Attitude Check

As the kids near their two year mark, their little attitudes are coming into full view. True to their toddler status, they each throw countless fits & have ridiculous meltdowns daily. We're trying to be tough about disciplining for such behavior, but I'm sure it may take some time to see results. The thing that boggles my mind lately, though, is not the fits but the fact that they can just be so sassy!

Enjoying some Sunday morning cartoons in their favorite positions on my couch
Case in point: A couple of weeks ago, we went for our usual Monday morning grocery trip, & Jake was not exactly cooperative. As I was putting him in the car, I said, "Jake, you were not a very sweet boy while we were shopping." His response? "So?" Are you kidding me? Where do kids learn these things? I don't actually think he knew what he was saying, but my jaw-dropping reaction got some giggles out of him, which caused him to repeat "So? So? So?" while laughing.

Clearly the TV was too interesting for picture smiles that morning
Mallory's attitude is probably even worse, & she seems to enjoy pushing my buttons. She's gotten into the habit of running the opposite direction when I say it's time to go upstairs (or anywhere else, for that matter). Being chased is one of her favorite things, so she stands on the other side of the room grinning until I come & get her. In an effort to nip this in the bud, even though it's cute, I told her on one such occasion to get over to the stairs before I counted to three. I counted slowly, she didn't budge, I got her & scolded her & we headed upstairs. The next day when I told her we were going upstairs, she ran across the room, turned back to face me & began to taunt. She shook her little hips back & forth & said, "Two..." because that's the only number she really knows. Seriously? In the last week or so, she seems to be improving, but I'm sure we'll be on to something else soon.

Our household joke is that they get their sassyness from their daddy. :) Parenting sure isn't dull!