Dear Penny,

Seriously, you have got to stop all the whining and stubbornness.  I sadly have to say that I am rarely enjoying my time spent with you lately.  It’s all hitting, biting, pulling hair, whining, screaming, and otherwise refusing to do as you’re asked all day.  It’s exhausting, frustrating, and defeating.  I keep waiting for the rainbow at the end of this storm you’re unleashing but it’s been months now and you’re only getting worse by the day.  So what do I do?  I do my best to discipline you with time outs and talking to you about your behavior (as much as I can with a 1.5 year old) and pray that the end of this phase is near.

In these troublesome days I latch so firmly onto the golden memories of your babyhood.  How much I loved resting you on my chest every evening as a newborn and feeling you peacefully pass into sleep.  I was always so amazed at your ability to fall asleep on your own too.  I remember thinking doctors were trying to trick me into revealing I was a mom that let her baby cry herself to sleep when they asked “do you lay your baby down asleep or awake?”  And then I had you and realized some babies really do fall asleep completely on their own!  And then there was just your sunny and peaceful disposition.  You’ve understood me since the moment I caught you and I’ve so wholly understood you.  Perhaps that’s even more why this terror of a stage you’re in is so troubling for me, because I can’t, for the life of me, tap into your brain and engrain these important rules in there in a way that you don’t desire to push mine or Maisy’s buttons anymore and instead desire to be kind and obedient.

Penny, I love you so very much, but please stop this behavior.

With a troubled heart,

Mommy