Doing it wrong

In the life of a toddler you can pretty much guarantee that 99.9% of the time you aren't doing what they wanted.

A request of fish fingers with dippy sauce that you have put in a splodge next to the fish with result in an almighty tantrum. A week later (after learning your lesson!) you will put the sauce in a cute little pot next to the fish. WRONG! Again you will be met with a wild child who wanted it in a splodge next to the fish.

You will never get it right, if you are smug and think you got it right, you are so wrong! I repeat, you will never get it right!

For instance when we went shopping last week, I picked up some jelly sachets and Bubba spent that evening carrying them around the house. I promised I'd make some jelly, I promptly forgot. So next morning I made jelly whilst getting us ready to leave for nursery and ushering the electrician in to start pulling up carpets (so read: manic). Thinking I was clever, I poured it into some ice cube trays she had been using as skateboards (don't ask, toddlers imaginations are vivid!). Smugly I thought 'she's going to love this'. Wrong.

When she saw what I'd done, all hell broke loose and a tantrum in the kitchen ensued. She didn't want it in her skateboards mixed with wanting the non set jelly right away.

My pride at doing something good was replaced with disappointment that I'd got it wrong again!

Anyway, we sat eating the jelly that evening and the next day straight from the ice cube trays (purely because I couldn't get it out of the mold without making a huge mess. Mummy fail!

Starting to understand

My girl hated everything Christmas last year, she really didn't care for Father Christmas and cried when it was time to have her photo taken with him. She tried eating all our decorations, so much so that this year I had to buy new ones, ones without teeth marks!

This year she already gets that she needs to ask Father Christmas for what she wants (a green T-Rex dinosaur). She even had the audacity to go up to our local Santa in the shopping center (who incidentally only popped out of his workshop for a quick wave and to stretch his legs) to ask for the a fore mentioned Dino. We hadn't paid to see him or have any intention of doing so.

I'm excited this year, she can repeat, parrot fashion, that to get presents she needs to be a good girl. I'm hoping it sinks in along the way! Yep I'm aware I sound fairly naive about that. We've also got an elf on the shelf to keep her on the straight and narrow!

The bit I wasn't expecting was her observation and subsequent questioning over the fact Father Christmas looks different every time she sees him. I mumbled something about how he probably brushed his hair differently! But this week we are off to our local garden centre to visit his workshop and meet him. Bubba has been primed (by my mum) to ask Santa why he looks different on the tv, in pictures and in person. Can't wait for the answer!