Terrible Twos are NO Joke!

There have been a few times over the past few weeks where I have sat in awe while watching a certain 2 year old go from being the sweetest, kindest, most adorable little boy to the spawn of Satan in a matter of minutes. My sweet boy? No way! Oh yes, it has been a trying few weeks. Obviously, we have entered the Terrible Twos Club, but then couple that with some wacky routine changes, a slight case of bronchitis and some 2 year molars coming in and I feel like we have entered the Twilight Zone at times. This all seemed to have started the week after Jameson only slept for 7 hours the night of Darin's surprise party. I do believe that he maybe just never caught up. On top of that, there were a few days where he had to stay home with us due to others being sick, which meant he got to sleep in late and then stay up later at night. And, then of course with me going on bed rest and having to modify all of our routines - things have just been a little nutty to say the least. No wonder the poor kid has been a mess. Who wouldn't be?

We almost feel as if we have to walk on eggshells around him lately. The catch phrase constantly ringing in our ears has been "don't want to" with a side of screaming, throwing fits and hitting occasionally. His sleeping habits (both naps and bed time) have changed for the worse and although we should count our blessings for having a good sleeper for so long, it is frustrating. He screams when we leave the room and then once he calms down, he stands against the side of his crib. Sometimes for an hour or more before giving in and laying down! Stubborn little monkey! I know it's been weird for him though because we have completely disrupted our usual night time routine with my not being able to pick him up. Plus, the time we put him to bed slowly got later and later and I think overall, he is just completely out of whack! The positive thing is that once he lays down, he is out for the night.

I know all of this has tried our patience and has left me wondering what I am going to do when we throw a newborn in the mix. Luckily, we have some amazing families who help us through these things. And, I think my hair would be gray if I didn't have my awesome support system of March Mommies who are all going through similar scenarios with their toddlers. It's nice to know that this is completely normal and that I didn't in fact birth the spawn of Satan! I am completely joking when I say this - we all know that I think the world of my child and even in the midst of this fun-filled stage, my love for him grows every day.

I mentioned in my Before You post how Motherhood has taught me that I can experience pure joy and frustration at the same time and this rings true during these terrible two moments as well. I continue to pray that God gives me patience during these tantrums because I have to realize that my little man is only two. He is still so little and even though he communicates well beyond his two years, he is still only two. This will only last for awhile and he will be graduating high school before I can blink. We have to stand our ground on things so he knows that this behavior will not be permitted or rewarded. But, bottom line, we have to remember that he is only two. And, we have to be extremely grateful that overall he is an amazing two year old. He is well mannered and is just the sweetest boy - always giving hugs and kisses. He is intelligent and actually listens really well...when he wants to. So, in those moments when I feel like I may go crazy, I just have to remember that with every bad moment, we have about 20 more good moments that wash away any trace of the Terrible Twos!


I am happy to report that bed time has gone wonderfully the past two nights! Hoping this means that he is adjusting to our new bed time routine! And, honestly, overall, he has been so much better this week - I really think he just needed to kick the germs, get some rest and adjust to the changes....let's hope so anyway!! Keep it up J Man!

Mid tantrum - I know, taking pictures doesn't help.

This was right before someone started throwing Easter eggs!

Last Thursday night just standing up in his bed. Every once in awhile
we would hear, "don't want to" and "Mommy, get me uppy". An hour and a half
of standing (and sleep standing!) before he gave up!

And, then we have moments like this that make it all worth it!!



And, the joy on his little face at the simple things in life...let's
hope he is this happy to vacuum when he's older!

Seriously, he is too sweet! He wanted to hold my hand during dinner.

Getting some afternoon snuggles while baby sister kicked at him!

I look at this sweet curly haired angel and all the frustrating moments
get washed away! My love.

Monthly Update - 25ish Months!

I really wasn't sure how to continue with your monthly posts - should I do it every month, every few months, every time you do something funny or new?? Well, I knew the third choice was not an option because I would be writing a new post every few minutes!! I also think that going every few months is just too long because a month in the life of a two year old is full of changes, new experiences and developments. So, looks like we will try with the monthly posts and see how it goes!!

