The Roller Coaster Called Parenthood

It's been a long weekend.

It seems that our kiddo has officially hit the "Terrible 2's" early. I suppose I can still just pray that it's a fluke, but holy smokes!

The weekend has been filled with timeouts, tears, tantrums and a bit of silliness mixed in there thankfully. I've been hit, pinched, and smacked in the face. Then again, I did get some hugs and kisses too. I've had moments of frustration, and annoyance and other times I've been able to take a deep breath and stay patient. Oh parenthood. Such a roller coaster.

Yesterday was a battle from the start. It was hot so we were stuck inside. I'm sure he was bored at times, but even when I tried to do things with him he had more interest in climbing up on the table, climbing in the computer chair and turning on the screen, finding pens and taking off with them, stealing and throwing the remotes, opening things he knows he's not supposed to, etc. etc. etc.

Nap time was a battle, as it has been all week long. It resulted in him crying, ripping letters off his wall, and throwing his stuffed animals and blankets on the floor before finally curling up in a ball and falling asleep...only to wake up as a bear.

Apparently when he woke up he wanted a snack. Instead of asking, he ran into the living room, started crying and throwing his toys. He tipped over his big car ramp and then to show us just how mad he was, he picked up his activity table and chucked that too! I managed to stay calm for that one. I asked him to pick up his toys and then tell me what he wanted. He calmly put everything back, hugged me and requested a granola bar.

Then the rest of the evening was a mix of good moments and not so good moments.

8:00 arrived and I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or full of dread. We brushed teeth, got our books, read and turned off the light to rock. My little boy suddenly turned back into my sweet child. He snuggled up and didn't move. He didn't fight me and wiggle all over, he just laid there. We talked about our day and how tomorrow would be a brand new day. I reminded him just how much we all love him. When we were done with our songs and prayers I told him it was time to go to bed. Lately, I usually get a whine and him shaking his head "No". This time he nuzzled right into my chest and just laid there. After a day like that, I decided he and I BOTH needed extra snuggle time.

We started out fresh today...but it's been a bit rough too. He's testing all of the boundaries right now.

Thankfully, he decided to take a real nap today. I'm hoping it helps since he hasn't really had a decent nap this week compared to normal.

Ahh...just had to vent and I know my fellow moms (and dads too) will likely be able to relate to this.

Daniel of course has had his adorable moments too. One of my favorites of the weekend was yesterday morning. I caught him waving and talking to his shadow. When he moved the shadow disappeared. I asked him where the shadow went and he steps into the light again and says, "There it is!"

Last night, he and Jacob were sitting on the couch and Jacob's phone vibrated in his pocket. Daniel's foot happened to be next to him. Daniel goes, "Toot???" and then, "What was that?" Haha!

We also made him malfunction. He's been confusing, "up" and  "down". In general he gets "up" right, but also says it when he means down. We've been correcting him when he gets it wrong. He wanted out of his high chair and says, "Up? Up?" I was washing the table and not quite ready to get him down yet so I didn't even reply. Then he pipes up, "Down?" I told him that was right and that I'd get him down in a minutes. He proceeds to sit there the whole time going, "Up? Up? Up? Down??? Up? Down? Down? Up? Down?..." Silly boy.

Here's hoping to a better week. I need some ideas of things to do with him. It's getting to the point that I dread going places because I know there's going to be a meltdown at least once...but alas, he's a toddler and that's what toddlers do.

Really though, no matter what, who couldn't love this kid?