A breakthrough?

I'm not sure if it is a breakthrough, or just a step in the right direction. I am definitely grateful for every little step though. :) I was writing in a previous post about how we had six months to get Gavin's terrible two-ness under control. Well, now the official countdown is four months...

The first sign that things were improving was after our weekly trip to the grocery store. Usually, this trip begins with a struggle even getting him in the grocery cart. So our first stop is straight to the bakery to get a cookie sample. Then I think to myself - OK, I have five minutes to shop uninterrupted while he eats his cookie. Once the cookie is gone, you never know what is going to happen. He might briefly entertain himself by transferring groceries from his front seat to the back. At some point, he usually wants to get down and help push the cart. I try to avoid this as much as possible, knowing that he likes to take things off the shelf and put them in the cart. If I can leave the store without a full-on tantrum (about leaving, something he wanted to put in the cart, etc.), it was a good day.

Part of this breakthrough is due to the fact that he knows his letters. Last week, he sat in the back of the cart gazing intently at the ads attached to the side. His face lit up as he pointed out each letter and told me what it was. It was the best, most relaxing shopping trip we've had in a long time!

There was a period of time where it seemed that everything was a battle. Getting him into his carseat, eating, changing his diaper, changing his clothes... I was so exhausted by the end of the day! I tried my best not to give in and to be consistent. It seems to finally be paying off as the battles are once or twice a day, instead of all day long. Now we just have to get his whining under control. One simple whine can mean - I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I'm bored, I need help, I want up, I want you to play with me... any number of things. So we're trying not to give him what he wants until he can tell us with words. At least one or two anyway.

Four months to go... I hope we can do it. :)