Continuation of Blair and Food...

I'm up before four this morning (which isn't unusual these days) eating a bowl of cereal. I figured since I can't sleep I might as well blog about Blair and her precious food. My family seems to get a kick out of this since apparently I was the same way growing up. I guess we could say I have a mini me. Anyways, back to Blair...Any time Blair has anything sweet (candy, fruit snacks, etc.) she will immediately shove all of it in her mouth. It doesn't matter if it is three, five, ten, or twenty, they all end up in her mouth at the same time. I'm constantly telling her, "not so many" or "only one at a time" but she never listens and there have been a few times where she has almost choked because she's had so much in her mouth she could hardly chew. I'm not sure why she does this but my guess is she is worried that someone might eat them before she does so to make sure no one does she puts them in the safest place she knows...her mouth.

Another thing Blair tends to do is shove something in her mouth (say a cookie) and before she has even chewed it will come up to me and ask for more. She seems to get a little upset when I tell her she needs to wait until she finishes before she can have another one. This has led to her opening her mouth wide to let me know for sure that she is indeed finished and would like another one ASAP.

Blair is really into the "MY/MINE" stage right now. Yesterday she dumped her fishy crackers on the floor so I told her she needed to pick them up. She kept saying, "My crackers!" as she was using her body to shield them from me. I kept trying to reassure her that she could have them and that I wasn't going to take them but she needed to pick them up. She didn't exactly pick them up but rather she just ate about half of them off the floor (some with her fingers others doggie style-thank you Easton for teaching her this one). Anyways, she eventually got up and left the kitchen so I figured she was done eating. Boy was I wrong I guess she was just leaving them there for later? I grab the broom to finish cleaning them up and she comes storming into the kitchen and seriously throws her body on top of the crackers and yells, "MY CRACKERS!!!" I won't lie I was a little scared. I actually left them alone and let her come and go the rest of the afternoon to finish those crackers at her own convenience. It wasn't until she was upstairs and away from the kitchen that I finally got enough courage to grab the broom and sweep up the crumbs that remained.

This has nothing to do with food but I thought I would include it since it has to do with Blair. So most of the time if Blair doesn't want to do something she will say, "No." I know this isn't surprising to anyone and not unusual for a child but what is unusual (at least I think so) is the way she says it. If Easton says, "NO!" he is either screaming it at you and crying or saying it all snotty like. Blair on the other hand says it all sweet and innocent. It as if she is saying, "thanks for the advice but no thank you."

I know I've said it before but it is really hard to discipline Blair. I'm not saying hard as in that I don't like to or want to (hopefully that makes sense) but instead it seems like things don't phase her like they do for Easton. Sometimes things do but I would say for the most part they don't. With Easton if I tell him to go to time out it's basically the end of the world. Tears surface and he throws a fit. With Blair it is either a sweet "no" or she'll just go and sit down. Is it weird that I want my kids to be upset when they get a time out? I wish I could take both kids and put them together. That they would go willingly to time out but also cry and be upset while in time out. With both kids if they are doing something they know they aren't supposed to be doing I will generally ask, "Do you want a time out?" With Easton this gives him a warning to straighten up or he'll end up in time out. He'll also generally answer "no" in a pleading or snotty voice. However, recently with Blair she will not hesitate and will walk right over to time out and sit down. I find it kind of funny but also really annoying at the same time.

I don't generally spank my kids unless they do something that I think is unsafe (running into the street, climbing on the table, climbing the banister, leaning over the edge in the playroom above the stairs, etc.). If they run into the street it is an automatic spanking but if they do any of the other things I generally give them a warning, "Do you want a spanking?" Again with Easton it is generally a "no" but with Blair (recently anyways) she will turn her back to me, look over her shoulder, and stick her butt out as if saying, "Go ahead. I don't care." Again, kind of funny but also really annoying. How do you discipline a kid like this when nothing seems to phase them?