We are approaching "two" with a vengence. We are two days away from Maddie's big day, and I must have threatened her with "no Dora birthday party" 50 times in the last week. She was such an easy baby. She behaved so well in public, even in restaurants. Not so as of late. Miss Sassy Pants wants to be in charge. She wants to do everything "by mysef". I have found myself giving in! It is a huge change going from one child to two, especially with them being so close in age. Maddie makes us laugh all the time, but when Preston was born, I think he brought her the gift of pushing our buttons. For example, we had some friends over a few weeks ago. I cleaned all day (in between feedings, naps, play time, etc.). Our appliances are stainless steel (not ideal with kids), and as I finished cleaning the fridge, Maddie leaned against it. "Maddie, mommy just cleaned that. Let's not touch." She looks me square in the eyes, and reaches out one hand and plants it on the fridge. She's giving me a look as if to say "what are you gonna do about it?". I just have to pick her up and put her in her room. I used to say that I would never spank my children. Now I go to bed saying "Thank you Lord that I didn't beat her!".
I have realized that it is best to keep Maddie busy. I recently enrolled her in a mommy and me gymnastics class. Our first time, she was so excited that she couldn't pay attention to the instructor. She was rotten, and we should have left after 5 minutes. The second time we went, the place was packed. She loved watching the big girls do jumps on the vault. She screamed "oh no, she fall" every time someone did a somersault. She was only half as rotten as the first time.
I know all of this is normal behavior, and she is a sweet and tenderhearted little girl most of the time. In the rough moments, I find myself praying for God to help me make lemonade with my precious lemon. I want to extend His grace and mercy to my children so that they will understand His love for us all. I am so grateful for His love for me when I have a rotten day!
I still have to say that Maddie is so great with Preston. Every morning she says "hi big boy" and gives him a kiss. Last week, I was holding him in my lap and she screamed "Mommy, Peston spit. No spit Peston! Not nice!" How do you explain that it's okay for him to drool but not nice for her to spit (except when brushing her teeth)? Oh, the challenges of parenting.
Speaking of my little drool box, he is 3 months old today! I can't believe it. Time goes so fast. He started sleeping through the night a few weeks ago. It was just in time because this was my first week back to work. Thankfully, my parents are visiting and taking care of the kids for me. It makes the transition much easier.
I had a 40th birthday party for Marty last weekend. I thought it was in my best interest not to have his and Maddie's the same day. We had a great time, but I didn't take one picture. In fact, the camera never crossed my mind. Happy 40th honey! Maybe we'll get some pics of the big 5-0 in 2018.
I will post pics of the kids tomorrow!
This was Maddie's first trip to Chuck E Cheese. There is so much to look at and a lot of noise. She took a few minutes to take it all in. Marty and I were discussing how many tokens we should buy when we hear this extremely loud, glass shattering scream...it was Maddie...she spotted Chuck E. She jumped into Marty's arms and we couldn't help but laugh. We have never really seen her be afraid of anything before now, but Marty did a great job of calming her and explaining that it was just a person playing dress up. She watched him move across the room, and of course he approached her. I coaxed her into giving him 5, which she did very quickly. She gave him 5 once more, and then she started to laugh. She was proud of herself! We told her how great she did, and then we decided we wouldn't go to Disney anythime soon! There wasn't a lot of activities for 2 year olds...especially not ones that give you tickets. She rode the car with little Chuck E multiple times. It prints a cheap little picture to remember the trip by, so if anyone wants a copy let me know. We have 7! It was fun, cheap, and a good way to get out.
