tears and frustration

It was one of those days.

Nothing was making my little man happy.  He didn't want to be put down.  He didn't want to be held.  He didn't want to eat.  He didn't want to read.  He didn't want to play.  In desperation, I handed him my cellphone (the trusty parenting trick) - he threw it to the ground and cried. 

All he wanted to do was chew on electrical wires and play with the dog food.

Both of which are strictly forbidden.

There were tears. There was frustration on both our parts. "I don't know what you need!" I sighed in exasperation.

This is what Cole looked like for most of the day:

But I did the best I could.  We had a nice lasagna dinner, a warm bath, and extra snuggles before bed.  As Cole reached up and patted my chest lovingly as I was rocking him to sleep, I took a deep breath.  Some days aren't going to be perfect or easy.  It's ok for me to be exasperated and frustrated, just like it's ok for Cole to feel that way too.  I'm still a good mama, and we still love each other.

Tomorrow's another day.