Month 19: Vanilla Wafer Breakdown

At 7:14 a.m. this morning, we officially entered a new phase: The Tantrum Phase. Otherwise known as the defiance-and-parental-testing phase.

Daniel woke up in a great mood, shouting "hi!" at the invisible bunnies and lizards outside the bedroom window. All was calm for about 30 minutes, until I handed him two vanilla wafers for a quick (albeit nutritionally lacking) breakfast snack. He accidentally dropped a wafer on the floor, and stepped on it. I lovingly removed his foot from the cracker, took it away and explained that we cannot step on our food. I tried to give him a replacement, but the breakdown had already begun. Screams of anger and a refusal to accept the new cookie. "No! No!"

I put the cookie on a table within reach, and returned to the dining room table where I was sitting. About 30 seconds later, I realized that I was being watched. Daniel had the new cookie, and was standing across the room, waiting for me to look at him. Our eyes locked and without even blinking, Daniel dropped the cookie and stepped on it.

Firmer this time, I told him "no thank you", and took the cookie away again. The breakdown ensued. Tears, screams, anger ... running to dada for help (mercifully, dada maintained our unified front and didn't give in).

Round three. I returned to my seat, only to feel the gaze of one very angry 19-month-old boring holes in my head. I looked up, met Daniel's gaze, and watched him very deliberately throw his remaining cookie on the ground. Then, in an amazing display of balance and defiance, he maintained eye contact WHILE lifting his leg, holding it over the cookie in a silent threat to step on it again. Incredible.

This time I had reached my limit - all cookies were taken away (read: pried out of little clenched sweaty fingers) and the massive tantrum that ensued was ignored. Ten minutes later, once all involved had calmed down, Daniel was given an alternative snack: dried cranberries.

Sure that we had survived this first bought of tantrums, I sat back down at the table to resume my work. Not 30 seconds later, I once again felt the "I'm being watched" sensation. I looked up and saw my son, staring me down with one big cranberry pinched between his chubby fingers.

It fell to the floor in slow motion.

How long does this phase last, exactly?