This is it: The Terrible Twos

Uh-oh... it looks like Miley has finally reached this stage. I thought for a while she would surpass this since even after she turned 2, her disposition was still so sweet, she was a thoughtful and caring "Ate" to her little brother, and she was always easy to take care of. Until now...

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Lately, Miley has shown classic signs of the Terrible Twos. She has temper tantrums and loves to yell ("NO" is a favorite). She has become stubborn, demanding, mischievous, defiant, rough and noisy... oh where, oh where did my sweet little angel go?

Actually, she's still there most of the time. It's just that her Terrible Two episodes seem to sprout out of nowhere catching us completely by surprise. One minute, she's happily playing and then the next minute she's crying inconsolably, kicking and screaming! She's become a certified drama queen! But she sure knows that a smile can probably get her out of trouble. And her cuteness has let her off the hook a million times!

Here's some examples of Miley's bizarre behavior lately, from the minor to the major:
     - She's magnetically drawn to whatever she shouldn't be playing with. Breakable things, sharp objects, medicines, etc. But she knows she shouldn't be touching them since when you catch her, she says "that's dangerous!" lol!
     - She used to love taking a bath, but it's now a challenge just getting her inside the bathroom. She runs away and you have to chase her all over the house just to catch her!
     - It's so hard to get her to sleep at night, even though you can tell she's so sleepy already. She'll do whatever it takes to stay awake, from jumping on the bed to turning on all the lights (she'll get a chair, stand on it and flip the switch!). Sometimes, Vins and I can't help but fall asleep already and then Miley will end up kicking or hitting us.
     - She adores her brother but they have a love-hate relationship lately. Whenever Miley's playing and Sabe wants to join in, Miley won't let him. If Sabe gets a toy, Miley will grab it back and even push him away. Haaaay...
     - She's become OC. She wants to arrange stuff, like her books, food or toys, in a straight line. When one gets out of place, she'll mess everything up with matching shouting and crying!
     - If she wants something, you better give it to her right away ("AKIN! MINE!"), or all hell breaks loose.
     - She wants to do things her way or the highway - like there was a time she was screaming bloody murder because she wanted her yaya to put her slide inside her crib. Okaaaay now.

Last week was probably one of the most embarrassing experiences of my life when Miley decided to have a super duper hissy fit in a department store. I asked my sister if she and Miley could go and look at some toys while I checked out something with my mom in the home section. After a while, I could hear a little girl screaming from afar. I went back to where I had left my sister and sure enough, Miley was playing with a whole row of hair clips. The salespeople were already looking at us since they were probably afraid she would break something. I tried coaxing her to leave but she wouldn't budge. "NO!" Me and her yaya were already telling her to get what clip she wanted so we can buy it for her. She still wouldn't budge with matching screaming of "NO! NO! NO!"

Gentle coaxing turned to pleading and then finally our last resort, threatening. A salesman even jumped in to help us with our acting ("Miley if we don't go, the salesman will get really mad"). Still it wouldn't work. She was already making a mess of the clips and whenever we'd try to pry her away, she would scream at the top of her lungs. I swear the whole floor could hear us and people were already staring (probably thinking "this poor mother can't even control her own kid tsk tsk"). When a salesgirl jumped in to get the clips, Miley threw them all on the floor! Plus, Sabe was with us and he was also starting to scream because of all the commotion. I was red-faced, sweating and helpless. I didn't know what to do. A million thoughts were running through my mind on how to handle the situation. Should I just drag her away kicking and screaming to show her who's boss? Had Miley become too spoiled since we don't believe in spanking? Does she think she can always get away with everything?

But you know what worked? Remaining calm. I remember I just kept talking to Miley in the middle of her outburst. What finally caught her attention was when I told her that we should go check out the plastic balls in the toy section. And just like that, her temper tantrum was over. Miley took my hand and said "let's go to the balls!" I couldn't get out of there fast enough!

Now, I'm a little traumatized by that experience so I'm a bit hesitant to bring Miley to the mall again. But I guess what's wonderful about the Terrible Twos is that it can strike anywhere, anytime. I mean, we just took the kids to the grocery a few days before that and Miley was so behaved the whole time, just sitting in the cart. It was actually Sabe who wanted to keep exploring the aisles and get food haha! Anyway, I came across a great website which talks about the Terrible Twos and how to deal with it. There's also an article there called Tips for Taking Toddlers Shopping which is very helpful.

I'm sure this stage will come to an end soon. But when it ends for Miley, will it be the start for Sabe? Oh no! Hopefully, I'll be more prepared then. ;p

What about you mommies? Have you experienced the Terrible Twos and how have you dealt with it? =)