For the last two days, every time I ask Elena to do something, she tells me: "I can't." The sheer volume of things she can't do is quite staggering, actually. Not only is she apparently unable to go potty (she does anyway, just at a different time--no worries there), she can't eat tortillas, she can't play puzzles, she can't say sorry, she can't take breaths, she can't take baths, and she can't let anyone else say any prayers. I put her to bed a few minutes ago ("I can't go bed!") and as I left I told her I love her. On my way back down the stairs I heard "I can't love you!" echo down the baby monitor, accompanied by much wailing and proverbial gnashing of teeth. I'm running out of reverse psychology tricks to run on her, and in the meantime we seem to be butting heads all day long. It's a good thing my mood is up and I've been pretty mellow today.
In other news, Joseph was proclaiming the presence of the car out his window, yesterday, on the way home from church. "Gah, gah!" he said, staring at the SUV in the next lane. He also took a step (stumble) across the room, today, reaching for Daddy.
I Bag To Differ
1 hour ago
5 comments:
"I can't love you" is so cute! Bridget went through this phase. I gave her all the "You can do anything you want to do!" talks I could think of, but eventually she just moved on, I guess. And way to go, Joseph, on the words and walking! It's so cute to see and hear what makes an impression on them!
It's not that she's unable to do any of these things (she did them all just fine last week) it's that she doesn't want to lose face by giving in to my unreasonable demands.
Oh, yeah, I know. I just always hated hearing Bridget say "I can't..." when she and I both knew she could and she was just being stubborn. I don't put up with that, and we ended up butting heads a lot, too.
You might want to try an "If you can't .... then you can't .............. either" approach. As to the "I can't love you", tell her "That's ok, I still love you." Tell her I love her too.
Yes that is what I always say to Alicia when she is mad at me and tells me she doesn't like me/love me. I always tell her "That's okay but I will always love you" Being the hormonal pre-teen she is....that usually makes her madder but it gets the point across!! Elena is too funny and WTG Joseph!! Corrinna is walking all over the place now!
Post a Comment