The Two-Year-Old Tantrum

"I got it!" My 21-month-old daughter falls on her back and holds my lip balm beyond my reach. Olivia is obsessed with lip balms and lipsticks, usually destroying every one she can find.
 
"Livvie..." I say in my stern mother voice. "Give me the lip balm, please."
 
"No—it's mine!" she refuses.
 
"Livvie, please give Mommy the lip balm," I repeat.
 
"I keep it," she insists, and the battle of wills begins.
 
Livvie won't be 2 for a few more months, but you would never know it. Not only is she quite verbal for her age, but she can throw a tantrum worthy of a veteran 2-year-old.

Her latest trick is to scream a shrill protest that rises while her face turns bright red. She looks like her head is about to explode, and then she couples it was a fierce "I mean business" look in her eyes.
 
The first time she unveiled this new protest, I laughed out loud! She was so angry and so serious, all I could think was, Wow—this girl is going to have quite a temper!

Trying to prevent a wild red-face howl, I try out the "1, 2, 3" method on her.
 
"Livvie, you need to give the lip balm to Mommy or you are going to have a time out. One...two..." I pause and warn her, "Livvie..." And before I get to three, my testy toddler hands it over.
 
Shocked that it actually worked, I break into praise for her good choice and hug her.
 
As the mom also of a 7-year-old, I know all too well that you win some and you lose some. Besides, maybe Olivia is just going easy on me and saving her fiercest tantrums for when she actually does turn 2.
 
I remember that my son, Jackson, had his first really brutal "2-year-old worthy" tantrum just a few hours before he turned 2.

I was diluting the juice in his sippy cup, and he saw me add the water. He came undone. "I don't like water!" he wailed. He was inconsolable. He protested for over an hour, repeating, "I don't like water!"
 
And yes, that was just the first of many tantrums. In fact, at 7 years old, he can still deliver a powerful protest. (Fortunately, his tantrums are usually fierce but pass quickly.)
 
As Olivia grows up more and more every day, I am piecing together what she will be like as a little girl, and even trying to imagine her as a teenager.

A part of me can't wait to get to know that older child, but most of me wants to keep her as my baby.
 
What about you? When did your little ones unveil their strongest temper tantrums? Did their personalities as toddlers reveal their character as older children?