I want that!

We’ve entered  a wonderful new stage of child development in the Marker house.  It’s the stage of “I want that”.  This statement is usually followed by screaming, arching of the back and flailing when she does not get what she wants.  We can no longer show Evie things at home, on a walk, in the grocery store, or anywhere else without her saying “I want that” and reaching for stuff.  Sunday she procured about 20 pairs of underwear, plus a few bras from a low hanging rack at Kohl’s before I could stop her.  I had to check her stroller before we left the store to make sure she wasn’t swiping anything.  We had a meeting at the bank and her eyes lit up a the bowl of lollipops on the desk.  She was allowed one while we had our meeting to keep her quiet, but when she was finished she immediately reached for another.  She almost had a meltdown when she was denied a 2^nd treat.  Last night at the grocery store, she scored a piece of cheese from the deli by acting cute for the ladies behind the counter.  We ran through the produce dept., and Evie cried “I want that!  I want that!” as we passed the blueberries and bananas that she loves.  Even taking a walk with her can be difficult.  Evie has love of dogs.  She points at each dog that we pass on our walk, shouting ‘dog’ or something that kind of sounds like that.  As we get closer, she gets more and more excited, but when we pass by, she cries ‘dog!’ and ends up in tears.  This happens each time we see a dog.  Lovely.

This stage is funny at times, but it can truly try my patience.  She wants my phone, the remote control, Daddy’s glasses, even Crosby’s food dish.  Poor guy has to be locked in his cage at his dinner time so that she doesn’t abscond with his food.  We try hard to be consistent and not give into the behavior so that she understands that she cannot have everything that she wants.  But, like everything else, this is a learning process.  A process that I fear is going to take a long, long time for her to learn.  

Gimme water!

Playing with all of her new toys at Pops and Kiki's house!

Happy that she got a cookie :)