• When we went to the ER, you were 36" and 30 pounds.
• You love your baby sister! You will kiss and rub my belly and say, "awww'. You like to share your food with her too! Not sure you could get any cuter!
• You recognize your feelings and talk about them with us after the fact. For example, you will talk about how you were sad and crying earlier and then will say, "I'm OK now!".
• You LOVE listening to Johnny Cash in Daddy's car! It's so cute - you will pat your knee to the beat with me and dance around.
• You understand that my name is Laura and Daddy's name is Darin!
• Gma Kim mentioned that you like to eat salad! Only the crunchy pieces, but that's great! You also like cod nuggets and are obsessed with fruit snacks! We use those as potty training treats! You also now eat bananas here and there and don't think they are "icky" anymore. But, you do make silly faces when you eat them - so cute!
• One cold weekend, we were playing in the basement and started building Mommy/Daddy/Jameson mountains. The mountains then turned into volcanoes that erupted and this has turned into a favorite activity! You LOVE to build Mommy/Daddy "Cane-Os"!
• You have been slightly moody (another post to follow) and we discovered that your bottom left molar is coming in. I can understand how that would make you feel awful!
• Still obsessed with Tom and Jerry...
• http://youtu.be/bgDegC79pHo
• Although, you are still partial to watching Tom and Jerry, but Wreck It Ralph has been a favorite this past month.
• You have started to memorize the books that we read at night. It's so amazing! I love having you read them to me! Some of our favorites over the month were: Potty Time, Dr. Seuss Sleep Book that you got from Gma Debbie and Ray, Snuggle Up Sleepy Ones, Good Morning Good Night and the Berentstain Bear books (especially the baseball one!).
• I have said it over and over, but your imagination just keeps getting bigger and it's so fun to see. You were playing with Tom and Jerry the other day :). And, the bad "eenas" (hyenas) and pumas are always chasing after us!
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXkjpr8f2WI
• You also like to play "little puppy" with me when I am wearing an outfit/shirt that has a string! You walk me around and talk to your "little puppy". Cracks me up!
• You love the Tickle Monster! You love to run from him/her, but you love to be caught even more! Nothing better than hearing the giggles that come out of you when you get caught!
• You are obsessed with the Talking Tom/Talking Angela music videos on the iPhone/iPad! I have those songs in my head constantly!
• http://youtu.be/nAL8pnigFNc
• You also refer to my iPad as "Mommy's Leap Pad"!
• Gma Debbie has a container full of buttons that were my Grandma's and you love to play with them! You talk about the buttons a lot!
• http://youtu.be/jCC02J8Yejg
• You love to find the moon. Even in books, you get excited when you see a moon! We like to find it outside at night and sometimes in the morning on the way to daycare, you will find the moon!
• You love dinosaurs right now! I love it too actually - it's fun to learn about them all!
• You have been doing this for months, but you like to pick out your own clothes to wear and you have to take them off the hanger and put the hanger back. You are very partial to your Lion shirt outfit and have luckily been able to fit in that for months. Not sure what we will do when it's too small!
• You're back to making funny faces again and it seriously cracks me up! You and Ray like to make funny faces and I love to do it too!
• We seem to be mostly back on track with potty training. We still haven't even officially started, but you are getting so good! I hope that your enthusiasm continues!
• We celebrated a lot of birthdays! You got to be a part of Daddy's big surprise party! I wanted to tell you everything! With most 2 year olds, I probably could and it wouldn't be a big deal, but you remember everything!!  Case in point: the night before Daddy's birthday when we were hugging before bed, I told you that when you wake up, we would need to sing Happy Birthday to Daddy. And, guess what - the first thing you said when you woke up was, "we need to sing to Daddy!". So, we went and woke him up by singing and hugging him! You loved it and I know he did too! You had a great time at the party too - you talked about Daddy's birthday party for weeks!
• http://youtu.be/WHxXh99kaAA
• http://youtu.be/ZS0bnLrXMuE

Vocab: we can pretty much carry on any normal conversation with you. You tell us about your day: what you did, what you ate, etc. You tell us how you are feeling. You tell us when you don't want to do something (we hear this a lot). Basically, we rarely have to try to figure something out with you because you can communicate it to us perfectly. You are so well-mannered, always saying thank you and giving kisses to us. But, of course, you are a two year old, so with the good, comes the terrible twos! More to come on this, so let's get to the good stuff :).

