Dear Dumplin,
You are officially in the terrible two stage if I did not realize it before. It’s funny though because I truly believe you are picking and choosing when to be difficult and when to be agreeable. You are really a smart cookie and a stubborn one at that.
Unfortunately, your stubbornness can be rude and embarrassing at times. For example, your Uncle/GodFather came to visit you this past weekend. You love this man. You ask to call him regularly and get mad if he doesn’t pick up the phone. When he walked in, you immediately ran to him to give him a hug. Then he went into his bag and pulled out a new book for you. The smile on your face! It was a Doc McStuffin book which could not have been better. And right here is when the terrible two’s stubbornness kicked in. You would not say thank you. You absolutely refused to do it. I still do not understand why.
Let me explain something. You are smart. Very smart. You can count to 30. You can count to 10 in Spanish. The other day you said , “Well done Mommy” when I put some of your blocks together. You say grace before every meal and remind your father and I if we forget. You can even say the alphabet backwards. BACKWARDS. So the idea that you can’t say “Thank you” is absolutely absurd! You say “please”, “thank you”, “you’re welcome”, “God bless you”, and all the other polite things people with good manners should say.
But not today. Today you refused to say thank you. It was a mood swing that came out of no where.
“Say thank you Isabellle.”
Blank stare.
“Isabelle say thank you.”
Blank stare.
“Isabelle come on you know how to say thank you.”
Blank stare.
“Isabelle!”
“Huh?”
“Say thank you.”
Blank stare.
“Isabelle.”
“Yes Mommy?”
“Say thank you to Uncle Seth.”
Blank stare.
“Right now Isabelle. Say thank you.”
Looks at the floor.
This went on and on and on. Finally I turned your cartoons off and took the toy you were playing with away.
“Super Why Mommy?”
“No Super Why until you say thank you.”
And here’s the kicker. You looked at your Uncle, looked at me, then looked at the floor. In that one gesture you said, “I just don’t feel like it!”
You took a nap, woke up, and still would not say thank you. I still don’t know why. After he left and you went back to your normal talkative self, the gravity of what you had done sunk in.
“Toys Mommy?”
“No toys until you say sorry to Uncle Seth.”
“Mommy cartoons?”
“No cartoons until you say sorry to Uncle Seth and say thank you for the book.”
Long exhale…
“Are you ready to call Uncle Seth and say sorry?
“Yes, Mommy.”
So we call your uncle and low and behold, you are back to your normal self.
“Sorry Uncle Seth. I love you Uncle Seth. Thank you for book Uncle Seth!”
And it was gone… The mood swing disappeared just like that. Please leave it where it went.
Love,
Mama