The Dichotomy

Adrienne is just a dichotomous little creature these days. She has two very distinct sides to her, and there's not usually much in between. Let's discuss these two sides, shall we? Each contain snippets of her that I don't want to forget.

The little devil in her has totally decided she's not potty trained. Ever since I gave up a few weeks ago (meaning I put her back in pull ups because I was tired of cleaning up intentional accidents), she has regressed. Her pull ups are nearly always wet, and she rarely will sit on the toilet for me. Generally, she tells me when she has to "poop a really big one" and then she goes, but the last two mornings I have come in to discover that she pooped in her diaper (that is thankfully duct taped so she can't pull it off). She tells me, "I pooped in my diaper. Are you sad, Mommy?" She clearly understands emotional manipulation. I have now decided that I am going to buy diapers and not talk about potty training anymore for about a month. Then we will reintroduce the underwear and start anew. It is maddening to me that she WAS potty trained, and now is just choosing not to be. My choice in all of this is that I am not fighting this battle right now. And then there is the independent streak. Heaven forbid if I try to buckle her in her car seat, or even assist her into climbing into the car and car seat. She also insists on climbing out of her seat and car. This means it takes us about 10 minutes to get in and about 10 minutes to get out. It makes my type A-hurried blood boil, to be honest. She puts up a redonkulous fight and screaming show if I try to scoot her along and help in any way, and I just am tired of hearing it so I am learning to exercise some patience (which is probably good for me). This weekend she name-called for the first time which totally shocked me. She was gritting her teeth in anger at Jillian and fumed, "Jee-yee-an, you are stupid!" My jaw dropped. I scolded her and insisted she apologize and she turned into a puddle of tears, screaming for a tissue to wipe her eyes. It was quite dramatic. I've also seen her push and hit Jillian on occasion. All normal sibling rivalry type stuff, but it catches me off guard each time the ante is upped.

OK, enough about my little devil. Would you like to hear about my little angel? Just look at her sleeping sweetly (always under her pillow or with a blanket over her face, and with random toys or objects in the bed).

So. Every single time I help her put her pants on, or pull them up, or wipe her after going potty, she reaches up, hugs me, and says in her little nasally voice, "Mom, I love you". After the hug comes the kiss. The kiss comes straight for my lips, and it never accepts a cheek. Then comes the second hug. She never once misses this sweet ritual. She also does this cute fake little yawn thing (complete with a dramatic arm stretch) anytime you get ready to put her to bed, or when greeting her upon waking. It's the most adorable thing ever, and if I could get my act together I'd record it. The other thing I find completely endearing is her pure joy and exclamation whenever I come to retrieve her from Kids Club at the RAC, or at church, or anytime we've been apart. She comes running toward me giggling and shouting, "Mommy, you came back! I missed you so much, Mom!" She is snuggly and frequently still checks in while playing for a hug or for a few minutes of a snuggle ("I want you to snuggle me, Mom"). If she gets hurt, feelings hurt, whatever, it's game over. She is a cling-on and won't let me put her down. On Friday as we left for Bible study, she came up to me as I was packing my bag to load up the car. She had her large Curious George canvas bag on her shoulder and exclaimed, "Mommy I want to take my bag to church like you". She was born a mama's girl and I think she's gonna stay that way. And last but not least, she has fallen into my very favorite speech articulation faux pas....the "r" that often sounds like a "w".  It's totally adorable and melts my heart. Just like her.