It's hard being 3

Preston has been going though some rough times lately.  He's my little buddy right now and I'll admit, he may be a little bit spoiled.  Not that he's getting a new toy every time we go somewhere, but we'll stop and get lunch every once in awhile, or ice cream after we check out at Costco, a cookie from the grocery store bakery, maaaaaaaybe a book or DVD on occasion.

Apparently in all of that, he's come to expect something EVERY.TIME.WE.GO.ANYWHERE.  And he's start throwing MASSIVE tantrums in the store- hitting me, screaming, crying, etc.  Of course it's embarrassing and my heart always goes out to other mothers when I see them dealing with this type of behavior.  I've learned to remain calm, tell him we're not here to get (fill in the blank) today, and quickly finish up at the store while I'm sure customer and employee is giving me the stink eye.  I prep him EVERY time we go into a store, but he melts down EVERY time.  He wants gum.  He wants a Skylanders Giant.  He wants candy or a toy.  He doesn't discriminate stores.  Fry's, Target, WalMart.  I started taking pictures with my phone to document the occasion-

#tantrumoftheweek

Sometimes I forget he's *ONLY* 3.  Well, almost 4.  I think we expect him to behave like a big kid at all times because overall, he is pretty mature for his age.  For the most part, he's a good little kid and I like taking him with me places, I just hope he outgrows this phase quickly!  I'm holding strong, not giving in and constantly reminding him that we don't get something we want every time we go to the store.

A few more pleasant pictures~

Riding the carousel after Kids' Club at the mall.

 Getting Fall flowers for the front yard

One day after an emotionally draining trip to the grocery store, I just decided to drop my plans for the day and sit down to play with Preston.  He was happy as could be and boy was his imagination going!   I read somewhere that playing with your child(ren) is the best behavior modification secret.  It's true.  I need to do more of that.