Phoebe Is Not Impressed

Recently our sweet Phoebe has been replaced by Grumpy Girl. She scowls and scolds. She screeches and smacks. And her two-minute time-outs have increased in frequency, largely due to her frequent employment of naughty words and unkind names.

I can identify two culprits. One is her age. She is two. Wow, is she two. The boys didn't really experience the Terrible Twos. They may have dipped their toes in now and then, but mostly they were sweet until around three, maybe three-and-a-half. They've more than made-up for the delay in the proceeding years, but at age two, they were sweet. Phoebe however, is a quick-study. She hits those developmental milestones ahead of schedule. Maybe she's just taking this whole Terrible Twos thing very seriously, hoping to do her job as a two-year-old right.

The second contributing factor is her refusal to take naps. Now that she isn't confined within the lovely walls of her pack 'n play, she can roam her room rather than nap during what should be her afternoon siesta. Some weeks she naps four out of five days. Some weeks, it's more like two out of five. We have a nap-time routine, I try to keep the time consistent, but alas, the girl has a mind of her own.

On Sunday morning Cooper kindly made a paper robot to hang on Phoebe's wall. Here he is with his creation.

And here was Phoebe's response.

I do hope this is a phase.