Laura ism's, the good, bad, and the ugly

You know how some parents dub the "terrible twos" as a very colorful time for most kids? I'm finding that 3 is giving me a little more run for my money.

To give you a little insight, last week we were over at my parent's house so the kids could ride bike on a nice blacktop driveway. Alex decided he wanted to rake up some leaves into a really big pile and tidy up the yard a bit, well Laura decided to go over and aggravate Alex by attempting to jump in the leaf pile. Words ensued, and from around the corner of the garage all I heard was "I gunna kick your ass Alex". I quickly intercepted, and promptly had her put her bike away. She showed little remorse, as a matter of fact, she grinned at me as she pushed her bike past me. Most parents would be enraged but 1) I know her saying that is a result of my own failure of censoring her from that phrase and 2) that smile lead me to believe that it was all worth it. She's weighing her options these days, some things are worth losing rewards over-and others aren't.

She frequently tells me "she's not gunna be my priend", or just the opposite when she's feeling good: "I like you mommy", I'll respond telling her I love her, and she comes back still w/ the "I like you". Laura's personality reflects much of a "middle child" persona, which means she tests the boundaries-she doesn't accept all the answers given to her, and she's very good at entertaining herself, patiently I might add. She's an attention seeker when it comes to her sister, and an aggravator when it comes to her brother. She is Laura.

This was a perfect lesson in that the terrible 2, 3, and 4's are only what you make them; I'm guessing if I watched my tongue a little more often, mine might not be so difficult!