Lesson Learned

My daughter is going through a really annoying phase right now. Her physical and verbal achievements, while rewarding to see on the whole, bring a new level of irritation at times, along the lines of:

• Sliding the chairs across the kitchen tile (the very sound of which umpteen times a day drives me crazy), to climb up and reach things on the counter top.
• On the rare occasion she listens to me, and doesn't use the chairs, she'll resort to hanging off the counter top and attempt to scale the cabinet face as if practicing rock climbing for some future Mission Impossible movie.
• Opening and closing the fridge and freezer door accompanied by repeated bursts of 'I want sumpin to eat!' over, and over and over again! (and it doesn't matter that she ate not five minutes ago).

I realise that she's exploring, and my job is to redirect (over and over and over again!). I also realise this is about control - but I'm about ready for a break.

The most annoying thing about this latest round of explorations is when I answer and suggest 'sumpin' to eat, we go through a list, raisins? NO, yogurt? NO, applesauce? NO, cheese? NO crackers? NO, and so it goes on.

Soooo - as I feel the tell tale, throat tightening, nose snuffling signs of a cold coming on, today's options will be 'Take it?' (NO) 'Leave it'.

This mommy is sometimes slow, but she gets there in the end - a lesson learned.