MIIIINE!

How do you deal with the "mine" stage? I am asking this as a serious question and expect a comment from anyone who can provide insight. Perhaps because he was our only child at the time my son never declared everything his. My daughter, on the other hand, tries to claim all she sees. For example, it was my turn to sleep in this morning. I walked downstairs and found her eating the last few crumbs of a Poptart. I asked her "Are you all done?" She answered, "NO! MIIIINE!" Like I was trying to pry those piddly little crumbs out of her mouth. Then the battle began over my son's toys. He has this cute habit of watching a movie and trying to act it out simultaneously. The choice du jour was a Buzz Lightyear cartoon. He had his Buzz and Woody dolls lined up and would act out all of the action with his little Buzz Lightyear action figure. My daughter started on her hot pursuit of kidnapping Woody or Buzz. First she just grabbed them right out from under his nose. Then she waited until his pretend play took him to the other end of the couch and layed on top of Buzz and Woody so he couldn't take them away from her. I needed to intervene here, as her lobster-like claws were wrapped around poor Woody's leg. It was almost an amputation but I managed to untangle them off just in time. She found some of her own toys and I thought that was the end of it. NOPE! She layed in wait and when she thought the coast was clear, she snatched Woody and ran! There is a voice in my head that says "For the love of God, just give it to her and be done!" But the mom voice kicks in and wants to teach her that she can't take things that don't belong to her. While these two voices were battling it out in my mind, my son chased her down and made a big game out of it (So Wise). Then he put in his neon green vampire teeth and scared her. She lost interest in his toys for the moment. Me? I called it a draw between my two voices and prayed that the "MINE!" phase passes quickly.

The Culprit: My Almost-Two-Year-Old daughter.
The Crime: Kidnapping her older brother's Woody doll in a fit of selfishness.
Her Alias: The sweet adorable toddler
Careful: She may be armed and dangerous with her little fingernails and her small fists.

The Victim: My 5 1/2-year-old son (and his toys).
His Stategy: Distract her with his green teeth