Small Miracles

So. For the last few weeks we spent in our old house, and the first few weeks in the new house, Emma was being a little terror. We didn't pick up on it at the time, but we're thinking, in retrospect, that the likely spur of her terrible behavior was caused by the chaos in the house, with boxes and packing, and things constantly changing. We think she was just trying to show independence, and take control of her environment, and the way she did that was to throw huge tantrums every time she didn't get her way. I mean HUGE tantrums. Had me on the verge of a mental breakdown. That's when I sent out my SOS to my sisters and asked for advice from their experiences with THEIR kids. And I got some gems, let me tell ya. That's the great thing about being in a huge family - always someone to talk to! Always little nuggets of wisdom to be passed on, always a supportive shoulder to lean on. ANYWAY, I got some great advice that I was able to implement immediately. It was a little hard for me to swallow it all... realizing how badly I was caving to Emma and her rants, but I realized that I needed to start taking charge, and letting her, and showing her how to be independent in appropriate ways. And it didn't take long before we saw changes in her. Already, her tantrums have chilled WAAAAY out when she does have them, and they are few and far between, now. So, THANK YOU SISTERS!!

I just wanted to share one little example of Emma's progress. She had a Dr.'s appt on Friday, and she hates them. HATES HATES HATES them. She knows where we are, and what will happen there, immediately. So, it was ugly. But understandably ugly. She didn't throw a fit or anything, but she was crying and holding on to me for dear life the entire time we were in the exam room. When we got home, however, she was mad. She was mad at me for making her endure such trauma. I sensed a tantrum coming on, so I told her it was ok to be upset, but that we were home now and that she was safe. I then laid her blanket out on the couch so she could climb up there and cuddle with it. But, I guess she was still mad at me. However, instead of throwing her tantrum, she crawled up underneath the blanket, with nothing but her feet sticking out. She laid under there for several minutes, refusing to talk to me. But I was totally ok with it, because at least she wasn't flipping out!!

PSA

Things NOT to do, if you'd like to avoid getting punched in the face. By Me. Or maybe I'll send Bird after you:

1. Come up to my kid in her stroller at Target, and GIVE HER FOOD. Ummm??
a) You are a stranger. How do I know you're not poisoning my kid?
b) You are a stranger. How do you know my kid doesn't have allergies?
c) You are a stranger. How do you know I'm not currently trying to train my child to eat at prescribed times, and trying to get her to eat a wider variety of healthy foods, and NOT the jelly beans you are offering her right before we're headed home for lunch??


What the heck is it with people?? I would NEVER think of giving some strangers kid food in the middle of a store. Emma was just sitting there in her stroller, playing with my water bottle. She wasn't throwing a fit, and it's not like she saw the lady with candy and was begging for some. I get it if you're trying to be nice, but maybe ask me before you just hand her candy? Because guess what, when I took the candy away from her, Emma DID start flipping out. Wouldn't you? And the lady didn't understand why I wouldn't let Emma have the candy! She tried to give her another piece! And then when I told her to stop, she gave me a dirty look, told me I needed to "lighten up", and walked away.

Really? WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE IN HARRISBURG????

Beach

So, we had a beach vacation with Mike's family to Myrtle Beach, SC. Actually, we stayed in a sweet beach house, right on the water, in Surfside, SC, about 3 miles south of Myrtle Beach proper. It was sweet in every form of sweetness you can imagine. I'm still beat from the whole trip, so I'll get around to the details later. But here are some pics. Emma absolutely LOVED the beach. As soon as she woke up in the morning, she would go to the large glass doors and point to the beach and say, GO! It was torture for her to wait long enough to eat breakfast, and GASP! THE HORROR! For us to put a swimsuit and sunscreen on her. But once we got her out there... man she was just in heaven. Loved the water, loved the sand, loved going out in the waves with us. I was a little worried she'd eat a lot of sand, and drink a lot of sea water, but she did really good. Hooray!