Helloooo, attitude

How many times per day can an almost-two-year-old say, "No Way!"?

If that kiddo is my Amelia, I'd say at least 27 times a day. This is her favorite new phrase. It is useful in many different situations - deciding what to wear, which shoes to put on, what to eat for snack, what to eat for lunch, which direction to walk when we go outside, which slide to go down at the playground....

We have no idea where it came from. I'm guessing school, since school pretty much accounts for anything she learns outside of our house. We don't particularly like this new phrase, and we especially don't love the toddler attitude that goes with it.

I think Amelia is in full-blown terrible two's at this point (at least I hope so... please don't tell me it gets worse!!!!), and she is asserting her independence whenever & wherever she can. Don't think you can put her in her car seat. Oh no, she has to struggle to climb up into it herself. Same with the highchair or her "big girl" booster seat at the table. You'd better think twice before mandating which snack she should eat. It's all about choices.

EVERYTHING is about choices. And only Amelia's choices. She is the queen bee around here for sure.

Yesterday she completely freaked out when Steve was rinsing the shampoo out of her hair. She told him to stop ("No, Daddy!"), but he had to keep rinsing to get all the shampoo out. Amelia was not having this. So she screamed, and fought, and pushed, and spit. Then she did not want to get out of the tub. Then she did not want a diaper. And she certainly did not want her hair combed. A 30-pound child can be surprisingly strong when she wants to fight.

It was quite the performance, for sure. So far we haven't experienced and encore today... but it's only a matter of time. She is a tantrum time bomb.