The Drama Has Arrived.

I officially have a drama queen in my house. And what fun it is! Ruby has really been testing her mom’s patience lately. I think her brothers are feeling slightly annoyed too. I try to keep in mind that her molars are very slowly coming in (which the boys didn’t seem to have a problem with several weeks ago). And guess what? The colds have begun again. I’m trying to be realistic, and remind myself that sickness is just part of life, but they got it at the doctor’s office, for crying out loud! We went for their 18 month appointment, only to get rave reviews about how healthy they are. Sigh. They have been pretty good babies considering their noticeable congestion, but I am most definitely glad I made the decision to keep them in all winter. It’s just way more fun when they are well. And Ruby likes to wheeze and cough a lot, even when she has the slightest cold. Poor girl. Anyway, add all that on top of a baby that is already a little bipolar, and it makes for a pretty fun week. She has a short temper (hmm. . .I wonder where she got that?), and sometimes expresses her anger with bites and/or scratches. She can also often be found trailing me throughout the day in a constant state of whine. Sometimes she just want to be cuddled, which is more than fine by me, but sometimes that’s not enough and the whining persists. I’m not sure what she wants most of the time.

I have already implemented an occasional time out when I feel like she really needs it. Like this morning when they were playing in their tent, Alex started crying out of the blue, and guess who’s teeth marks her on his back? She also body-slams people when they have/take something she wants. Sometimes it’s playful and everyone is laughing, but sometimes she’s just angry and means to harm. Who knew my sweet girl would be the bully around here?

She is also accident prone, probably as a result of her craziness. In the last couple weeks, we’ve had a fat top lip, a goose egg on her forehead, and a couple mouth-bleeding accidents. Just yesterday, she nearly bit through her bottom lip. Just what I need, a fussy girl with another reason to cry. Poor dear. She’s a basket case these days.

But, Ruby’s sweet, happy times definitely don’t go unnoticed. She can be as loving as a child can be when she feels like it. She is free with her kisses, hugs me so tight, and sometimes even brings her crying brother a toy, and comforts him in her own little words and consoling tone. Several times a day she’ll run up to me and hug my legs. She loves to laugh, dance, and has a really great sense of humor. She sleeps like an angel, and wakes up happy. It’s a good thing she has so many redeeming qualities, because I need them to remind me that all the things that make me just cover my face with my hands feeling defeated (which the babies always think is a game of peek-a-boo and start to play it enthusiastically), are only temporary and she will be nice to me again soon.

I better brace myself for years of this drama. Being a girl myself, I know what I’m in for. Thank goodness she has two brothers to balance her out.