She feels from her gut.

Anybody who knows me and knows me well knows that I am emotional, I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve (well, both of them actually), and I tend to gravitate toward the melodramatic.  I have become much better about the melodrama unless I am around family over the last few years but the emotions are pretty much tattooed onto my shoulders.
Teagan is just like me.  Except in a pint sized package and the fact that she is three and a half.  She feels from her gut.  Not her heart and not her head.  Her gut.  That's where the poetic geniuses from old age say the feelings come from and I believe them.  When Teagan is upset, when Teagan is tired, when Teagan is happy, when Teagan is....she is a LOT of that emotion and her stomach tends to not feel good.  Hence, the gut reference.  Shoes, a book, not being the one to put the toothpaste on her toothbrush, not getting the pink plate, etc. can set her off in a hot minute.
There are times when I can remember that hey, I work this way, I know she just needs some cool off time, some cuddle time, etc.  Those are the moments I am most proud of Josh and I.  We recognize she is an emotional child and we adapt to her needs without giving up our authority as parents.  Then there are times when my gut and her gut bump heads.  I reach my redline and she tops it off with an emotional outburst and my emotional switch flips on.  That is not okay and I am quite anxious about her teenage years.  So, we're working on it.  We're working on Teagan's outbursts and trying to gauge them.  We're also working on our reactions to her.  It's going to be a journey with a LOT of bumps, bruises, slips backwards, and potty breaks, but we're all four in this together and I am thankful for this journey we're on.