Is This What They're Talking About??

So you forever hear the phrase "the terrible 2's", and upon that arrival of the infamous 2nd birthday, you wince your eyes, brace yourself (maybe crawl into a cave out of fear of that emerging "terrible" child who was once so endearing), and...wait for it...and (for us)...keeping waiting for it...Then when days pass, you take a breath...when weeks pass, you come out of your cave, and when months pass, you wonder "what the heck were they all talking about?"...and you soon move on in happy delight your toddler is just as delightful as he was before he turned two.

Then for us, the third birthday comes.

Nobody talks about the terrible 3's.

And frankly that's the last time I'll refer to it as the terrible...yes, the emotions are trying, but really? Terrible? I think not. Should be the frustrating 3's. :)

Anyway, so yes. I think we might be there? All I know is oh.my.word. over the past few weeks there has been a major increase in whining, defiance, slow obedience, crying, and all out tantrums. What happened???!!!! I was discussing my frustration over these past few weeks with Jason with GREAT concern last night (asking him if he was as concerned), then I realized, that if I talked about these "symptoms" with fellow moms, they'd probably smirk and laugh at with me, then maybe welcome me to their club??
It's not bad all the time, but Lincoln has usually been my more mature, obedient one and yes - I naively thought at one time this naturally strong-willed independent child would magically skip this phase. (I know...chuckle).

So what have we been doing? Jason and I had a "team meeting" (ha) last night to discuss how we were going to consistently handle this to hopefully shorten its length. Some things I have found helpful the past few days have been:

- explaining to him BEFORE we go somewhere (I'm talking anywhere...even down to the store) how the trip is going to go and what I expect out of his behavior. This also includes what the consequences will be if he falls short. Therefore, once we are at the public place, I just have to use short phrased "reminders" to help him stay on track. This has worked...really well the past 2 days.
- Being consistent. If he disobeys or tantrums after he knows what is expected, I follow through with consequences I told him prior. This is a PAIN. He sat in a deserted hallway at the basketball game last night (make-shift time out) while everyone else enjoyed dinner and the game (a pain because I missed too). But VITAL this is followed through, in my opinion.
- At home, if he starts to wine (this almost always turns into tantrum for him now), he either has a choice to talk from a "happy heart" or go sit on his bed until he gets a happy heart.
- And something I started this morning which I felt was WONDERFUL was Lincoln and I started his day with a prayer, asking Jesus to help him with his emotions and to be obedient. He recited his Eph. 6:1 verse and we discussed expectations for the day. And today has been the easiest of all so far in the past few weeks. No spankings or time-outs. This is going to be a part of our daily routine.

So those are a few things that I feel are starting to be helpful with us...would love to hear what you find helpful during this stage!

Another interesting note: his eyes have looked so tired lately with dark circles...no matter the sleep he gets. He has also been crashing hard at nap time, sleeping about 4 hours for the past week, and when he wakes up, he is totally disoriented and usually wakes up in a terrible mood. So not sure if he's in a growth spurt which is aiding in his wild emotions or what. Anyway, have a great day! It's getting COLD here!!!
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