the tenacity of a toddler

Okay, so Plava is hardly a toddler. I suppose that according to the books and websites, once the child is past her first birthday they've technically entered toddlerhood, but I really think of toddlers as being little things that, well, toddle.

Plava isn't quite there yet. She's crawling up a storm, walking along furniture, climbing stairs, and even now starting to test out "free standing" with a huge grin on her face. But no toddling yet.

I can't wait for it, but the time will come when she's ready, and I'm happy to let her take it at her own pace.

The attitude, however, has altered. She could be teething, but how often are kids NOT teething, really? I mean, I don't want to downplay any pain, but after the umpteenth time blaming her crankiness on teething, I start to feel like I'm sounding like an old skipping record.

So, teething aside, my little poopsie has developed a whole new part of her personality. I'd call it, "tenacity". That's a good word, four syllables, kind and yet realistic - appropriate.

Yes, the little sweetie has started letting her will be known in ways that surprise me daily. She has a couple of stubborn parents - it shouldn't be a surprise that she's got a streak of it in her little character - but wow, who knew those wee vocal chords could produce such colourful sounds...!

Today I went for a walk to Safeway with my mom, Little F, and Plava. We had the babes in the stroller and each had her own bottle to suck on. Plava, however, was not satisfied with her own, and continually threw hers aside and snatched Little F's right out of her mouth. I can only be thankful for Little F's gentle nature. She'd simply look at Plava and make a slight whimper.

After attempting 5 or so times to get Plava to drink her own dang bottle, she decided she'd had enough, and started to wail. Okay, I thought, I'll just carry her - I don't want her getting Little F upset, because then where would we be?

So I carried the little munchkin to Safeway alongside the stroller, chatting with my mom about parenting the vivacious little thing and the recent challenges that I've been faced with. How tough should I be? Is there a point at which I should soften up and give in to her spazzies? It was a good conversation, and I felt much better after talking it through with her. Aaaah, moms. Love 'em.

On with the story though. We arrived at Safeway and mom suggested we throw Plava back in the stroller and get the shopping done that way. We both had to pick a few things up, so in she went, and with no less gusto than we might expect. Whiny screaming began almost instantly. But on we plodded, grabbing this and that off the shelves.

There came a point when I had had enough, however, and decided that I'd just carry her. We'd split up and meet back up front when we were both done.

Upon my finishing shopping, I tracked mom down. She still had some shopping to do so she said to throw Plava in the stroller again and she'd finish up. I was free to go pay. I protested for only a minute before I saw that she was on a mission. She was up for the challenge. Who would be more stubborn???

As I stood in line, paid, chattered with the clerk, and sat waiting on the other side of the row of tills, I could hear a certain familiar voice - a screamy kind of one - echoing throughout the store. I tried to ignore it, but all I could think of as the clerk chatted about this customer and that was, "You hear that screamer? That's mine."

In the end, she calmed down, and was actually fairly happy on the way home. It was a good challenge for mom, and I believe she felt like she won in the end too.

Yay for the tenacity of a toddler, the stubborness passed on through genes, and the learning curve of a new parent.