“I CAN DO IT ON ME OWN”
My intention was to write a blog about our holidays in France and I will still do that but if I wrote about a holiday with a baby and a threenager it would sound like one big moan so I’ve decided to separate it out, have the moan first, then talk about how wonderful the South of France was 🙂
The quote above was said several hundred times a day by Olivia. A three year old going on thirteen. Even though we are together most days I didn’t realise just how much Olivia can actually do by and for herself. The holiday was an eye opener that we are babying her on some occasions but then again if your mum or dad are going to do something for you so you don’t have to well then you would probably play dumb too!
It couldn’t have come at a better time as we have just attended a meeting with Olivias nursery school and they highlighted things we should be working on over the summer to help aid the transition for September. We came home after just saying to each other how Olivia maybe couldn’t manage some of the things only for her to turn around and do the majority of them.
Reading this you are probably thinking “Oh that’s great Go Olivia, you guys must be chuffed” and yes we are but OH MY GOODNESS such drama comes with it!
Olivia please put your coat on, here you go – NO I CAN DO IT ON ME OWN
Olivia sit down and put your shoes on, do you need a hand – NO I CAN DO IT ON ME OWN
Olivia let’s go to the toilet before we go out – DONT COME, I CAN DO IT ON ME OWN
You get the picture im sure. To add to the shouting, sometimes she can’t do the things; she is over confident so then a tantrum occurs with fake tears, a baby voice, whining and the odd drop to the ground and roll – a potential nominee for an Oscar I think.
Another discovery on the first day of the holiday was that Olivia can talk and by talk I mean talk and talk and talk and talk… If there was a phone contract with unlimited talk time for three-year-olds she would need it! She can speak a gazillion words from the second she wakes up right until she’s fast asleep. Heck, sometimes she even talks in her sleep! It can be exhausting at times but on the flip side of that she is so very funny. Such a comical personality that at times we cant help but laugh so much at what comes out of her mouth…but we would still like a gap in the conversation for us to maybe talk sometimes…just saying 🙂
As the week continued we danced around tantrums, disobedience, selective hearing , refusal to eat anything for lunch except ham croissants and then Olivia would cuddle up next to you at night and say: ‘I’m sorry Mummy. I promise to be good tomorrow. I love you. I love my Sister so much. Good Night Mummy, Sweet Dreams Mummy’. ALL IS FORGIVEN CHILD. THAT SPEECH WON MY HEART….a terror by day and a cutie pie by night!
We also learnt a real hard life lesson ; A threenager won’t EVER keep a promise but will make sure you do. Caution: Never take a three-year-olds word when she says ‘one last episode of Paw Patrol’ or the ‘last story’ or ‘just five more minutes at the beach’. BUT, beware if you have promised her an ice cream lolly if she finished all her dinner. She WILL remember and she WILL make sure you keep your promise!
As for Zanna…at the risk of being overtired on occasion she was a dream! Before we went away all my anxiety about the holiday was directed at her. would she sleep? would she be too hot? would she take her bottles? I shouldn’t have worried as everything was fine!
Did we enjoy our first holiday as a family of four? YES. Was it testing at times? ABSOLUTELY. Are we going away next year? DEFINITELY. Wait…..what is the next stage after Threenager????!!!!
[…] The threenager strikes back […]