Our little ‘binocular babe’ has reached an interesting and quite challenging stage … defiance!  Regular phrases in her vocabulary include “No Mummy” and “Why Mummy?”!

I took her to the park in Sandy Bay on Sunday afternoon to expend some energy and as it was getting darker I mentioned it was time to go home to see Daddy and to have some dinner.  That suggestion was met with “No Mummy”.

Great – here we go!  Each time I approached her she would start running away in the opposite direction.  As I am in my third trimester of pregnancy my agility and speed are somewhat compromised!  The most frustrating thing for me was each time she would turn around, look at me and laugh and then keep running.

In the end I had to chase her across a playing field before I caught up with her.  My tolerance was waning!  Exhausted, I carried her back to the car, kicking and screaming and I thought to myself … yep, here we are in the ‘terrible twos’.

Once home and after a rest on the couch I reached out in earnest for my Gina Ford book – The Contented Toddler Years!  Mmmm … no tips on running after a toddler, but great advice on positive encouragement and praise. Hmmmph!