…most of the time.

Being a mom is such a blessing and I can honestly say that days spent with my little monkey are filled with joy and laughter…these are what memories are made of…good times.

The thing is though, kids are kids…and kids can be horrid little monsters.  One second it’s all smiles and sunshine and rainbows, and the next moment (usually when you are about to get up to go to the loo, or start dinner) it morphs into something else…a whirlwind blows in, bringing thunderstorms and lightning and crocodile tears the size of golf balls.

there literally was a rainbow the day before this beach day

VS   

Captain Cranky Pants, enter stage right
(our nickname for Paige’s cranky alter-ego)

My husband and I are actually getting quite good at not re-acting when Paige decides to throw a hissy fit because she wants to put the TV remote in her mouth and we won’t let her…among other things.

We quickly assess if she has hurt herself or not, and note the time to determine if she is due for a nappy change / food / nap…and if none of these apply then we proceed to ignore the heck out of her.

Don’t make eye contact with the monster – if you can’t see it, then it can’t see you…right? .
If you just ignore it then maybe it will go away.
(Ok, so not go away, but maybe calm down a little)

It usually only takes a minute before Paige realises that this tactic is not working, and she switches off the waterworks and waddles over to her play mat to do something more interesting.  This is when one of us will slide onto the floor next to her and play.

Important Parenting Notice:  DO NOT reward bad behavior!  

I realise that this is common sense but sometimes us parents out there just need a little reminder about the obvious.

Overall, Paige is generally a really happy and quirky little person.  She waves at everyone in the shops and often flashes her teeny pearly whites to who ever is looking at her.  And even though she can’t string a sentence together yet to save her life, she is quite hilarious and has some favourite little actions and noises that she pulls out when she’s in the mood for some banter fun.

I think the thing us adults need to remember is that kids are people to (duh) and we all have bad days sometimes (some more often than others) so of course our little angels are also going to wake up on the wrong side of the crib some mornings, and behave like they have been possessed by demons in the night.  BUT, this too shall pass, and in a few hours they will get over it and be back to their gorgeous happy little selves that we cannot help but love with all of our being.

It’s not always sunshine and rainbows, but I think a storm every now and then keeps us on our toes.