What do you do?

This was definitely one of those weekends... We were just never really in sync. Milo truly is moving into... dare I say it? The Terrible Twos. I think fate decided to teach me a lesson after I was joking about this phase the other day. Everything - oh, and I do mean everything - set our little man off this weekend. He is so dramatic now and the cuteness has officially begun to wear off. Now the frustration and feeling of being at a complete loss has started to set in. Seriously, what do you do when your child is screaming and trying to hurl himself onto the ground at the Home Depot parking lot for the sole reason that you want him to go into the store? This is just one of many, many instances this weekend.

I know that he is exerting his independence and that he is frustrated because he can't communicate with words. I know that in my head. However, it is so hard to remain rationale when you are dealing with a little person that is being completely irrational. I totally get parents that cave the second their kid cries. I want so badly to do the right thing. Is it better to ignore him or try to rationalize with him? I just don't know... We were eating brunch at Tin Star yesterday and Milo started crying for no reason. Mark leaned over and said "Stop Crying" and Milo did! Why does that not work when I do it?

Milo has always been such an easy baby that this is a bit of a shock to my system. I know it is normal (again... in my head) but I can't help but feeling like a bad mommy sometimes when I can't help him calm down or when I get frustrated. Yesterday I was so tired of feeling ineffectual that I fixed a bunch of stuff around the house when he was down for his nap. Isn't that funny? I even knew while I was doing it that I just needed to feel successful at something for a minute.

Tonight I will resort to my standard mode of operation - research. Maybe if I can find a few pointers on how to deal with the tantrums I will feel better equipped. I can't help but think that if I am calm it will help him stay calm. I want to find a way to help him while still giving him the tools to calm himself. It is so important. Wish me luck.