Oh, my YaYa girl
I always kind of knew that YaYa was going to be challenging as a two-year-old. There was something in her cry as a baby that alerted me to the fact that she's a little, well, spicy. That's the only way I can describe it. Or, I could say, fiery. I guess YaYa could be described in the language you use for varying spice values of Mexican Food. Or hot sauces. Of course there's mild, it's the steady background of the best carne asada taco you've ever had. But even as a baby, when YaYa was still mostly mild, she would blink and I could see a glimmer of Dave's Insanity Sauce, enough to burn your tongue right off.
These days it's mostly a warning on the side of the bottle kind of spiciness. Not everyone sees it, of course. Many people are fooled by YaYa, thinking that the brown-eyed little girl they see, sucking on her two middle fingers, round-eyed and quiet, is maybe somewhat retiring. Or they may be fooled by thinking that she wouldn't be the kind of girl who can let her needs (or demands) be known.
I'm here to reassure you: NOT AT ALL. This lovely little lady is more than capable of tearing your ear off to get what she wants. Not that we always give it to her, but at least she can let her needs be known. And great that she can assert her domination over those dangerous younger girls. Does your baby daughter think she's cute in a smug way? Don't worry, YaYa will let her know who's boss with a nice little shove or a slightly passive-aggressive hug. It's pretty much the kind of behaviour that you never want your daughter to engage in: pushing over helpless babies.
It's a little shocking, I think, moving from the sweet teddy bear age of the second year into the whirling dervish of the third. Your soft-eyed baby leaves and a child who is entirely unreasonable but remarkably strong willed is left in its place. I find myself looking at her and thinking, "Who are you? Where on earth did you come from? Was it even Earth?" With Kid A this was hard. With the YaYa Sister it's so different. She's remarkable well-behaved, and also remarkably stubborn and emotional. She goes from 0 to 60 in two seconds. She communicates with loud shrieks instead of words and I'm constantly encouraging her to rejoin the rest of us who use the English language to speak with one another. She's fiery. Watch out.
These days it's mostly a warning on the side of the bottle kind of spiciness. Not everyone sees it, of course. Many people are fooled by YaYa, thinking that the brown-eyed little girl they see, sucking on her two middle fingers, round-eyed and quiet, is maybe somewhat retiring. Or they may be fooled by thinking that she wouldn't be the kind of girl who can let her needs (or demands) be known.
I'm here to reassure you: NOT AT ALL. This lovely little lady is more than capable of tearing your ear off to get what she wants. Not that we always give it to her, but at least she can let her needs be known. And great that she can assert her domination over those dangerous younger girls. Does your baby daughter think she's cute in a smug way? Don't worry, YaYa will let her know who's boss with a nice little shove or a slightly passive-aggressive hug. It's pretty much the kind of behaviour that you never want your daughter to engage in: pushing over helpless babies.
It's a little shocking, I think, moving from the sweet teddy bear age of the second year into the whirling dervish of the third. Your soft-eyed baby leaves and a child who is entirely unreasonable but remarkably strong willed is left in its place. I find myself looking at her and thinking, "Who are you? Where on earth did you come from? Was it even Earth?" With Kid A this was hard. With the YaYa Sister it's so different. She's remarkable well-behaved, and also remarkably stubborn and emotional. She goes from 0 to 60 in two seconds. She communicates with loud shrieks instead of words and I'm constantly encouraging her to rejoin the rest of us who use the English language to speak with one another. She's fiery. Watch out.