Mine! Mine! Mine!

We of course think we have the perfect little angel. As all proud parents do. But we are seeing toddler toughies coming through as Connor develops an independent mind. Her favorite words these days: "Mine, mine, mine!" Everything is her's. My toy, my cookie, my chair. Even my water! As in "my bathwater" (implied: I don't want to get out of the tub yet!!!!) She proclaims her contrariness with such conviction and purpose. Very cute but very challenging all at the same time.

It is intriguing to watch her little personality at work. Luckily the famous parenting tip of distraction works wonders, most of the time. It is all about knowing the priority and hierarchy of different items and knowing how to use them to your advantage. I do sometimes worry that bribing and distracting children isn't the same as just insisting they learn tough lessons and cry it out, but for now we take it one day at a time. And since we will be hosting our BCT Playgroup tomorrow morning, I will have to put away our very favorite toys (like the small plastic stroller) to avoid too big of a case of the "Mines" with the other children.