Stubborn

I am really afraid to ask, but, can she get any more stubborn? This age is so far the most frustrating for me. I loved the infant and baby stage with Annabelle, despite the lack of sleep, I still loved it! But, this age, it drives me crazy! Hubby nicknamed Annabelle "OC" this evening. Why OC? OC stands for only child, and she is well on her way!

This evening, during dinner, Annabelle proceeded to dump her bowl of dry Cheerios all over the dining room floor. And, believe me, it was NOT an accident as she watched the Cheerios as they fell, and then she continued to tilt the bowl a little more each time to dump more and more out.

Hubby and I both ordered her to pick up the Cheerios. She proceeded to tell us "No." It wasn't a "NO!!!" Instead, it was a nonchalant "No."

So, we threatened time out. What do you think she did? She immediately climbed into the time out chair all by herself and without even blinking. "I want to sit in time out," she said.

So, her one minute in time out ended, and I asked her, "Annabelle, do you know why you were in time out?"

"Because I didn't want to pick up my Cheerios" she said.

"That's right. Now, I want you to get down and pick up your Cheerios and put them in the bowl right now."

So, she climbs down from her time out chair and walks away.

"Annabelle. Please pick up the Cheerios."

"No," she said nonchalantly again.

This same conversation and chain of events went on and on 5-6 times (maybe even more). I could tell that we weren't going anywhere using time out for discipline, but I was determined to win this battle!

Finally, I told her, "You have a choice, Annabelle. You can either pick up your Cheerios or you can go to bed without any books this evening."

Keep in mind, going to bed without reading books is like grounding a teenager when it comes to Annabelle. She loves reading books at night, and if you mess with her bedtime routine, she is not a happy camper.

She then said, "I go to bed without books."

"Okay," I said as I led her to the bedroom to get ready for bed.

When she wasn't listening, hubby mumbled to me, "Are you really not going to."

I interrupted him before he could finish and said, "Yep, she needs to learn that I'm serious, and she needs to listen to us."

Well, guess who won this battle! She did!

We didn't read any books this evening, but she did not care one bit, not one single bit! Instead, while I was singing to her, she proceeded to ask me, "Is Daddy keening up my Cheerios?"

Next time, I'm threatening to take away the peppermint! I don't think I can stand the meltdown I'll face if I threaten to not sing to her. Not to mention, I think she'd stay up all night screaming. And, that seems a little harsh.

Anyone want a two and a half year old to raise?