The Quinns: Curran at 33.5 Months

Oh, my little CurryBug...where do we even start?

She keeps life interesting, that is for sure. We have had our fair share of struggles over the last couple of months. She has gotten very bad about sassing and talking back and simply not minding at all. It is an effort to get her dressed, brush her hair, get her down for naps, get her out the door when we have to go somewhere, get her in the car seat, etc etc. I know a lot of these are probably typical toddler issues, but it is exhausting feeling like all I do is beg and send her to time out. I've definitely got to read some parenting books...I know she'll never be perfect, but I also know there must be something I'm doing wrong. For instance, I read some article on FB that was like 10 things you should never say to your child. As I was reading through, I was thinking- good thing I would never say these...that is until I got to the last one- "Never tell your child you are leaving without them", or something to that effect. I say that all the time, I even said it earlier that day to get her to leave school. Sometimes it is the ONLY way to get her to follow me without actually picking her up, which I can't really do these days if I am lugging a heavy car seat in the other hand. Apparently that statement reinforces the already present fear of abandonment in toddlers. Whoops. Well, it works, so I hate that I'm going to have to figure out another tactic that doesn't make me feel like I'm screwing up my child. :)

For as stubborn as she is, she is also so sweet and polite. She is constantly saying thank you for something. She always says "Thank you so much, Mama!" or "oh THANK you, THANK you!" in the sweetest little voice.

Other things she says a lot:
-She asks "Why, Mama?" after.every.single.thing.I.say. And she will ask it about 15 times until she is satisfied with my answer.
-When I correct her or she gets in trouble: "You're making me saaaad. You're hurting my feelings."- in the most pitiful voice and pouty lip you can imagine. It's really hard not to laugh sometimes.
-To answer almost any question: "Ummm, probby {probably}. I probby do." or "I sure dooo."- in a very sing-songy voice.
-When she does something she's not supposed to do: "I sorry, Mama. It was an accident."- in the most nonchalant, I'm-really-not-sorry-at-all and it-really-wasn't-an-accident tone of voice. :)
-She also says, "It's ok. It's ok. It's ok." over and over again after she does something bad or that she's not supposed to do, like that's going to help her get out of trouble.
-When she has to go to time out, she usually bursts into tears and hugs my legs and says "Love you!"

{I feel like her getting in trouble is the theme of the above section. Oh well- it's where we are right now.}

She still loves to read and has so many books memorized, loves coloring {well, really she just likes to organize all her crayons and markers} take baths- and we have to fight her to get out, playing outside, riding her bike, swinging, going to the park, going to the library, playing in water {and she talks about going to the swimming pool constantly}, loves going to school and asks to go every day {so thankful, but that will all probably change when we switch classes in June}, and she LOVES playing princess. She is dressed up most days and always needs to have some "sparkle" on. So very different from her mama. :) We are signing her up for soccer this fall, and she is SO excited. She will also be taking ballet at school this year.

She is still a proud big sister and loves her baby! She still tells everyone we see, "Look at my baby!" or "That's my baby!" She even says it to my sister who we obviously see all the time. And her favorite things to wear are her big sister t shirts. Anytime she has one on, she points it out to everyone we talk to. Her newest thing is while rubbing SC's head, she'll ask, "What does she think about me?" I guess she just wants to hear how much SC loves her. :) The other night during dinner, I was holding SC and Curran asked, "What you think of her?" I replied that I thought she was pretty cute. She said, "Yeah, my baby is pretty cute. I think she really likes me!" :)

She is a Daddy's girl these days. He does most of her care since we have had Sallie Cate, well really since I was huge pregnant and couldn't easily do baths, teeth brushing, etc. He has always done her morning routine but now he does the night as well. She likes to snuggle with him before bed and always calls for him if she wakes up during the night. She also asks "where's my daddy?" a lot throughout the day. I have loved seeing a different relationship develop between them.

We are going to have potty training boot camp SOON! I am so over wrestling her to change her diaper. And she also only wants the diapers that have Elmo on them, so she throws all the diapers out of the box until she finds the one she wants. I mean, can't they just make them plain white??? This past weekend she also started taking her diaper off by herself. She is WELL past the point of being able to be potty trained.