The Arm and The Attitude

In recent weeks, Lucas has taken an avid interest in figuring out action vs. reaction and the complex intricacies of how gravity works. Which basically means that our little scientist likes to throw stuff. Constantly. And what an arm he has! Nothing lasts in his crib for more than a minute before it's chucked across the room. On the high chair tray? Not anymore! Lucas has thrown it on the ground. Toys in the bath? Not so much - they are on the bathroom floor now. Something on the ground in front of him? Well if it's not in his mouth, it's clear across the room, and he's chasing after it, just to pick it up and throw it again (like he's playing fetch with himself). He doesn't just throw stuff. He THROWS it. Hard.

The fun thing about going through this stage when you have an older child is that the parent doesn't have to partake in the throw-on-the-ground game. Kids love that game, just about as much as parents hate it. Elise happily runs around picking up the stuff he throws, though she does often remind him "No throwing Lucas!" between giggles.
Opa and Ellie at the Lake in Smyrna
Speaking of Elise, she has recently begun developing a bit of an attitude that Marty and I are actively working on squashing before it becomes the norm. She's always been a pretty stubborn child, but this is something else entirely.

Here's an example:
Ellie "Daddy, can I have a piece of cake please?"
Me: "No you can't have a piece of cake, it's 7 o'clock in the morning. Besides, we don't even have any cake."
Ellie: "I wasn't asking you, I was asking Daddy!"
Watching the 4th of July Parade - enjoying her first ever lollipop!
Um, excuse me? Seriously these kinds of things are flying out of her mouth left and right. It's like she went straight from 2 to 13, and we are in no way prepared to be parents to a teenager. Don't get me wrong, she hasn't by any stretch turned into a rude little monster, but it does happen enough to make us concerned. Because we both think that it's extremely important that we raise our children to be first and foremost polite and caring, the attitude issue (aka: talking back) is becoming a battle ground that is resulting in lots of time outs and tears. Hopefully we will nip this thing in the bud and not have to deal with it again for another ten years. But something tells me it won't be that easy.