Rose was so hard I don't remember a perceptible change when she hit two and a half, but all my friends warned me. Oh, when kids hit those half birthdays, they go nuts and it lasts for a year. All my friends with three year olds look permanently exhausted and strung out from the constant chorus of no, no, no accompanied by temper tantrums. For once in my life I decided not to freak out about this before it hit. Who knew? David might be different. He might stay this sweet amiable kid forever.

Nope.

David turned two and a half and immediately hit his cousin in the head with his water bottle, and his grandma in the head with his shoe. He had at least a dozen no's in one minute, each one louder and more strident than the last. He refused sun screen, food, hugs, or to be left alone. When another child tried to help with his puzzle, he melted again.

I am not handling this perfectly. I've been known to compromise/give in to fits. I let him get hungry or tired which, of course, ups the agony by several notches. But every time I make a rule (you can take the Candyland game downstairs after you put your shoes on) and follow through on it, I hope this gets us one day closer to don't even bother throwing a fit because it's not going to work. Every time I give the golf club a time out because it whacked the table after it was expressly told not to, I hope the golf club will learn what to whack and what not to. Every time I say yes and snuggle, I hope it shores us up against the storms.