It's a new phase that started about a month ago and I'm so over it. Ellie has turned from sweet and easy to nightmare 2 year old. We're talking tantrums for everything, refusal to help, sassy glares, all of it. Jude was nothing like this so I'm at a loss for what to do most of the time, other than ignore it.
Crankiness at it's finest
Sometimes Ellie decides that she cannot climb the stairs without holding my hand, so if I go up the stairs without warning her that I'm going, she'll stand at the bottom of the stairs and SCREAM for me to come back down and hold her hand. And I mean scream. Like blood-curdling shrieks. Obviously, I don't want to encourage this behavior so I calmly explain to her that if she wants to come up stairs she can walk by herself. But she won't accept that, of course, so Eleanor will stand at the bottom of the stairs and scream and cry for 30 minutes. No joke. Her dedication to the tantrum is outstanding.
I'll tell her to pick up her toys and Ellie will get that look on her face that she hears me but refuses. And then nothing on earth can make her pick up her toys. I could throw them in the trash right in front of her and she'll hold her death glare. The stubbornness is out of control!
...but so is the cuteness. It's part of the problem haha
Eleanor has stopped taking naps and I've given up fighting her on them. She clearly still needs one, since she's exhausted pretty much all day, but I just don't have the time or energy to keep fighting it. There's is seriously nothing I can do to force her to do something she doesn't want to do. I finally just started locking her door after I put her down for nap, and she would SCREAM for an hour. Most kids would tire out and give up or get distracted by toys, but not Eleanor.
The refusal face
But then other moments, Eleanor is the sweetest thing on two legs and you just love her to pieces. It's a toddler survival mechanism and she wields it well. Oh Ellie, what will we do with you?!
She looks like a pretty good pizza maker!
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