Strong-Willed Child

When my brother and I were teenagers my dad used to tease us that when we turned 13 aliens came and abducted us and would return us to our bodies at 19, meaning that teenagers can seem moody,  difficult, and unrecognizable to their parents. 

I would have to disagree though. I think the aliens take over during age two. 

Bug has been particularly challenging for us. He is very strong-willed, always doing what he wants, on his own schedule. He doesn't respond much to discipline. When he gets in trouble, he will cry, but a few minutes later he is disobeying again. I wrote about Binker when he was going through his difficult phase, but Ryan takes the cake. He will throw tantrums when he gets in trouble, or knee the couch, (I know, what?!), and then he will look at us for our reaction. He is constantly pushing us, wanting to see how far he can go. While I get frustrated with him and his defiant nature, I also can't help but be quietly amused by his antics. I find it amazing that each child is born with their own personality, and as challenging as Bug can be at times he is wonderful in so many ways.

Bug is so sweet and lovable, he always has been. When I stick out my arms he gets the biggest smile, runs over, jumps in my lap and gives the best hugs. He also loves to help out. Whether we're feeding the baby, changing a diaper, or assembling a new toy, he is always right there, intently watching and learning. In fact, we gave him his own tool belt for Christmas because he follows Husband around whenever he is fixing something with a screwdriver or hammer. Now Bug has his very own set. He runs from room to room, hammering the windowsills, and door knobs, and then he will take his "screwdriver" and turn it against the door frame and say "I fixing the door!"

I can't wait to see where his desire to learn and to help takes him. 

That's assuming, of course, that I survive the remainder of the Twos.

Tough Times

Oh, sorry. I don't mean to talk while my mouth is full.

I was just eating my words.

A big heaping bowl of my words.

You see, I used to say that I thought a lot of the problems associated with the 'terrible twos' were related to how the parents approached this stage in a child's life. I assumed that if the parent was an overly dramatic individual and didn't understand the reasoning behind why toddlers act the way they do, then those parents would freak out over every little thing, when really, age two is such a fun time!

Oh, hold on, gotta eat some more of my words here.

Yeah, we've been struggling lately. We are in the thick of this two year tug of war, Jacob and me. Every night after I put the boys to bed I just collapse on the couch, completely spent after yet another day of Jacob hitting, and throwing, and crying, and screaming, and pushing, and whining, and tantrum-ing. It is exhausting. It seems as though we have really reached a high point in this past week.

It's frustrating for me, it's frustrating for him. I wish that Richard were here to help. Sure, he'd probably be about as clueless in this field as I am, but we could be clueless together. And then when I am feeling totally drained, I could at least say, "Tag, you're it!" then run and hide in the bathroom for half an hour and just breathe in some silence, while he dealt with the two year old alien that has decided to inhabit our home. I feel like calling some customer service number and complaining that my baby is defective - my once sweet, gentle infant has turned into an unpredictable time bomb. Sometimes I feel like I am walking through a field of mines, except in this scenario, the mines are tantrums. Sigh.

Today has been another difficult one. While I realize that with some better planning on my part we could have avoided some of our issues, I still feel absolutely depleted. Jacob had been crying for so long that he was gasping for air, Ryan had started whimpering, and so I decided there was nothing else to do but join in. And we all cried. Now my eyes itch and my head hurts and I could really use an adult beverage, but that will just have to wait a couple more months until I've got a backup parent on duty.

Just when I get to thinking that I am on my last nerve and I start wondering if there is a time limit on returning children, (I could have sworn I saved that receipt...), Jacob goes and does this:
Awwww my sweet, precious angel! That smile is heavenly, who couldn't love that little face? I don't know why people complain about this age, it is so much fun! The twos are terrific!

Teacher and Student

Jacob was only 10 months, 10 days old when he became a big brother to Ryan. For the first few months he was pretty oblivious to the newest little addition to our family; although in his defense, all Ryan pretty much did for those first few months was sleep. Jacob has really settled into his role as big brother though. He takes toys away from Ryan, he pushes him when Ryan gets in his way and he steals Ryan's sippee cup from time to time. He can be a very sweet big brother though too, I remember a time several months ago when Ryan hurt himself, and Jacob brought him his favorite stuffed animal, and he had a really concerned look on his face over why his little brother was crying. They really do get along well, and Ryan just adores his big playmate.

Brotherly Love

Now that both Jacob and Ryan can walk and are very active, Jacob has taken to teaching Ryan some skills that they both employ to keep me busy throughout the day. Jacob has taught Ryan the following things:

To climb.

To love books.
To constantly want to "go bye-bye".


And now he has taught Ryan the all-important "I didn't get my way" stomp.

Doing Said Stomp

I thought I would get a little break between the time Jacob was going through his 2-year old phase and when Ryan would enter it, but it looks like they want to do it simultaneously.

To that I say bring it on, boys, bring it on. At the end of the day, I'm still the one who decides when it's bedtime, mwa ha ha!