Friday, February 5, 2010

Stages

We've been seeing a lot of this lately:













I don't mind telling you. It's starting to wear on me. The clingy, whiney, cry-y kid is not nearly as much fun as the laughing, running, jumping, cavorting one. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of that, too, my kid has more energy than BGE, but the balance has definitely tipped. I know the terrible twos didn't come by that name because they're so darn enjoyable, but I confess that I've been caught off guard by just how HARD this stage is.

What's scarier still is how many of my friends have told me that 3 is the new 2. And is perhaps worse.

Great.

Don't forget to stop by Blogtrotting! We're on a great tour today!!

22 comments:

  1. I have to tell ya that the 3's for my girls was way worse than the 2s. But...the 4s and 5s were rather pleasant.

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  2. I'm with Kat; 4 and 5's with Gabe has rocked. We had some good days with 2 and 3, but the balance of good>bad didn't happen 'til 4.

    Sorry to tell you that.

    Maybe you'll be lucky, and the Bean will skip right through that stage and get it all out of her system with the 2's.

    One can hope, right?

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  3. With my oldest son, we didn't go through a really rough 2 year old stage. 3 was worse. Sorry, hon, but it's true. 4 is MAGIC - they're soooo good when they're 4 and up!
    BUT BUT BUT? My youngest? My perfect little angel baby boy? The happiest child ever? He turned 2, and ... and ... he's in the midst of a SERIOUS case of the terrible twos! It's unbearable sometimes! Even taking off his diaper is the biggest challenge! SIGH

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  4. My boys started the 2's at 18 months...and it ran through the 3's....the youngest son until 5.....The girl has been an on and off kinda girl...we're in the 4's now...so we'll see from here.

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  5. Yup. Summer always wants to "HOLD ME". Noone else will do.

    She tells daddy to GO AWAY! Lol:)

    Sometimes it wears on me. Sometime I really love having my very own sidekick:)

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  6. Just keep telling yourself...preschool will start soon...preschool will start soon!

    Then just substitute every new grade when it's time and WHALLA!

    :)

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  7. I won't tell you that the 3s were worse than the 2s with both of my girls.


    Oops... I just did.

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  8. I have one of those at my heels all the time:O The Little Man is solidly in the threes:P

    You had asked me about Blog Trotting...what do you need from me?

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  9. I am so feeling ya on this post. Yesterday I yelled at Christopher for the bazillionth time then broke down in tears myself. Seems like I've been doing more yelling than constructive play with him lately. He did curl up in my lap and cried along with me which was comforting. I then asked him "Christopher, what happened to us?" He seemed to understand.

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  10. Does it help to tell you that the pain of the 3's is different than the pain of the 2's? Three seems to me a blur of one long tantrum/argument. They start to learn to reason with you, though they suck at it because they're still really babies. But at least they can mostly talk.
    N. is in that clinging thing right now. What happened to my fearless wonder?

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  11. My husband's nickname for our 3-year-old: Surly Girly. Come on, Magic 4s! But can we make it that long??

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  12. Can I get an AMEN!

    Two is terrible and I freaked out about three.

    Hold me!

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  13. Ugh! I know what you mean (and mine are only 18 months)!!! Hang in there!

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  14. Oh, but look at that face....no wonder Jackson does this to me all the time...I'm a big sap when they look pitiful like this!!

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  15. You can forgive a 2 year old faster than a 3 year old. That is my take on the 3 year old phase. That said, I do love this age (though Corinne is 4 and an old lady now...). They're pretty stubborn but pretty damn funny.

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  16. From what I've seen (not a father, just worked in daycare for a while) if you introduce them to new people, like by dropping them off at daycare for a few hours a day for a few days a week, it may break your heart to see them crying as you leave, but soon after the parents would leave (usually 2-4 minutes, but sometimes up to twenty) they start having fun with other kids and the adults. Plus doing this will give you mental health time where you can go see a movie or something like that.

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  17. OMG, the clingy phase - we are kind of past that but not really, 'cause lack of sleep or anything that might turn a mood sour is likely to bring back the clingy phase a bit.

    Don't get me wrong, I love hugs and cuddling and I don't mind picking her up and stuff (as long as I don't have to carry her around - she is heavy) but the whiny thing just gets to me.

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  18. Can I just say that I'm totally reading in between the lines of Shelley's "Happy Day" comment?? Me thinks she just doesn't want to scare you with tales of twos.

    My niece is entering this stage. It's not pretty and I don't deal with it all day, every day. My advice: Stock up on the wine so you can deal with the whine.

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  19. I'm right there with ya, sista - age 3 is coming up in another month, and I can't believe it could get worse!

    Hang in there.

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  20. There is no age to unruly: it's gonna come and go. Just like it comes and goes for me. And I just turned 40.

    There is no "easy" age just as there is no "harder" age.

    Today might suck; tomorrow will be better.

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  21. Ok, so I am totally going to ruin it for you and say, after having 7 kids before my twins, I can say, without a doubt, that 3 is 100 x worse than 2. Two year olds are "bad" but they are exploring. Three year olds are "bad" and they know it. UGH!
    My twins are 3 and they are going to be the death of me!

    PS Popping over from Baltimore Bloggy Bootcamp. I'm going too! Can't wait to mee you.

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Give me some sugar, baby!