My daughter had a very public meltdown in a Christmas bazaar yesterday.

She sucked her breath for a long time, to the point that her lips started turning purple, and then cried hard as loud as she could. To be honest, she looks like this:

There was no consolation for our baby. When I tried to hug her, she still continued crying. And when I tried to get her to stand, her knees were like jelly, and she just wouldn’t hold.

Why did she cry?

She wanted to touch the items at the store, which is not allowed. And when I carried her out of the booth, she went bazooka.

I sat on the floor with my little angel turned hell-on-earth, suffering the annoyed looks of pretty shoppers, who thought it was my fault that my daughter is having a tantrum.

It came to a point that someone took a pity on me and gave me a plastic chair to sit on while I console my baby.

She was inconsolable for about 20 minutes.

It was then that I realized that I have a little hellion in my hands.

And she only turned 1 year old 10 days ago.

A one-year 10-day hellion.

My husband thinks it’s normal, but I wondered to myself where my sweet little baby went. The baby who smiled and cooed when I picked her up. The one who believed I was her savior in a loud, bright and chaotic world.

I think my daughter will be strong-willed and stubborn, just like her big mamma.

Why do I say that?

Well, my 1-year old daughter loves her independence. Since she learned how to walk unassisted at 11 months old, my baby loves to stroll around the mall and enter every store that caught her eye.

Sometimes, she likes to hold my hand. More often than not, she prefers to walk alone, nonchalantly entering the store and touching anything that keeps her fancy.

And when you try to carry her out of the store, another battle ensues. She starts sobbing until you bring her to another interesting store.

I look at the other mothers with clingy babies who never venture more than 2 feet away. Nope, my daughter’s not like that. She’s going to be a big traveler soon.

My stubborn baby also has her own mind. If she wants something, she really wants it. And if she doesn’t want it, nothing will convince her to try it.

And she can be very opinionated.

She’s opinionated with food, with her toys, with stuff that she wears.

She also doesn’t listen too much when I call her. She doesn’t come when I call her, and doesn’t follow my wishes for her.

And once again, she’s only 1 year old.

I think I have a problem in my hands. Most people talk about the Terrible Twos. She’s just one. This should be just the beginning, and wow, I think she’s a strong-willed girl.

Good luck to me.

Happy holidays!