He turned three today but he's been practicing 3 for weeks now!
We were warned, I shook it off, just daring 3 to bring it on! ... well it's here and 3 has been horrendous already.
It's a kick-my-ass kinda age.
It's a new beast.
It's hell and my daily life has been thrust into the chaotic, unpredictable world of three year old tantrums.
Now, any of you who know Kai are thinking... "Kai? ...A beast? Nah, she's over-reacting? Not possible, he's so well behaved!" But let me tell you this past weekend in Banff:
-those cross country skiers got an earful yesterday as Kai screamed bloody murder for over an hour on the ski trail;
-the hotel neighbours got an earful Saturday night as he screamed most of the night from 1-4am wanting his mommy, his blankie and to wash his hands. Then, in precisely the same scream he wanted none of those things and;
-the restaurant patrons at The Keg in Banff have sworn off kids too- their ear drums are damaged because Kai didn't want to eat his French fries- just the white bread and butter.
We've already lived through public displays of independence including; yelling "no" at mom and dad, screaming "I don't want to see the ice sculptures!" and, lying on the icy, slushy sidewalk on Banff Avenue because he didn't want to hold our hands to cross the roads. Excellent!! I cherish and honour Kai's desire to run his own show, be unique and teach us how to live like a 3 year old BUT I need to draw the line when it comes to outright misbehavin' .
The truth is... unfortunately Jeff and I, are getting schooled by a 3 year old. I'd say our record is '3- nothing' for Kai. We were able to trade off throughout the battles but we admitted to failed tactics we weren't proud of and we need a new game plan... we need to start thinking like a three year old!! So, we've regrouped and we're going to continue prepping Kai with what's coming up but Jeff and I need to do more than anticipate; we need to meet before the tip off and drop the puck when we're ready!!
On a serious note: Kai just can't self-regulate to calm himself... YET! He still needs help from us to help him calm down and even though he denies us, he still needs adult direction and yes, the occasional "no". Don't get me wrong, I still feel my body brace for the fury and fight when he hears rejection for something he wants but I am not backing down.
In the end, the lessons learned:
-Have unconditional love and major patience and ...
-Next time, I'm gonna lie down on the sidewalk with him maybe even cry ... and one thing for sure: I'm gonna yell, "no" as much as I need to, just to see if that helps.