Tantrum #1

Emma had her first real temper tantrum today. Fortunately for me, I was not there to enjoy it. She went to Lowe's with Grammy and Grandpa, and apparently became incensed when she wasn't allowed to roam through the store to her heart's content. Grammy picked her up - it was time to go, after all - and she arched her back and started howling. Ahhh...I wish I had been there...So now I have to figure out what to do when she has a tantrum. Ignore her? Redirect her attention? Hide my face behind my hand and run blindly out of the store, carrying her like a football under my arm?

The truth is, I'm excited that Emma is at this age. Not because of the tantrums, of course, but because she is clearly learning new things constantly. It's a beautiful sight. I can watch her and see her mind working. She has a book with animals in it, and I ask her, "Emma, where is the kitty." She starts to point at the kitty, pauses, smiles, and points at the dog. She knows which is which. She's just teasing me. What does it say about a 19 1/2 month child when they can think things through well enough to tease? I have to say, I'm completely impressed.

More happy news today...that paper I had to write for my history class (see my recent entry where I bitched about bibliographies) came back today with a big, fat A on it! Yahoo! And there wasn't a single mark on my footnotes or bibliography, which means I did all of that just right. It pays to obsess, clearly. That paper was the last assignment I had for the quarter. I have two finals next week, then I have three weeks off before the next quarter starts. Ahhh, three whole weeks to spend with my little girl...and her tantrums. Well, tantrums or no, I can't think of a better way to spend three weeks.