Strong Willed Children

I made the mistake of categorizing a younger Hank as my spirited, strong-willed child. He had all the indicators and, to a degree, still does. After butting heads with him for his whole life I assured myself that any child that might come after him would be a more typical child like Madeleine. Oh, I don't mean to say Madeleine never misbehaves- of course she does-- but her misbehavior is more of the expected types of naughtiness that people expect from children, not the mentally draining, constantly exasperating child who continually feels the need to exert his or her independence and challenge every assertion a parent might make.

For us, Hank was our mentally taxing child. Or, so we thought.

Turns out he's got nothing on little Elisabeth. Boy oh boy, that girl is something, let me tell you. Part of it, I know, is her age. Or, at least that's what I'm going to keep telling myself on days like today.