Joycie Changed My Saturdays

 

Before Joycie, I spent my Saturday mornings sleeping in and devoted my Saturday afternoons to cleaning the house top to bottom.

Today, I woke up early to squeeze in a run, then took Joycie to a Princess Pancake Breakfast.  Then we came home to have a tea party, and watch an episode of Team Umizoomi.  Once I post this entry, I am joining her for a nap.

I sleep a lot less on Saturdays, and my house is not as neat as it once was….but my Saturdays are so much richer thanks to a little girl that I love so much.

Joycie’s 2nd Birthday (Long Overdue)

 

Joycie offically turned 2 on March 5th. However, since my nephew’s birthday is on February 23rd,  my sister and I decided to have a joint birthday party this year – on the 25th of February.  One party means less work, less stress, and twice as much fun.

The theme of the party was Cowboys and Cowgirls, as chosen by my nephew Trenton.  He insisted that he have a Woody Cowboy cake and that Joycie have a Jessie Cowgirl cake.  My amazing MIL bake and decorated two cakes

Trenton’s cake was chocolate cake with cream cheese icing. Joycie’s cake was yellow cake with buttercream icing. Both tasted amazing and were beautifully decorated.

As part of the activities, we rented a jump house that was enjoyed by children and the adults alike.

 

When the kids were not jumping, they either played in Joycie’s room or swung on the swings in our backyard.  I had to laugh at the site of a dozen kids packed into Joycie’s small bedroom. But none of them seemed to mind the tight quarters.

After an hour or so of playing, we had cake, ice cream and chips. Then we unwrapped gifts.  Following the gifts, I organized some cowboy themed games.  The first was capture the bandit – in which the kids chased M, my BIL Jason, and good friend Travis who were the “Goody Bag Bandits”.  The guys had stolen the goody bags and stashed them away. The kids had to catch them (tag) then find the good bags.  The game was a HUGE hit.  The 2nd game was the coin toss.  I divided the kids into two teams, and gave them gold coins that they had to toss into a pair of Mikey’s boots.

 

The party finally wound down around 6:00 p.m. (it started about 1:00) when the cooler weather moved in and we are longed for warmth.  Joycie was amazing at her party – behaving so well in spite of skipping her nap.  It was no surprise that shortly after the party was over I found her like this…

Face down, sound asleep on the living room floor, with a potato chip in hand.  She stayed that way for the next two hours, woke up to eat supper, took a bath and was out cold again at 9:00.

I had so much fun planning this party. I have a million ideas for next year and can not wait to share them with all of you.

Terrible 2's

Joycie has always been mild-mannered, easy going, and generally laid back. As an infant, everyone marveled at how calm she was, as a toddler how content she could be no matter where she was or what was going on. As her 2^nd birthday approached, everyone warned me that the "Terrible Two's" would soon descend.  But I naively believed that Joycie's personality would continue, and that my sweet, loveable, easy going daughter would remain as such.  HA!

 

Seemingly overnight, Joycie began having temper tantrums – and since she is my daughter – she can't do them half-way. These tantrums are not just a few tears and screams.  They are full on lay in the floor, scream, kick your feet, cry for nearly an hour fits.  A few tantrums and my nerves were stretched thin.  M and I have tried all methods of discipline – time outs, loss of privileges (no Dora episode after supper), spanking, etc.  Nothing was working.

 

Yesterday, Joycie screamed for nearly an hour, over seem unknown injustice (She was not tired, hungry, in need of a pull up change, hurt, etc.). She was just mad.  M was still at work, and I felt like the world's worst Mama.  So I chose to ignore her screams and we went on with our evening routine.  I told her "Joycie, I understand you are upset. But throwing a fit does not mean we stop doing what we need to do."

 

And while she screamed, I gave her a bath, put on her pajamas, gave her a dose of her nighttime meds, and got things ready for the next morning.  When Joycie realized that her fit was not garnering a reaction out of me, she simply stopped.

 

Now, I know that this is not the end of her temper tantrums.  But I feel as though I have turned a corner in how her tantrums cause me to feel. My game plan for now is to administer discipline so that she learns that this is not the proper response to life and then to simply forge on ahead with our day.

 

Okay, experienced Moms, is this a good approach?  Any other tips/advice for dealing with the Terrible Two's?