Terrible, Terrible, Terrible, Terrible, Terrible, Terrible, Terrible Twos!!!!!

I know they don't call them the "terrible twos" for nothing...but this is getting ridiculous!!  Our sweet angel baby is turning in to a terror!  Everything has become a fight...or a negotiation.  We'll say "Rebecca, it's time to (fill in the blank)" and she'll say "one more minute" or "five more minutes" or whatever.  The phrase "we do not negotiate with terrorists" comes to mind quite often!!

If she's not negotiating, she is being downright defiant.  Like I'll say "Rebecca, please leave the placemat on the table" and she deliberately grabs it and throws it...then proceeds to get the rest of them and throw them.  Or "Rebecca, please stop stabbing the kitchen table with your fork" and she proceeds to dig it in even harder.

It has gotten to the point where dealing with her behavior is an extremely stressful situation about 75% of the time.  We are working hard on being consistent, giving praise when it's due and following through with warnings/consequences.  

After doing some research on what other parents have done, we are going to implement something new today that will reward/reinforce positive behavior...obviously hoping that she'll actually care and want to do positive things...therefore making our lives less miserable and making her a happy and thoughtful citizen of the world.  At this point, I am not holding my breath!

Here are some pics from the past couple of weeks.

We made a birthday cake for Grandpa and Rebecca got VERY very excited about licking the cool whip container!

Yes, this is her sticking her entire face into the container.  She is definitely MY daughter in this way.  But let's give her some credit for dedication to the cause!

Here's our girl with Grandma...getting ready for Easter!

Rebecca and Grandpa

When Grandma and Grandpa came over, Rebecca was fascinated with my mom's purse.  She was digging around and getting in to everything.  She found my mom's reading glasses and I couldn't resist this pic!

I think I mentioned in my last post about Rebecca doing some "cooking".  That is, when I'm trying to get dinner together, I give her a bowl of water, some measuring spoons and the salt shaker and it keeps her busy for a very long time.  Well, last week, I realized I have some very old spices in the cupboard - stuff that came with my spice rack set that I bought like 10 years ago and it's still in the cupboard.  You know those spices - caraway seed, whole mustard seeds, etc.  I took those out and she had a blast!  Here she is.  I don't even mind the mess since it gives me a chance to prepare dinner.

Sprinkle, sprinkle!

It was picture day at school several days ago.  She did NOT want to wear a dress (I think we have a bit of a tomboy on our hands)...but I coaxed her in to it.  Here she is ready to go to school.

Reading with Daddy.

This is not a good picture - but it's rare that Rebecca and I are in any pictures together, so I'm including it for posterity.  She'll grow up and think I never spent any time with her.