Last night Caroline woke us with her furious shrieks at about 1:45am. Despite our numerous loving, calming interventions, or perhaps because of them, the girl wailed until about 3:30. I heard a thud in her room shortly after the crying stopped and raced in fearing that I would find her broken on the floor after a "successful" escape from her crib. She was, indeed, collapsed in a pile. But inside the crib bars. Phew.

And so, it seems our sweet, happy toddler is making the transition into an angry, tantrumy toddler. We knew this time would come, but it's hard to watch. More accurately, it's hard to listen to, what with all of the loud yelling. Today she screamed throughout our 15-minute car ride to Little Gym. She threw a fit when I tried to leave her side to go to the bathroom. She also insisted upon eating her dinner with a spoon by herself. I had to strip her to her skivvies and let her go to town to stop the yelling, tears, and flailing. Bath time was more of a hose down. Bed time was like wrassslin' with a mad octopus who wanted to head butt me. Luckily, the exhaustion got the better of the girl within a few minutes, and she is now peacefully slumbering like an angel, gearing up for another day of climbing, screaming, and asserting her independence.