Um, yeah, I'm an idiot. Despite knowing full well that Alexis does not respond well to scolding, that time outs are wasted on her, and that the best way to help her forget that she's mad about something is to change the subject in dramatic fashion, it took me until way too long to initiate our Shake Out the Grumpies Game. My dear sweet Alexis has been back and in full force ever since we jiggled and shook and bounced around like complete idiots (literally shaking out the grumpies--try it sometime, it's physically impossible to stay grumpy when you're shaking your groove thang and yelling "SHAKIN' OUT THE GRUMPIES!" at the top of your lungs). All day long, two has been nothing more than a ghost of it's cranky self. I've known for months that my game was a great way to put an end to one of her foul moods, and I failed her by not thinking of it sooner. My apologies, kiddo.
To make it up to her, I have read her a book that I despise with all of my soul no less than fourteen times so far this evening. I'm sure we'll get at least five more readings in at bedtime because Elmo Does the Hokey Pokey is her current favorite book. She can't even go to sleep at night unless she's clutching it in her tiny little hands. Her mission at the moment seems to be to memorize the words so that she can "read" it by herself. Of course, not yet knowing all the words doesn't stop her from trying: