Liesl has been going through her own transitions, some of her own making, and others not. She has definitely left behind the very sweet and malleable stage that
we had been enjoying so much, and is showing her stubborn side. We're seeing all the markers of the terrible two's - the desire to do everything on her own, to make her own choices, to communicate her desires and thoughts, accompanied by some truly outstanding temper tantrums. She screams and cries, she throws herself on the floor, she'll kick and hit you... and then it'll pass, immediately, if she gets her way. Or if you ignore her and leave the room. She totally gets the concept of the faked tantrum and has mastered the fake tears to accompany it.
Of course, it's not all bad. Most of the time she's very affectionate, and will hug and cuddle and kiss us, and she is always very sympathetic when Sebastian is hurt. (Even if he just has a time out in his room, she'll go hang out by the gate to keep him company.) She loves to play with her baby dolls - she lines them up, she puts them to sleep, she reads them stories, she takes them for walks. It's adorable. She loves playdough and coloring with markers. And she especially loves to climb and jump and run.
One of her funniest phrases is "No Baba!" - accompanied by an
imperious pointer finger. Baba is Sebastian, and its how she
communicates her displeasure with his actions or his presence. It cracks
us up and we have to remember not to laugh and encourage her. She says
"Own" a lot, as in, this is my own, and not yours, so go get your own.
Copying her brother, she'll say "cool" and "no way!". I love the way
she says "tumb", for thumb. She can't really say her own name yet, so
we've encouraged her to call herself Elfie, the nickname Steve and I
originally intended to give her. She likes it and will now respond to
Elfie or Liesl, and say Elfie in reference to herself.
She's trying out the potty, and has managed to pee a few times in
the potty seat. Unfortunately, she really really wants to pee standing
up like Sebastian, which is funny and cute and kind of sad. I try to
show her that she's too short, and missing the necessary part, but she's
really focused on it. Especially when we're outside - she'll drop trou
and try to pee on a tree. But I've promised her chocolate, which
she adores and calls "choc-choc", if she'll sit and pee in the potty, and that has
gotten her attention.
Since Happy Harbor closed its doors in August, we had to find her a new daycare. We started her at one place in Hastings in late August, but had doubts from the beginning. The teachers seemed overwhelmed by just the most basic child care tasks and didn't actively engage with the children very much at all. Liesl's classroom was strangely bereft of toys, and the outdoor play area was tiny and boring. And even though one of her best friends from HH was also at the school, they wouldn't put them into the same classroom, because they're three months apart in age and the school strictly enforces six-month age groupings for the toddlers. Which makes no sense. Liesl just didn't like it - would repeatedly ask not to go there, and cried every day at drop off.
So... we found a different place - the Elizabeth Mascia Center, in Tarrytown. She started there last Monday and had a terrific first day. Steve stayed for a couple of hours in the morning and then left her for the rest of the day, and she apparently ate a good lunch, had a long nap, and loved playing outdoors on the playground. I dropped her off Tuesday and Wednesday, again staying for an hour to ease the transition, and she barely made a peep when I left. So we're already feeling better about the situation. My guess is that part of her recent crankiness has to be connected with all of these big changes in her everyday care situation - it makes her tired and anxious. We feel confident that we've settled again for a while, though, and hopefully she'll start being a bit less domineering. Or not. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment