No Daddy Shweps!

This face isn't one we see often, but it is sometimes amazing what it takes to get it.  I sometimes feel like a bad daddy because I see it and want to laugh and sometimes even want to snap a photo.  I don't lack sensitivity.  If  this face resulted from an injury or fear, I'd be the first one to console her, but that's not where this one comes from.

Here's an example that will put it into perspective.  Yesterday, when heading upstairs at our house, Elliana stopped about 5 steps into the 15 or so required to achieve our second floor.

"Let's go!" I say to Elliana, but nothing changes.
"Do you want me to carry you?" I ask.  "No!", I get in return.
"Well, let's go up then.  Come on." I say, but still there is no movement.

So after a minute or so, I say, "Come on, I'll carry you." and proceed to carry her up the steps.

This is when the world seems to have ended for her.  She completely broke down at the top of the steps;  crying, flailing around, and yelling at me "NO DADDY SHWEPS (steps)!"  This continued on as we finished our task upstairs, headed downstairs, and began to get ready for dinner.  I just kept hearing "NO DADDY SHWEPS!" for about an hour following the initial apparent violation on my part.

Mommy had to hear about it many times, playing wouldn't resolve it, and she wanted nothing to do with Daddy.  So, how did I end up resolving the situation?  You won't guess what fixed it.

I asked Elliana if she wanted to go back to the steps and go up by herself.  "YES" she said.  So we proceeded to the staircase and she went from the bottom to the top right in front of me.  When she got to the top, she reached her arms up (like she does when she wants me to pick her up) and I asked, "Do you want me to carry you down?".  "Yes" she replied, and that was the end of it.  I carried her down the steps, she asked me to play and her mood went back to the happy little girl I'm used to.

So, sometimes the smallest things (to me) which are apparently the biggest things (to her) can cause this face.  As her daddy, I just need to realize this is the way it is and think like her to resolve the situation in an attempt to bring a smile back to her beautiful face.