In Case Anyone's Been Wondering...

Why I've not been posting much lately, it's mostly because my four year old daughter has been quite the handful the past few days.

I'm sure it's hard to be four. It's big enough to want to be able to do everything on your own, yet little enough to not be able to actually DO most things on your own. Toss in being smaller in size than most kids your age, and you've got an idea about Riley's frustrations.

I've heard several people say that having a kid who is four is like having a kid going through the dreaded terrible twos times TWO. I never agreed with that statement with Adrianne. She was just such a different child than Riley.

But with Riley.....well, that whole two times two deal might be legit! It's so easy for her to switch between being the happy, cheerful, playful child to the child who is yelling, scowling, sulking, and plain outright defiant. When the world goes Riley's way, it's sunshine and roses. But when it doesn't? Oh how fast the stormy clouds roll in!

So we've been dealing with a lot of attitude issues lately. My little Irish-named girl has the temper to match it. Whenever she gets mad or frustrated, she gets VERY angry and often lashes out. If she's angry with me or Matt or frustrated that she can't do something, she tends to yell and scream and cry. If her anger is directed at Adrianne, she is more likely to hit. Needless to say, neither of these actions is an appropriate response to her emotions, and I have been working with her to try to figure out ways for her to better communicate her feelings. But we still have a long way to go.

Lately, it would seem that Riley's curiosity has been sparked by all sorts of things. With in the past two days she has both unrolled a WHOLE roll of toilet paper ("I wanted to see how much there was.") and torn open a tea bag, getting all the loose leaf tea all over the living room ("I wanted to feel what it felt like inside."). I understand that curiosity is a GOOD thing, and that it is very natural for kids to want to discover things about the world around them, but it sure has left me with several messes to clean up!

But as frustrated as I have been dealing with Riley lately, I must say that I would not trade her in for the world. As tempestuous as she can be, she is also just as sweet and loving, and she has such a wonderful laugh that always brightens my day.

I am so blessed.