Who are you and what have you done with my Bubba?

Can anyone tell me what happened to my wonderful 2 year old? He has turned into some sort of crying, red-faced, stomping, screaming, defiant mutant. If he wasn't so cute I'd sell him on eBay.

Bubba is giving us a run for our money. He is averaging about 2 meltdowns per day. It usually starts as something minor that gets blown up as a battle of wills. He will not win because I will not back down. If I tell him what the consequences are for his actions and he does it anyway, he has to take the consequence. I'm not talking about spanking. Are you kidding me? The child has no butt to spank! And I could argue that spanking rarely does any good. But, let's not go there. The consequence could be not watching a video, no book at bedtime, vinegar in his mouth for screaming, etc. If I back down now, he will never respect me, so that is not an option. There would be times when it would be so much easier to just let him have his way. But I would be paying for the next 16 years. So he may as well learn now who's boss.

The only good thing about 2 meltdowns per day is that he puts on one show for Trophy Hub in the morning and one for me at night. At least one parent isn't getting hit twice in one day. That would be unbearable. I'm sure it doesn't help that he has been refusing to nap.

BUT I'M NOT READY FOR NAPTIME TO BE OVER! Waaahhhh! I think I'm going to have a tantrum now. If he doesn't want to sleep, I can't make him, but I can make him have a mandatory "rest time" everyday where he has to sit on his bed and look at books or whatever. As long as he's quiet and on his bed, he doesn't need to sleep although every time I have done this he falls asleep within minutes.

Peanut really never went through the terrible twos. He definitely had (and still has) his moments, but they are usually short and easily correctable. Most of the time, he plays by the rules. He gets that from his dad. And when he sees Bubba in trouble, he usually is an angel. He'll even say "Mommy, am I being good?" or "Mommy, I'm not making you crazy." Way to rub it in - just like a good big brother should do. Peanut has a heart of gold and always just wants to please.

How is it possible that these two kids came from the same two parents?!