Shock and Awe

Today, 18-month DD threw a fit that was obviously intended to shock and awe. It happened because I refused to give her a second granola bar. I really shouldn't have even given her the first, because it was already 4:45, dangerously close to dinner time. But...she was just too cute to resist. Little pink cheeks, tiny white teeth, bright blue eyes fixed upon mine as she pleaded, "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeese!!!" (please).

So I caved. I gave her a granola bar. And that was sticky fun for all involved.

Except...

she wanted a second one. And I didn't cave. I washed her off, extracted her from the highchair, although she clung by her toes for dear life, obviously realizing that once extraction was complete, her dreams of a second granola bar were destroyed.

When I tried to put her down, she refused to lower her landing gear. She just would not unfold her legs. So I sat her on her bottom.

That really offended her. I could see the warning signs developing. It's much like tornado season in Indiana. The sky turns an ominous deep green, and things actually seem still. Then...the tornado.

Similarly, things got very still in our kitchen. Her eyes became bright blue (amazing how tears turn eyes a different shade, isn't it? Anger too....), and her face a bright tomato red. Then...the siren. A loud, piercing wail that I swear sent our neighbor's dog into a frenzy and the local police scrambling.

Then she flopped back onto her back. Of course, we have a wood floor, so there was a resounding 'thunk!' I offered to hold her to make her feel better, but that was given the same reception Osama would face if offering to kiss George Bush's boo-boo. No go.

She flipped over to her tummy, allowing her greater clearance from the floor whilst angrily kicking her legs.

But then I noticed the blob of granola. It was stuck to the bottom of her foot, right in the middle. It's very hard to take someone seriously when they have a blob of granola stuck to their foot. Just like in a meeting, you simply cannot concentrate on what your boss is saying if he has ketchup on his chin.

But once I started laughing, she was so startled that she paused, and then she started laughing too. Don't know that I would be that lucky if my boss was over 33" tall.