• "I can't!" - You sound so helpless sometimes when you say this! "Mommy, I can't. I need help". So cute!
• And, what is even better is when you say "I cannot!". Ray loves when you say this! "I cannot hear it, Ray". Usually referring to Dora or Tom and Jerry when you're in his car :).
• We ask you to say the magic word when you want something and you always respond with, "The magic word. Is. Pllllleeeeease". So adorable and it cracks us up that you repeat the whole phrase! This might be my favorite thing that you say right now!
• "I'm so proud of you!" - this was adorable! We say this to you with potty training, so I did something that apparently made you proud because you patted me on the back and told me this!
• "Anything" - you say "don't want anything" when you don't want something that we asked.
• "Forever" - you have grasped the concept of forever. Or at least you say it like you have! I said that Dora had to go away and you looked at me and said, "forever?". The look on your face was adorable and I explained that Dora was not in fact gone forever.
• "Awhile" - you can correctly use this in a sentence. "No, Daddy, we are going to play for awhile".
• "Already" - you also know what this means. "I already turned it on, Mommy".
• "I'm sorry" - you are really good at saying this....on your time! You will say this if someone is upset or gets hurt, but if we ask you to say you're sorry for doing something you shouldn't have, it will have to come on your own time!
• "Just a minute" - I about fell off my chair when you said this! But, then I thought about how much we say this. "Just a minute, Mommy"....um, too cute!
• One day, I called you Grumpy Gus when you were whining and you looked at me with the most serious face and said, "No, I'm Jameson!" So, now we do this often because it makes us all laugh. This also happened once when I called you Buddy! Too funny.
• "Not yet!" - this was another one that made me do a double take! "Jameson, are you ready to go take a bath?" "No, not yet. I want to play." Well, OK then smarty pants!
• "I spank you!" - this was all in fun! There is no spanking in this household, but we were being silly pretend spanking, so you think it's funny!
• I reported last month how sometimes I am referred to as Gramom - well, this month, I was called "Grommy"! Haha! And, you have referred to Daddy as "Grandma Daddy" on more than one occasion!
• You found a brush in my drawer and you looked at me and said "how'd that get in there?". I just love to see you connect things like that. So cool.
• "Really, really, really really (fill in the blank!)". You always comment about how the moon is really really really way up there. Or how your blankie is really really really soft. Love when you say this because you have this adorable look on your face.
• On the way to Gma Debbie and Ray's one morning, you were commenting about how many trees there were. When we got to some trees that had zero leaves, you mentioned that they were "icky". I said how they were sad looking, but soon they would get leaves. Your response to that was, "and then they will be pretty and happpppy!!!!" Another one of those instances where I was amazed with how well you connect things.
• Very strange, but you sometimes out of nowhere will call me Mama (as opposed to Mommy or Mom like you normally do). To which Daddy calls you Honey Boo Boo because of how you say it. The whole thing is hilarious!
• You started this past month by saying Daddy differently. You would call him Da-deeee. And, now it is Daaaadeeee. You also do Mommmmeeee. Like you're exasperated with us! It's too funny.
• http://youtu.be/g4rMwg-jQ1s
• http://youtu.be/PQuwf6A5wxA
• "One left" - you like to let everyone know when you have one more left of something.
• "One more" (whiling holding up your pointer finger) - this is WAY too cute and it almost always causes me to give into you!! You have been saying one more for a few months, but with the finger and the look you give me, it's ridiculously hard to say no!
• "This is the last one" - you will say this after we give into your "one more" plea. You try to convince us that you really are OK with the fact that it will be the last cartoon (or whatever). But, once it's over, we get the whole "one more" plea yet again! You have figured out how to work it!
• "I wreck-ed Ralph you" - you like to pretend you are Wreck it Ralph sometimes and after you "wrecked" Daddy, you said this! Cracked us up for quite some time!
• "Uh oh spaghetti-O" - love when you say this!
• "Holy Moly Guacamole" - Ray taught you this one, which is equally adorable!
• Why? Why? Why? Why? - yes, we have for sure entered this phase. We have yet to use the "because I said so" response, but I fear it may be on the horizon! 
•  "No want to." Or, "I don't want to" - This is just like music to our ears (NOT)! We hear this phrase multiple times a day! You are quite the opinionated little boy :).
• Lastly, you have created your own language! We have said this about you since you started cooing and blabbering. But, now, it's especially interesting. I am thinking maybe Braden had a hand in this because I know he has his own little language too! But, you will randomly say, "pity pooty, pity pooty, etc". There is more to it, but we haven't quite cracked the language yet! And, I haven't been able to capture it on video. So, for now, we just sit back and smile because, well, it's funny and because you always have a big smile on your face!

