NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Everyone says it is because she is a girl and this is what having a girl is like. Jeff says that we went through this same exact stage with Ian. Clearly I don't remember it and must've blocked it out of my mind.

Samantha, for lack of kinder words, is a handful. She is head-strong, stubborn, and extremely spirited. From the moment she wakes-up until the time she goes to bed, she gives me a run for my money. One moment she can be perfectly sweet and lovable and then, with the flip of a switch, she turns into this 2 1/2 foot monster you wouldn't recognize.

The tone for how the day will go is set when she wakes-up. She is not happy getting dressed. She doesn't want her pajamas off and she doesn't want a diaper change - no matter how wet or full her diaper is. It is a battle and I feel like I am wrestling a gator getting her clothes on. I tried something different the other day and decided when picking out her outfit to get her input. Maybe she wanted to have a say in what she was going to wear? So, I held up each top and bottom for her approval. Each one was a resounding "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO". I went through at least 20 different outfits and wondered if maybe this was the equivalent of 'I have a whole closet full of clothes and nothing to wear' most women experience at one time or another. But she isn't even 2 yet!! Does she feel the need for a wardrobe refresh already?!?!?!?

Once I manage to get her dressed, we go downstairs and the battle continues eating breakfast. She used to be an amazing eater and would devour cereal, oatmeal, bananas, milk, basically whatever you put in front of her. Now if she doesn't like what you've given her, it promptly gets thrown on the floor or in Bailey's direction. What a mess!! And, she still hasn't eaten, so you feel compelled to keep trying. Not fun at all. Sometimes she'll completely reject her bowl of oatmeal, but finish Ian's after he has had his fill.

After about 10 minutes of the breakfast disaster, we move on to her moping around the house like someone let the air out of her balloon. She keeps her head pointed low and shuffles from room to room to see what she can get into. Once she finds something that catches her eye, she goes to get the step stool out of the kitchen and creates whatever height is necessary to reach what she needs. Usually she puts the step stool in front of our pantry and examines package and after package of each item. Sometimes she'll decide on a box of cereal and eat it straight from the box. Hello?!?! This may have been the exact cereal I was offering 10 minutes earlier. Oy!

The rest of the day becomes a blur. We fight over EVERYTHING! It has to be her idea in order for it to occur smoothly. Nothing seems to make her happy. Sometimes she'll just stand in front of the tv and scream "ELMOOOOOO" until I put on Sesame Street. At least that is educational, right?

This behavior can't be because she is tired. She goes down easy for naps and at bed at night. She is getting enough sleep - 1.5 to 2 hours in the afternoon and easily 12 hours overnight. There is never a battle putting her down.

She is angry more than she is happy. She is quick to scream more than she is to laugh. Most of the day I feel like I am doing damage control. I feel like at the end of the day I have failed her.

Is it because she is a girl? Is it genetic and Ian was like this too (only I don't remember)? Is she hitting the TERRIBLE TWOs early? Who knows. I just hope like everything else, it is just a stage and my always-sweet-little girl comes back to me. Once the word gets out on how she is, no one is going to want to watch her and I need a break!!!