other moms going through the same things,how quickly I take advice from the seasoned moms, and how much it increases the dialogue between Evan and me. I see how much grace I receive from my Heavenly Father and try to pass that along to my girl.

While it's hard, it's all good, and everyday I am thankful.