Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Raising two boys is a blessing.  Raising two boys who are progressively antagonizing each other more and more is not so much a blessing.  Jack has always been pretty laid back, cautious, and for the most part well behaved, though he does have his moments.  Tate, on the other hand, is throwing Mommy and Daddy for a loop.  He is quickly learning to master the tricky child syndrome.

I know comparing children, more specifically siblings, isn’t recommended, but Jack is all I know.  I remember what disciplinary actions we took and were successful with.  Imitating those same actions with Tate doesn’t seem to be working.  He is very strong willed and wants to do things the way he wants them done.  For example, if we speak firmly with him he thinks it’s funny.  A timeout isn’t understood yet.  Speaking to him nicely and trying to explain why we can’t twist and turn during a diaper change takes A LOT of patience.  The latest trick he performs is pulling all the ornaments off the Christmas tree and hiding them.

Tate can be incredibly sweet or incredibly destructive depending on his mood, nap schedule and phase of the moon. What he lacks in consistency he makes up for with personality. We are getting to know our youngest and we love him even if he is a bit of a challenge. Hopefully we can bring out the sweet side and help control his temper.

From Monday Mom – Neetika:
This morning I put Haley in her crib in a seated position with a toy while I went into my room to quickly get dressed. When I came back less than sixty seconds later, she was standing in the crib, holding on to the railing, and bouncing on her feet. My doctor tells me that she achieved this milestone earlier than average. She’s also walking with assistance, though she does not yet crawl.

My feelings about these accomplishments are mixed. I can’t honestly say that I’m very happy that Haley is advanced for her age in some aspects. I’m not upset about it, of course. More specifically, I’m glad she’s not far behind, insofar as it implies some baseline level of good health, and my positive feelings end there. There are a few reasons for this. First of all—who cares? Plenty of children achieve skills later and go on to be very talented and capable. To say that I’m proud of Haley for doing these things early directly implies that I’d have some level of disappointment if she did not. But you know, good for her.

As I said, I’m not upset. Yet it’s a bittersweet time. Now we really need to baby-proof, and it’s so scary to think something dangerous could happen to my sweet girl. When she was bouncing in the crib this morning, she was not actually jumping, but it did not seem very far off. What is stopping her from going right over? I seem to recall that we can adjust the mattress to a lower position. These moments make me feel like an incredibly clueless first time mom.

As I’ve often found when reflecting on Haley’s growth, I’m marveling at it all—the incredible things she does and the surprising ways it makes me feel. Good and bad, exciting and boring, exhilarating and scary—I’m very grateful to be here.

Have a great week everyone!

From Friday Mom – Jaime:
Wait a minute… How did it get to be December already? I don’t know about you, but this year has flown by. And I am completely in denial that Andrew will be 4 at the end of the month!

Thanksgiving was barely over before the world turned its attention to Christmas (and in some stores, we were already there before Halloween!). As I drove Andrew home earlier this week, he was so excited to see all the colored lights on houses and stores. Then he got oddly quiet.

When I asked what was wrong, he put on his sad voice and pouty face to tell me, “Everyone has lights except us.” So first I try pointing out that the universe does not have lights up yet. There are maybe 10 houses in our development that are all lit up right now.

Then he started fawning over the Christmas tree we could see through someone’s window… I tried to remind him that we’re Jewish. “Yeah, mommy. I know. Hanukkah. It’s OVER. The teacher said so.”

So I made the mistake to trying to tell Mr. Andrew that his teacher was wrong. He didn’t speak to me for a few minutes after that affront to his beloved Miss Danielle. Then he resumed the “We need lights on our house” chatter.

He wants blue and green lights because he LOOOOOVES those colors. No. Not white ones. Those are BORING.

And mommy, it is NOT FAIR that you won’t give me my lights. He said it with the watery eyes and voice cracking. The one that’s so hard to resist…

I’m not sure how far to push this one… Christmas isn’t really our holiday, though parts of the family do celebrate it. When I was little, we had a tiny tree that we decorated with some lights and ornaments. I think it was because my parents didn’t want my sister and I to feel left out because all our friends celebrated Christmas and had their own trees. My grandmother always sent presents from “Grandma Claus” every year. And really, what harm would a few lights do if they make him happy? I don’t know…

Anyway, have a good weekend everyone. Hopefully I will not be spending it stringing up lights around Andrew’s room.