The Hulk

I think it's time to let you in on a little secret. (whispered) Owen has a FIERCE case of the Hulk. This may not be news to some of you. I've mentioned before that he was a struggle in Italy, but there were other circumstances that brought out that beast. And then yesterday. Yesterday he made me cry.

It began a couple months ago. At least that's when I started to notice that my sweet little one wasn't as sweet as I once believed. First came the frustration. Then an escalated pattern of grunting, crying, and the like. Soon Mark and I said to ourselves, "Oh, it looks like our little guy is having a hard time expressing himself. How cute. But he'll talk soon enough." Then came the incessant head banging. Anger, and a quick search for the nearest hard place to bang his head. Not enough to really hurt, mind you, but just enough to cause a minor bruise. We tried our best to ignore the dramatics and pay attention to the cues so a tantrum wouldn't dare show its ugly little head. And that's when he kicked it up a notch. High-pitched shrilling screams were followed by thrown objects. So Mark and I said to ourselves, "This is more serious. Perhaps our little guy needs time out from the situation to calm down. Yes, time out," we both agreed. Thus began the hitting, headbutting, and hair pulling. If we tried to pick him up, we'd make sure to grab hold of his arms to avoid a hit, headbutt, or pull of the hair (usually reserved just for me).

And then yesterday. After a couple of particularly hard days I was tired of dealing with the twos. My spirits were already low. And a tantrum began. Only this time he managed to add something more. After a particularly hard hair pull, he just sat there and laughed. Laughed at my futile efforts. Laughed at my weakness. Laughed at me. So I cried.

And wouldn't you know, today he has been just shy of angelic. He's probably harnessing his special powers for the upcoming weekend when we are with large crowds of family. Then, and especially then, he will unleash the beast.