Beginning of the End - Terrible Two's

Ethan is now almost two and a half years old. Up until this past weekend, he's never really exhibited what other parents have described as the Terrible Two.

On Friday, we were at Target. We usually wander by the toys section and keep Ethan occupied for a while. He's never made a scene and we've never had a problem with him and toys, until now. He spots a Lego Thomas the Tank Engine set. He holds it in his hand. Flips the box around to look at all the pictures. Then he asked us to head for the cashier. We've had this encounter before. Sherie and I have the "bait and switch" routine down cold. Without saying anything, I picked up Thomas the Tank Engine Toothpaste and three Thomas the Tank Engine Underwear. Sherie silently slips away with the Lego train set. Yay! Another crisis averted.

We get home and the first thing Ethan says is "We forgot the Lego train set". Uh oh. This was new. We tried changing the subject. We watched his favorite non-train related kid video. "We forgot the Lego train set~~" he would whine. It escalates. He continues to remind us for the next two days. Around Sunday afternoon we decided we better get the train set as a reward for him using his potty. Technically, we didn't lose the battle. This was a reward. Sherie and I are rethinking our strategies.

We get home and the entire set is assembled in no time. It's around 9:30PM. Disaster strikes. The rear cargo cart unlatches. Out of nowhere, Ethan starts crying. Not whining. Crying. Tears streams down his cheeks. 9:31PM. Disaster strikes again. Same rear cart unlatches. Again with the tears. I'm thinking this is Emmy quality tears. Really emotional tears. This lasts till 10:15 or so. Genuine tears every time. We get him to bed, around 10:30PM. He wakes up around 11PM crying again. The night finally ended at close to 1AM.

This was all new to us. I'm thinking this qualifies as Terrible Two behavior, which would be Ethan's official first. I asked around the office today on how long they had endure the Terrible Two's. The shortest so far is 18 months. The longest so far is 25 years.

Reminder to self: Take picture of Emmy quality tears.