Time Out Toddler

OMG, I have a toddler. Miles is totally in that mode where he can suddenly fall apart at the smallest little thing. Or, he grabs onto a subject and can’t let go, he just spirals, demanding the same thing over and over and over despite my constant “nos.” Or he pushes the disciple boundaries. Tonight at dinner I had mistakenly left a few crayons on the table and Miles got a hold of them. I told him to put them down 3 times, gave him a time out warning, and so he decided to see what “put those crayons down” really meant. He started banging the crayons on the table, first hard, and when I told him to stop he started doing it quietly. Finally we had to put him in time out.
For me, there are two really difficult parts about disciplining a toddler. 1). Following through. If you tell them they will be put in timeout for disobeying, then you have to actually put them in timeout, otherwise it’s just words that your kids think they can work themselves out of. 2). No matter what, try your damnedest not to laugh. I’m sorry, but seeing that cute little body trying to assert some alpha male authority is just too funny sometimes. I quite often have to suppress fits of laughter.
I just love that little kid.