More videos that I thought were worth sharing!

• Eww, a bug! http://youtu.be/-jE4nPgRdz0
• Having fun at the Jump Spot! http://youtu.be/z2Nway3K1Ps
• We need to work on your hoops a little - you love to play hoops with Braden and Beckett, so it's only a matter of time. Or maybe it's because Tom and Jerry on the TV was distracting you this time!! http://youtu.be/AJ_xSaUY9eY

Eating the last of the birthday cupcakes. Mmmm.



Snuggly bean!

 

SO jealous of the those eyelashes!

He likes to carry stuff like this and then will say, "bye Mommy/Daddy".
So funny!

Enjoying a "nana"

Eating lunch on his new Mickey table from Gma Debbie and Ray!

Jump Spot with Daddy!

He loves his Gma Debbie and Ray! Hanging at iHop after a busy class at the Jump Spot!

Apparently, playing the drums as a nakey baby is more fun!






Just taking a rest on his new soccer ball from the Edmondsons!
He calls it his night night pillow.






He LOVES to play in the water!






LOL! No words for this. 






I love this picture! He looks so intense!






Hanging with his buddies at Gma Kim's and PaPa's!










Man, I love this kid!!!







Oh, just wearing Gma Debbie's scarf. NBD.






Painting!






Don't interrupt me while I paint my masterpiece!






Helping pick up Braden at school! He LOVES to do this!






Walking on the "balance beam" after getting Braden at school!






Time for a rest!






Loving on some Monical's...with the dressing of course!







He is looking for bugs, lol!






Helping Daddy pick out his Golden Birthday ring!










Someone wanted to be like Mommy!!






Ha!






Happy St. Patty's Day!






My how he's changed!






Sometimes all you need is a hug from Grandma!






And, if you're lucky, you get hugs from both amazing Grandmas!

 
 



And, this is what my parents get to deal with each week! Building mountains!






Taking a quick break to watch some Tom and Jerry and have a snack,






Wearing Daddy's safety glasses!






Hanging with his buddy, Hoytie.






That newspaper must be interesting!






Stinker stole my spot in bed!







Feeding his baby sister his cereal, awww.








My boys!







Taking a ride on his giraffe!







Enjoying the snow one last time before it disappears (hopefully!).










Hanging with his buddy, Zach! Apparently,
it's more fun to run around shirtless!







What? I am just eating an "enemem"







Opening Day 2013! Go Cubbies!!!






Another comparison of Opening Days for the past 3 years!






Sock hands!






Taking a stroll in the brisk Spring weather with Gma Kim!
Have to have a stick in hand!







The bump serves as a great pillow!







Silly kids! Having lunch at Monical's with these two and my family
makes for an awesome lunch break!






Reading the Cat in the Hat to me!






Very intrigued by Wreck It Ralph!







Laying on the "mountain" or "cano"






Finally! It's nice outside! But, he is so used to wearing his coat, he wouldn't take it off!






Reading to me again!






Two of my favorite people in the whole world!!






Silly kid! Loves to make funny faces!






Watching Tom and Angela sing on the iPad! Serious business!

 
 
 



Snacking on some fruit snacks at Beckett and Bennett's house!






Lazy movie night!






Love his perfect little curls and his perfect little face!
Also, why I have such a hard time getting his hair cut!!







Walking me like a "little puppy"!







The Night Time Adventures with Ming Ming!!!






Just some more adorable sleep pictures!

 
 



Love him!






Helping Daddy make homemade pizza for his birthday Eve dinner!






Helping Daddy open his birthday cards!


Pictures from the Surprise Party!





Surprise!!!






Silly kids!






Aww!






Jameson wanted to be like Jonah!






Goof balls!






Singing Happy Birthday!

 
 
 



He was all partied out and just wanted to snuggle! Who am I to say no?!