Tantrums, tears and screaming...oh my!

It's clear that we've entered the toddler years here in the Type A Mommy household. Baby is going on sixteen months old, so apparently the "terrible twos" are starting a little early over here (or things are going to get infinitely worse, which is just a frightening thought). Baby is pushing the envelope daily, whether it's pushing buttons on the TV (which Husband decided was a no-no) and smiling at me as I tell him "no," or having a complete and total meltdown because I won't let him go run around in the kitchen while the oven's on (another no-no around here, because the oven door will only lock when the oven isn't on). A lot of Baby's frustration, I think, is in his lack of ability to communicate what it is that he wants - when he wants something and we get it wrong because we can't figure out what he wants, he gets awfully mad. Yesterday, we visited our local mall's play area, which is normally an area that he loves to run around in. It has some safe things to climb on, which he normally loves as well. Yesterday, though, he was quite difficult. When we got to the play area, he was awfully mad that I picked him up to take his shoes off. Shortly thereafter, he had a total meltdown when the older kids who were there blocked the little log tunnel to where Baby couldn't crawl through it all the way. Poor little guy. He just wanted them to move.

Then yesterday, when we visited a friend of mine for some swim time, Baby got positively furious with me for lying him down to put him in a swim diaper. He got so very worked up, and did again when I laid him down to take the swim diaper off.

Hopefully, his language skills will soon catch up with his physical skills, but until then, I think I'm totally in store for more screaming and more tantrums. I'm trying valiantly to teach him more sign language, which he's picking up quite readily, to help him communicate more easily. If any of you moms have any tips on how to handle these super fun tantrums, please do let me know. Some days are easier than others, but there are definitely days where I just feel helpless, and I don't know what to do to help him chill out. Yikes. And I'm sure it's only going to get harder.