Hi all, my 2 1/2 year old boy seems to be more ornery than most (or his behavior is normal?) To the moms who have raised their kids and then some, your opinion/input would be helpful.

My son seems to always be in trouble. I once put him in timeout twice in less than 5 minutes. 2 minutes each time. My husband and I try to pick our battles a lot with him but some things we just can’t ignore. For example: chasing our cats, kicking, smacking or poking them. To pick up trash he deliberately drops/throws on the floor (knowing it belongs in the trash) then not doing it until we have to yell at him. By that time he has a tantrum and hits our walls or slams a door. He tries to climb things that are too high and when we tell him to get down he always says “no” until we, again have to yell at him then he screams or falls off in distress (causing him to cry more). I’m sure there’s more I can’t think of right at the moment but it just seems like we are always yelling at him. And I try more than my husband to distract/deflect and talk in a nice calm voice with warnings before I yell. But he just laughs most of the time. Is this behavior normal? I’m losing my mind as I am a stay at home mom, 8 months pregnant and we don’t really ever get breaks from him. Also, I’m sure my neighbors are so tired of hearing us yell all the time. I feel like a terrible mom! Help.