Freight Train Terrors

A few days ago Mike and I were talking how we could handle Quinn being at this stage forever.  He has become so fun and responsive.  I love all the new things he's learning.  I love seeing his personality develop and change.  Now things have changed.

He's still Quinn and still all of the above.  I think his personality came with a little bit more than we bargained for.  He definitely has a mind of his own.  The problem is that he can't communicate with us how most people do so he finds his own way to do it.  He gets so angry and completely loses his temper.  He sure has me exhausted at the end of the day.  I find myself needing time away from the little dude.  He becomes so intense.  I frankly don't know what to do.

So, what is it that he does exactly?  When something seems to rub him the wrong way (which has been every few seconds lately) he's been throwing tantrums.  It could include him screaming, throwing things, crying, biting, stomping his legs, gritting his teeth, squeezing an object to death, hitting, etc.  I wonder what happened to my sweet little boy?

I had just read a blog where she blogged about this exact topic.  I have to say I totally agree with her.  When I read her blog, I didn't think Quinn was close to this stage.  I, too, thought I saw it coming.  It hit us like a ton of bricks. It came out of nowhere and came like a freight train.  The terrible two's start about 18 months.  When I talk to other moms about Quinn and the stage he's in, they all nod like they know exactly what I'm going through.  It's funny because I had no idea and had to find out on my own.  It boggles my mind, with all the kids I've been around, that I didn't learn of this secret long before.  At least I know I'm not the only one.

So, any suggestions on how to stop this kind of behavior?   I don't know what to try or what would work.  The things that come straight to my mind don't seem like they would work.  I don't know if he would understand it or not.  I know he understands more than I realize so maybe I should try them anyways. 

On a different note...

Quinn refers to anything that has four legs as "kitty".  He has a stuffed animal cat with pink nipples and since he received that as a Christmas gift he has loved "kitties". We were on a walk today and he had to stop and say hi to the feline.  Since he loves them so much I let him.  They're not my favorite especially since they make me sneeze like mad.  I had to get a picture with him and this cat.  This cat was nice and super patient with him.  Since he was on a hill, Quinn fell on top of him and the cat didn't even care.  For that reason, the cat earned some points with me.

Look at this beaut. Yup, that's right!  We got a new table.

It's counter height.   I love it but I don't think it's very practical with small kids around.  The chairs are quite high.  I'm afraid that one of them will fall and really hurt themselves.  So, with raising a family we're going to make it lower.  It will look exactly the same; just a different height.   I think Quinn will miss his little hide-out.  Oh, well!  

I think it makes our house look nicer.  It's not that big of a table but for how small our house is; it look huge.  I couldn't believe the size of it.  I saw it before but inside of Blackers it doesn't even compare.  I like the fact that we can have people over for dinner and have room for food on the table.  We usually have to bring our little mobile island over (which Mike just re-finished to look like our cabinets.  It looks like it belongs in our house.  He did a good job).  It does have leaves too!                           

Another nice thing about having lower chairs is that it will be easier to add chairs for when more than expected is over.  Right now, we would have to order more chairs and store them until someone is over to use them.  We don't have room for them in our kitchen.   

Well that's it for now...