The Terrible (-y Confused) Twos or The Many Faces of Boo 2

Benjamin has always been a happy, easy-going baby with a toothy grin and ready hug for everyone he meets. I'd heard of the "terrible twos," but I figured I had until his second birthday before I had to deal with them. Right? Wrong. Oh, so wrong.

The terrible twos don't start at age two. They start the second year of life when a toddler is on his way to turning two. For Benjamin, they started at about 14 months. At first, it was just a bit of surliness when he didn't get his way. He'd pout, posture, and whine, but that was about it. As soon as he started walking, though, the full-on foot stomping, toy-throwing, vein-bulging, back-arching, ear-piercing tantrums began. And they didn't always happen at home. He seemed to save the particularly gruesome ones for when we were out in public. It appears that Benjamin enjoys having an audience for his theatrics. I wonder where he got that from?

The cheerful, laughing baby is still there; he just takes turns showing himself with a tantrum-throwing toddler. It's almost like I'm a mother to two toddlers. Or maybe just one with multiple personalities.