3 going on 13.

Depending on the day, a nap can look like this:

A few days ago, when she woke up from a nap, she whipped back the covers to show me that she had put shoes on while she slept. She is fairly proud of her sneakiness.

The age of 3 is a really different world than 2. 

When she was just a little baby, I used to think of the years ahead, mostly fearing that day I'd be in public and she would have a meltdown with tons of strangers staring at me and judging me and my tantruming child...

Now that happens like, every other day. Okay not really. But variations of that scenario happen so much that it barely phases me. Well, in the moment I'm usually super frustrated and trying to self- talk myself into keeping myself calm and the situation under control. I can feel people staring (like in the mall, haha) but can manage to block everybody out and just do what I need to do.

Examples of the most common melt down situations happen when we have to leave preschool and she is playing and doesn't want to get it in the car.

or

We have to leave a friend's house and she doesn't want to go home.

or

She wants to keep watching her show on the computer but it's nap time.

The list goes on.

You think to yourself, "She's 3! She's so independent, so big, she says long sentences and tells funny jokes. How can she still be crying like an infant when she's grumpy, annoyed and doesn't want to do what I say?" When that big, mad cry comes, she looks exactly how she did when she was tiny. 

Three has put us in our place so many times. We weren't planning on using "the spank". We didn't predict the back talking happening this young. We never really thought about the little attitudes that spring up like they are 3 going on 13. 

Because these things and more have caught me off guard, my response to it all has been delayed. I've had to sort of back track and toughen up more than I had been previously. I've had to set firm boundaries and rules in the house, and follow through with appropriate consequences when they're broken or else this little person was going to be the boss of the house instead of Kenton and I. (This book has helped us a lot, to our happy surprise.) This all sounds obvious to some I'm sure. I thought it was too when we first started out with her. But somehow this new phase of parenting crept in that we hadn't anticipated or prepared ourselves for and we got a wake up call when we realized we didn't feel in charge anymore.

That being said, we still don't do things perfectly. There are SO many moments where Wren does or says something that I'm not sure how to respond to. I think to myself, "Am I doing this right??".  I find myself hoping people around me aren't judging my parenting style too harshly. Now, I'm not posting this so people think better of me and I feel better of myself. I just know I enjoy reading posts like this that are honest and open and remind me how we are all fumbling around in our lives as parents (or just our lives in general) trying to figure it out, and that is okay.

And then I remember that we will go through it all again with Ellie...crap! ;)