Amidst all the frustrations and struggles of having a strong-willed three-year-old, there are bright spots. They may be few and far between, but they do more for me than she'll ever know. I sometimes have to take a step back and remember that if I looked at this honestly, I know I wouldn't have her any other way. It's extremely hard to do this sometimes. When everything is a struggle, from the color of her socks to what she wants for lunch, and everything in between, it's easy to get frustrated and stuck in a rut of negativity.
I have to remind myself that the part of her personality that leaves me pulling out my hair, is also what is going to make her a strong leader someday. Someone who doesn't take no for an answer and who never compromises who she is. I realize that it will take work on my part to guide her, but I can already see the positive aspects coming out.
Some things I love about Audrey (and that I should remember on a more regular basis):
-She makes me laugh. She makes up stories about "beasts" living under her bed and cooking her breakfast in the morning. She sings along to songs in the back seat of the car (I just wanna be OK, be OK, be OK, I just wanna be a candy cane), she names her babies things like, George, Doris, Cake-uh (she really loves cake), Chunk, and Mawdikuh (after Monica on Friends). She talks everyday on her fake phone to a little old lady named Phyllis from church.
-She's smart. She picks up on things so quickly, it amazes me. She can recognize all of her letters, and write some of them. Recently she was also able to recognize some words that Justin spelled to her (cat and mom). She says multi-syllabic words in context (most of the time). She can draw people with eyes, mouths, hair, bodies, arms, legs, feet, etc. I really have no idea how she knows these things. I work with her a little but, but many of these things have been completely surprising to us.
-She amazes me with her empathy. Even from a really young age, she has genuinely cared about others. If someone is crying, she cries. If someone is upset, she offers her blanky to them. She seems to pick out the one little old person at the store who really needed a smile and waves to them. This is uncharacteristic for her because she is fairly shy the rest of the time.
-She performs feats that should make me cringe, but as I watch her climb a six foot fence by herself the first time, or learn to ride her scooter, or jump off of whatever rock/bench/curb she finds, I can't help but feel a surge of pride. It's kind of crazy, but I know that's who she is. And it's a little bit who I am, so I love that I can (within reason, and under supervision) allow her to explore the world in her own crazy way.
It's been a tough...well, three years if I'm being honest, but every day is an adventure with Audrey, and I don't think I would know what to do if she was an "easy" child.
"You know the only people who are always sure about the proper way to raise children? Those who've never had any."
