Oh, this girl!

EVERYONE says the transition from one to two is the worst, and I believe it! We knew after all our help left, we would be in detox mode with the above child, and it's been tough. She is a smart little cookie and knows how to work things for sure. I am very thankful that she looovveees Arden, but I'm sad because she pretty much hates me right now. I know this will pass; I just hope it's sooner than later because this mama is TIRED!!

Most of the behaviors we are seeing from her are things we've already seen out of her, but are just escalated a bit. LOTS of whining and crying, LOTS of grumbling and complaining, and LOTS of struggles with first time obedience. She's also in this phase I like to call badgering, where she will ask a question, and even if we give her the answer, she keeps asking (even if it is a yes answer) over and over again. And then there is the constant talking....Oh, my!

However, the Lord has a way of helping us continue to love our children, even when they are acting in ways that we don't like and completely exhaust us. Kendall has said some GREAT things lately worth remembering....

During family worship Monday night, we were going over the catechism questions. One says, "Can you see God?" and the answer is "No, but He always sees me." Kendall replied with, "No, but Mamaw can."

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Tuesday was a rough day. Long story and too much to blog, but I had to follow through on something that Evan and I told Kendall we were going to do if she complained about not liking her room or her toys again. (We packed them up and put them all in the basement and she is in the process SLOWLY earning them back.) Anyway, at the end of the day, this conversation went down:

Me: "Do you miss playing with any of your toys?"

Kendall: "Yes, my dress up clothes." 

Me: "Anything else?"

Kendall: "Yes. PawPaw."

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I am a fan of Dr. Rosemond's articles. I don't read them enough, but went to his website earlier this week as we were struggling with what to do with Kendall. He uses a "tell them that the doctor said" approach a lot, and I thought I'd give it a try. It has actually worked for a couple of things so far. However, yesterday, when I was fixing Kendall's snack she said, "Hey, didn't the doctor tell you I needed to drink more chocolate milk?"

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We were taking a walk yesterday and I had to stop and get something out of my shoe. The conversation went like this:

Kendall: "What's the matter, mommy?"

Me: "Oh, something is sticking me in my sock."

Kendall: "It's probably just glue."