In a toddler mood

Someone – and I’m not naming names – was in a very toddler mood this morning. She didn’t want to get up, but she didn’t want me to leave the room to get extra sleep either. Sadie – I’m sorry, Sacie (she can’t pronounce the D) was in the way five feet across the room and nowhere near the intended direction of travel. I wouldn’t walk back down 3 flights of steps from the plaza level on the way into work so she could pass by the big fountain. I wouldn’t walk back up the steps circular steps so she could see the upper fountain – again – and peek down on the lion fountain in front of my building. She didn’t want her shoes fastened. She didn’t want her barrettes in. She didn’t want me to hold her. She didn’t want me to leave daycare for work. No matter what it was, it was the wrong thing. A very, very toddler mood.

Something is off. I don’t know what it is. I’m inclined to think she’s getting to sleep too late and not sleeping well when she’s there. She hasn’t been waking up as much as she did last week, but I’m tired enough that I’m probably sleeping through some of the midnight fussing. It might be the next tooth coming in – maybe teeth – influencing that.

Tonight’s plan of action is to get her to bed at a reasonable time. Of course, there’s getting her to bed and getting her to sleep. It’s the getting her to sleep thing that’s the issue. Still, we’re going to try. We’re not going outside after 6:30. The TV will be off by 7:00. With any luck, she’ll be asleep by 8:00. I’d prefer to have her asleep by 7:30, but that’s wishful thinking. We’re not going to have any chance at that until the clocks flip back again.

Good news: we received an invitation to Kaitlyn’s 5th birthday party. Kathleen’s on the list. I’m glad to know that. It’s not that we need to be part of the “in” crowd, but I like her to be part of the neighborhood. She’s an only child and will remain so. I like knowing that she has some friend’s nearby. No one wants to feel excluded. It doesn’t hurt that Katilyn, also an only child, seems to look at all the younger kids on the block as her younger brothers and sisters. Kathleen certainly looks up to her.

I wanted to note before I forget that Kathleen looks to be going through another word explosion. Not only is she enunciating the words she has more clearly – daddy instead of dada, Muh’l instead of Mul (Muggles) – she’s picking up more words. DH had her repeating back a bunch of words I’ve never heard her say before, and they were all surprisingly clear. I’ve seen others commenting on their kids going through the same thing now on her birth board. Come to think of it, that might be another reason for the crankiness: she could be going through another developmental spurt. I'm curious how many other kiddos her age are experiencing the same thing.