Sunday, April 26, 2009

The many faces of Kelsie

I am litterally at the end of my rope with this little girl. I have to admit that out of all these pictures, the last one is my favorite and says a lot about her still to this day. SHE IS CONSTANTLY GETTING INTO EVERYTHING! If it's not play-doh all over the floor, it's her getting into my lipstick, if it's not lipstick, it's pulling everything out of her drawers in order to look for the perfect outfit. If she's not upstairs making a mess, she's downstairs making a mess. Yes I will admit, I would rather be doing something else other than constantly having to clean up after her but her messes aren't the worst part. It's this whole separation anxiety that I mentioned before that is just driving me to drink, (which is saying a lot considering I don't drink) If I am clearly not in her view she goes ballistic. Here are just a few examples: yesterday we all went to an outdoor mall where they have some water fountains that kids can play in. I let her and Alyssa play while the babies and I sat down on the grass. (Mind you, it wasn't far from where the fountains were but I made sure to tell Kelsie exactly where I would be.)In the middle of playing in the water she can't see me and so she starts screaming. I put the babies both down on the grass and run over to her as fast as I can to assure her that I haven't left. She's now okay for the time being. Next scenario, I didn't go to church today but called one of my ward members to see about her taking Alyssa and Kelsie to church. She comes to pick up the girls, and immediately Kelsie starts screaming. All morning long I had a talk with Kelsie and told her that I wouldn't be at church today but that this lady who she knows very well would be taking her and Alyssa to church. It was a no-go, no-win situation, and she would have NOTHING to do with the situation.

Tell me please what I am doing wrong here. I need some advice quick! I feel like she is definitely acting out and I am not sure how to help her. Maybe she is jealous of the babies, maybe she needs some alone time with Mom. I don't really know what the problem is. She has never acted out like this before, and it concerns me. Please help me bring back my fun-loving four year old.

3 comments:

Andrea Holley said...

Tate is having a hard time right now too. I know that positive attention will go a long way but he resists when I try to do things with him - he won't let me read to him or do anything when I'm nursing the baby. It's so frustrating. People always talk about the terrible 2s but he was a delightful two-year-old. Three has been the hard one at our house.

Lana said...

ok- so I was (and sometimes still do) having this issue with Hunter and once in a while Gemma. What we do is every time I talk to them, I totally over do it. meaning, I give them a ton of hugs and tell them what great helpers they are and tell them I love them and just take like 40 seconds to love on them, and be done, untill they come back again and do the same thing again. I used to just get annoyed and tell him to stop being naughty and to go down stairs, but I TRY to respond different and be calm and loving and he really does behave better- at least for a few minutes=). Im sure you are alot more patient than me so maybe you are already doing this. Good luck.

Traylor Family said...

Can I come sit with the babies for a few hours while you two go to lunch or do something girly? I have no advice since I've never had a 4 year old girl, but I'd love to help out where I can. Please just call! I'm serious