I tell you, they CAN be the cutest things in the world, packed full with charm and smiles and cuteness that it almost overflows out of the ears. I mean, how adorable is it, if your little boy comes in with a bunch of "flowers" (other people might call them weeds, but they don't know what they are talking about) he and his daddy just picked outside.... or if he kisses you again and again and again and again (and again...) and then cracks laughing, just to make fun of daddy, who would like to have a kiss himself.... or to be TOTALLY excited about daddy coming home soon and then not letting daddy in but looking through the glass part of the door with a adorable but very cheeky grin :o))))
He can play very nicely all by himself in his room with his cars, his baggers, his trains, his books or his DUPLOs. He can play very nicely with other kids or with us. He can eat like a big boy without making a mess and eat like a horse. He can tell you LOOOOOOOOONG stories about who knows what (I don't get a word he says, maybe an occasional "Bagger", "Zug", "Car", etc., but it is still highly entertaining). He can sit peacefully in his bike seat and enjoy the breeze (while mum or dad get their exercise and sweat their butts off). He can play nicely in his blow up pool on the balcony. He can sit on his potty for 1/2h and read his books (without WANTING to get up). He can be cooperative and opens his mouth and doesn't make a fuss whatsoever when it is teeth brushing time. He can jump and bounce through the entire flat and dance his "Bagger, Bagger"-war dance before bed time and then clean up his toys without any complaint, but with much joy and excitement.
Wouldn't it be soooo much lovelier, if there was only "Dr. Jenkyll" in your two year old????
But unfortunately "Mr. Hyde" is always closer then you think. And I've got absolutely no idea whatsoever what triggers the transformation from Dr. Jenkyll to Mr. Hyde. Circumstances, moods, situations, food or whatever might be EXACTLY the same, but somehow the adorable little two year old is NOT, instead there is this highly irritating, immensely frustrating, extremely nerve-wrecking two year old little "monster". And these rather not so attractive displays of the "Mr. Hyde"-side of offspring are sometimes rather embarrassing in public (yes, I have been tempted to walk away and say aloud "Man, to whom does this naughty brat belong??? That mother did something seriously wrong in the raising of this kid".... alas, so far I have resisted temptation!!).
Well, one indication that Mr. Hyde took the lead is the reaction to the simple word: "No". I try NOT to over-use it, but there are certain things he has to learn, and a "No" is a "No" and it stays a "No". If Mr. Hyde is in the lead, the immediate reaction is "throw yourself on the ground and scream your head off", no matter where or if the ground is wet or dirty or whatever. And there he stays. If you try to pick him up, he just "melts down" to the ground again. Well, highly enjoyable, especially if you're out and can't just leave him there. It happened in the water play area in the park the other day. He was all Dr. Jenkyll when all of a sudden he ran away, and Mr. Hyde kicked in. In the end I had to pack "away" the screaming and kicking kid in the bike seat and ride my bike home with this "adorable" soundtrack on the back. It must have looked rather comical, to be honest. I mean, this really pregnant woman puffing away on her bike with a howling kid on the back who was also using his fists on her back. Well, Dr. Jenkyll DID take over again before I reached home, which was good, because I was on the point of boiling over myself (and not only because of the Mosbach June heat), but I kept my own Mr. Hyde under control, thank you Jesus.
I love your discriptive writings of Ned. Les thinks you would be able to sell them to raise your support
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