He's pushing my buttons

 

My son. My first born. My almost two year old.
I love him so much...
He was the one that taught me I could love more than I ever thought possible.
When I see his smile, I can't help but smile.
His laugh is pretty much contagious and just makes me so happy to hear.
He's energetic and brings a lot of joy to my life,\
He's a great big brother - always wanting to kiss, hug, and hold Maeva.
But lately...he's been pushing my buttons like crazy.

I know he's reaching THAT age, that terrible two age, which by the way, I hate that term. 

He's not terrible. I know that, which is why I hate that term.

He's just trying to be more independent. He knows what he wants and when he doesn't get it...

There's screaming and yelling, there's hitting, there's ignoring me. 

There's putting his head down on the floor and crying, there's throwing things. 

And its driving me bonkers! 

Especially the yelling at me and hitting. 

I just can't believe that he acts that way.
In fact, the first time he hit me I laughed because I just couldn't believe it. 

I know all of this needs to change and that he isn't going to magically change.

If he's going to change then I have to show him how. 

I think that toddlers treat you how you let them treat you.
If I let him hit me, then he's going to hit me.
If I allow him to scream at me, then he's going to do just that.
This is a tough realization I've come to because its hard to change your toddlers behavior.
Its hard to discipline... gosh, so hard for me!
I don't want to tell him no.
I don't want to take things away from him or put him in time out.
I don't want to spank him.
But sometimes, those things have to be done.
And they need to be done now because if I don't work on controlling it now,
then it will be out of control later.
Scary to think about!

I know I've written about my struggle with discipling him many many times, but its still hard.

I feel like it always will be because seriously, what parent enjoys doing it?
Any tips on what to do and what not to do?
Especially when it comes to his yelling at me and hitting? 

I know really it all comes down to him listening and obeying me.

I'm praying I get better at this and if you'd be up to it, I'd appreciate your prayers as well!