Tantrums

Temper tantrums

On Saturday night, after we went to see Up, we made the mistake of letting Avery play out front for a while before bed.  She did not want to come inside when it was time for bed and threw a fit.  This is not unusual.  What is unusual is that the fit lasted for more than a minute or two.  It lasted about an hour.  It was as if she simply couldn't get herself out of that state. She didn't want to be held, she said no to everything.  Eventually D went downstairs and I managed to get her calm enough to drink milk and read a book.  D came back up when she was ready to go into her crib since she is going through a phase where she prefers D to lay her in her crib for her Big Sleep.  She slept through the night just fine and was happy as a clam in the morning.

Fast forward to today.  She woke around 7:45 in a very good mood.  We ate breakfast and then headed off to Little Gym.  Following LG, we made our usual trek over to the doughnut shop.  All is still well.  We drive home and she's happy the entire car ride.  When we pulled into the garage, I opened the doors and she was still fine.  However, when I went to unbuckle her car seat, she got very upset.  So I said she could stay in her car seat if she wanted and that made her more upset.  So I offered something else and that made her even more upset.  Basically, no matter what I said or did, she was upset.  I finally just pulled her out of the car seat and brought her inside.  She writhed around on the floor in the living room for a good 20 minutes, saying no to each and every question asked of her (do you want lunch? do you want milk? do you want to watch Nemo? do you want to go upstairs?).  Finally, I decided to take her up to her room.  I then brought up a plate of food, milk, and water.  She was still writhing on the floor.  I could get her to stop crying to ask a couple questions, but she would always answer no and then she seemed madder than ever.  Eventually I was able to wrangle her into her sleep sack and put her in her crib.  I sat next to her as she continued to cry.  After about five minutes in the crib, she stood up and asked for milk and a book.  I pulled her out and obliged on both counts.  She was then completely back to her normal self.  Happy, giggly, calm.  Just like that.  Poof!  Giggling and drinking.  After the food, milk, and book, I said time to take a nap and she went into her crib happy and squealing and fell asleep within a couple of minutes.  She took a 3 hour nap.

So, does this sound like normal toddler behavior to everyone?  Both incidents have felt very different from a usual "I want what I want!  Give it to me!" tantrum.  It's almost as if she simply cannot control it.  Then it switches off, seemingly as much to her relief as to mine.  Thoughts?  Ideas?

Both times this has happened I've - for some inexplicable reason - had a ton of energy and patience to deal with it.  I haven't been at all frustrated, exasperated, or angry with her.  I've just talked in a soothing voice and let her go through it while letting her know I'm right there.  Given that I don't always have that amount of patience, I'm thankful I've had a lot when it has happened. 

Up

Regarding Up, we did go to see the movie on Saturday.  The movie itself was good, though I really wasn't able to take in the movie as a whole.  We learned a few things:

1. Avery is still too young for movies.  You have to pay for over 1, so the $6.75(!) we paid for her was not worth it.  That said, Elise (who is 2) sat through the whole movie, so I think we're not too far off.  Avery did fairly well for the first ¼ of the movie, but then signed to be changed, so D left the theater with her.  It turned out that was simply a ploy to get up and walk around.  They ended up sitting in the aisle of the theater with Avery running up and down playing with a (clean) diaper.  Eventually I heard, "Mommy! Mommy!" so I got up and joined them and we all watched the movie from the side of the theater.
   
2. Avery loves (LOVES!) Reese's Pieces. 
3. If Avery and Elise are typical, 18-month-old kids do not need their own seat at a movie theater, nor do 2-year-old kids.
   

Dinner

Tonight's dinner was one of the meals prepared by the personal chef.  We dined on the following:

Entrée: Top Round Steak Empanadas - tempranillo braised top steak with carrots, peppers and pecans
Side: Spanish Onion Gratin - Julienne Spanish onion baked with yukon potatoes and pasilla chilies. 

First, it was delicious.  Second, I love that he gives us a menu as if we're eating at a restaurant.  Third, damn I was much less cranky just pulling that out of the fridge than trying to come up with something to make.  Fourth, I'm so very excited there is leftover empanada filling I can enjoy with breakfast tomorrow morning.

(Yes, RHG, I know we ate a side dish and entrée not officially paired together - we S's are rebels!)  

The Visit

Sunday afternoon, we went over to Grandma J and Grandpa Paul's house to have a visit with Avery's birth family.  It was wonderful!  We stayed for about three hours and enjoyed lunch with them while Garrett and Avery played in the backyard.  Both Nikki & Mike were there, so Avery got to spend time with both of them. She was a bit hesitant at first - as she is in all social situations - but she quickly felt comfortable and came out of her shell.  By the end of the visit, she was leaning over to ask Nikki to hold her and giving Garrett hugs.  We compared Avery and Garrett's likes and dislikes.  They have a lot in common, but are also different in many ways.  Garrett is a great sleeper, too, so I think it must run in the genes.  He's now 2.5 and knows the whole alphabet, how to count, how to count by 10's, and can identify all the letters.  It's pretty cool to see how much Avery will be able to do in just a year!

The visits are getting easier for me in that I don't worry or fret beforehand. We're getting to know each other better, so I'm not as hesitant to let my guard down.  I much prefer going to their house.  I guess I get stressed playing hostess while still trying to just enjoy being together.  I would rather just focus on watching Avery and her brother get to know each other, and allow Nikki and Mike the time to know her, as well.  I also love to see the look on Grandma J's face when she watches Avery.  It just exudes love.  I'm so grateful that we have the opportunity to include them in Avery's life.

Mexico

We have just booked tickets for my mom, Avery and me to head down to Mexico in September.  After such a great trip, I really want to enjoy our casa again before Christmas.  D isn't planning on going this time.  I'm hoping he'll change his mind and decide to join us for a long weekend, but I understand if he can't make it. I will note this isn't a Jon & Kate situation.  It's a someone's-got-to-work situation. 

The G's Sunday dinner

On Sunday, after our visit with Nikki & Mike, the G's invited us for dinner since they had some extra steaks.  Never ones to turn down dinner, we readily agreed.  After we arrived, D, Avery and Jay headed off to pick up a table in our minivan; Rachele and I played with Elise in the (temporary) playroom whilst relaxing on the bed in it.  By the time Avery and D got back, I was pretty tired.  D was tired too.  So he lies down on the bed in the playroom with me.  Wouldn't you know it?  We both fell asleep.  So, to summarize our evening:

• We show up as guests for dinner
• Fall asleep while Avery and Elise are playing around us
• Don't help with any prep or cooking of the meal
• Allow a very pregnant woman to prepare the salad for us in her garage since she has no kitchen at the moment (though does have a fabulous kitchen in the making)
  
• Eat the two best cuts of meat (as insisted upon by our hosts)
  
• Then we leave without helping to clean up. 
• We rock.
  

Who else wants to have us over for dinner?