2 1/2

Sophie is now 2 1/2 as of October 13th. I was hoping for #2 to be born on that day as well, but alas, I am still playing the waiting game.

It seems that her tantrums have kicked it up a notch as of this week. Some say she "knows" the baby is coming and she is acting out. I say she is just simply 2 1/2 years old. Several times a day, if not more, she'll flip out over something small and have a full out tantrum, screaming, crying, throwing toys or whatever she's frustrated with. Luckily she rarely exhibits this behavior outside, but it does happen from time to time. I really, really need to get her in some type of daily class as I know she is bored at home. But we're still trying to figure things out with money and time management for when the baby comes.

It's VERY difficult to work from home and take care of her at the same time, so Tuesday's and Wednesday's when I'm home have become increasingly stressful for me. Luckily she still takes a 2 1/2 hour nap everyday so it's during that time that I try to get the most work done. On Wednesday's we go to music class for 45 minutes in the morning which she, and I, really enjoy. She really gets into it, dancing around and playing the different instruments they hand out. It's such a joy to see her having so much fun, and I just wish the class was longer!

For discipline we try the time out route. I can't say it's really working though. I do exactly as Super Nanny instructs, warn them if they repeat bad behavior they will get a time out, she almost always repeats, and I then put her in the naughty chair for 2 1/2-3 minutes. Problem is she doesn't really seem to mind! She usually sits there, not crying, not fussing, just sits there and sometimes calls my name (I try to keep busy in the kitchen and not make eye contact) or yells. This morning I had to put her in back to back time outs, and it was the first time she actually cried. Still, she continues to repeat the behavior day after day, and it doesn't seem she's really learning anything from the time outs. I'm not sure if it's because she's too young? I just know it's VERY frustrating as I have a very limited fuse lately being 9 months pregnant with backaches and big belly and all that. And I always think "how will I do this with a newborn added to the mix?" I know the next year or two are going to be VERY trying on my patience.

Here are some recent pics of her. The last one is a "plane" David made for her by cutting wings and holes for her legs in a cardboard box.