What...She isn't even 2!!!

Brinley and I have had some challenges these last couple of days.  I really believe that terrible twos have started early for us.  We have had some interesting battles.  

It really all started when I was talking to a friend on the phone and Brinley got really quiet so I went to check on her.  She was in our bathroom with a lotion bottle and Chad's new toothbrush.  She had opened the lotion and poured it on the tile floor and was brushing the floor with the toothbrush, not to mention the mess of lotion all over her clothes and herself.  But as I walked in I found her putting the toothbrush in her mouth and was brushing her teeth with lotion.  So we had "a talk" and she was punished for what she did.  When her punishment was done she apologized to me and gave me a kiss.  I put her in the living room to play while I cleaned up the lotion disaster in my bathroom.

The next issue we had was right after I cleaned the bathroom up.  I walked out into the living room where she was and she had torn apart one of her favorite pop-up-books, ELMO SO BIG.  I caught her too late and when I actually found her she was holding Pop-Up Elmo's hands and was waving them at me.  I had asked her what she had done to her book and she knew she had done something wrong, so she ran!  She ran all over the living room, I was chasing after her while she continued to wave Elmo's hands at me.  

It's hard as a mom to know how to handle certain instances.  I really wanted to laugh at both of those things because you never know what they will do next.  Then there are times when you have to laugh or you will cry or there are times you yourself need some time to cool off before you lose your patience with them.  

Our challenges did not end there.  They have just kept going and going.  The next instance was when we went to our weekly "small group".  Chad and I have met with this group of three other couples from our church ever since Brinley was born.  We thought Brinley knew the rules and boundaries at other people's houses but not on this night.  She was so WILD.  I could have sworn there was a full moon!  

It started with Brinley not wanting to play with the other kids.  Then she found her friend, Mauryn's bracelet and broke it.  So Brinley helped me pick up the beads that went flying everywhere, we had "a talk" and she was put in timeout.  I then had Brinley go and apologize to Mauryn for breaking her bracelet so she told her sorry and hugged her then immediately kicked her.  Putting her in timeout again.  We finally worked through that and thought we were ok.  

Not even five minutes later I heard continual lifting of a toilet seat and then it being dropped.  I just knew in my gut,that Brinley was doing this.  Sure enough, I found Brinley in the upstairs bathroom playing in pee-toilet-water, sleeves wet up to her elbows.  So needless to say she was in trouble yet again and I cleaned up then gave her to Chad to handle for the rest of the evening.  

I know this is just the beginning of a phase.  Mostly all of the stories sound funny but are hard to know how to deal with at the time.  Chad and I try so hard to be proactive, consistent and have follow through but there are days when you just don't feel like you know how to parent at all.  

How can something so sweet be so ornery?