"Not be the momma" - at least she gets it

It's cold and wet today. And I was up rocking a teething, cranky boy most of the night. So I deemed it a lazy day.

H told me she wanted to be the momma, so I told her to have at it. She "rocked" and cuddled me on the couch while patting my back, telling me to go to sleep. I relished every second of that because she's not a big cuddler.

When she finally decided I'd "slept" enough, it was time to play.

When B came over and plucked the bowls we were playing with away from me,  I bellowed, "that's mine! Give it back!" and pretended to cry. This is a typical reaction for H, so it was interesting to see her stop and figure out the proper response.

"Well, he just wants to see it," she told me gently.

"But he took it out of my hands! I'm just going to take it back out of his."

She shook her head at me. "If you do that, you're telling him it's okay to take things out of people's hands. You need to use your words."

I pouted and then said, "B, I was playing with that. Can I have it back?"

B promptly said, "No!"

"He says no!" I cried, and then started to pretend cry again.

"It's okay, it's okay." H patted my back. "I know you're frustrated with him, but we have to be nice." She turned to B. "B, Momma was playing with that. You can't take things from other people. You need to give it back."

"No!" B wailed again.

"I see you're having a really hard time returning that bowl back to Momma. If you need help giving it back I can help you."

"No!" B shouted again.

H looked at me and sighed. "This is hard. He's not listening."

"I know," I agreed, trying not to smile.

H turned back to her brother, her little gears turning. "You made Momma sad when you took that from her. You need to give it back now. I can help you find something else to play with until Momma decides she's done, but you don't get to take it because you want it. She had it first."

"No!" B yelled, pulling the bowl to his chest.

"Momma, he's really frustrating me," she told me between her gritted teeth.

"You're the momma. What should you do?"

"Not be the momma!" She answered emphatically.

Ha! If only the solution were that easy sometimes.

But I was immensely proud of how she handled the situation. And it proved to me that I'm getting through to her, even in the midst of tantrums and dramatic monologues. She's getting it.