Take it to the limit, one more time

My life has become this very Eagles song, at least the title is my life.  Brendan is taking it to the limit ALL day long, every day!  How, at 16 1/2 months, does he know how to push my buttons so well?  Why does he test every LITTLE thing?  B and I are too similar it's scary and it's going to be a battle of the wills all the way.  I'm stubborn (which, when sticking to my punishing guns, is a great thing) and he's stubborn (he makes it through punishments unscathed).

Brendan is a really bright boy, I mean really bright, and not in that "oh my son is so fantastic because he's my son" mentality.  He's too bright for his own good (or at least my sanity).  I have never been so flummoxed by something that I love so much.  And when B pushes the limits, I can't take it.  My patience can only be spread so thin.  He is "naughty" all day long and he KNOWS IT!  That's the part that gets me every time; he just looks at me with this smirk as he throws every piece of pizza on the floor from his high chair tray, or as he throws every lotion bottle of his changing table/dresser, or as he rams the high chair into the painted wall repeatedly.  Our house is safe for Brendan to roam around, but what do you do when he uses safe things to be Mr. Destructor?  Toys, chairs, high chairs all become his next victim.

B finally learned how to climb onto the couches and onto a bench we have in our entryway.  Fun developmental step for him!  He stands on the couches and tries to STEP down and then leans over the back of it because he's trying to find a way down.  We have been practicing how to get off the couch (turn to tummy and slide down) since he started crawling and now that he can climb up, he seems to have forgotten this.  The other day he climbed up on the bench and was "stuck".  I was tired of him climbing up and not being able to get down, so I decided to engage in a battle of wills.  It wasn't wise that it was 10 min. to bedtime, but oh well.  I sat on the floor (with my camera that takes video) in front of the bench to monitor the situation and waited until he got down the correct way.  He kept wanting my "ha" (hand) to help him step down.  I refused.  I waited.  I cheered.  I motivated (do you want to play with the laptop sitting right here?).  I explained.  I demonstrated.  I did not give in.  30 minutes later I figure we should really get his bedtime started.  He's crying at this point.  My heart is breaking.  I must be strong though.  I finally had to help him sit down, turn him onto his tummy, and then get him sliding backwards.  He didn't seem to hate me too much, since the rest of the evening went smoothly, if you don't count him trying to get up from the changing table every 2 seconds in order to reach the bottles just so he could throw them on the floor (and as I struggled with lotion and PJ's and got more and more frustrated, he just laughed hysterically---like a mad scientist).  I have some classic video of this endeavor, but probably shouldn't post it, since someone might think it's toddler torture and call DCFS.  I am happy to say that he hasn't climbed on the bench since, but he has climbed on the couches and 80% of the time he gets down by himself just fine.  I'm not sure what to make of the other 20% when he "forgets" how to get down and just stands on the couch dancing...

It has been a very rough few days.  There have been many tantrums, including the one today.  He was upset (I believe due to being overtired) and didn't want to sit still for some books on his great-grandma's lap (mind you, he's the one who climbed up to her with the book in the first place).  So he got down and started throwing the books.  We don't treat books that way, so I started to collect them and put them in his toy bag.  He QUICKLY grabbed the last book before I could get to it and bent the cover backwards and then threw it at my head.  All the while he had this look on his face...I can't quite describe it.   Regardless, he's a handful.  I know that toddlers are known for their tantrums, their hi-jinx, and button-pushing, but I really think I have trouble here.  He's obviously also very "advanced" when it comes to these types of things as well...wonderful.