"Mama's gonna knock you out!"

Okay so Ava is in the midst of toddler dawdling. I don't even know what she is thinking or doing half the time, but she easily gets into her own little dream world; it is so frustrating to keep prodding her to keep moving. It affects all aspects of our day. I don't even know how much time to allow for things anymore! She's daydreaming one moment, distracted by something the next! I have tried to find creative ways to keep her focused on the task at hand. Of course, doing it myself works the best...but three year olds don't really want you dressing them, buckling them in, etc.

What seems most effective at the moment is racing her. She loves winning and while we are trying to work on being a good sport about losing when we are playing board games, I am capitalizing on her competitive nature for day to day stuff. I almost always let her win these little "contests" cuz it keeps her at it. The funny part of all this.... she always says, "I beeped you up mommy, I won." I'll correct her saying, "You BeaT me" and she'll reply "yep, I beeped you up!" I have even emphasized the T "Beat-t-t-t, not beep" and she'll get it right and then say, "BeaT, beeped you up". I don't know exactly where she heard this phrase...summer camp has is downsides, perhaps. It is hilarious, but also makes me wonder what the general public thinks when they here her say it. Should a 3 year old even know this phrase? Unfortunately, she does know the phrase AND what it means cuz I made the stupid mistake of trying to EXPLAIN the difference between beating someone in a race and beating someone up. YIKES! I highly recommend NOT trying that at home.