"The good news is...."

"When children are very difficult at age 2, I've found they are easier at age 3".

Those were the words Colby's preschool teacher used to comfort me after she told me Colby is her most challenging 2 year old this year. And she teaches every day of the week. Basically, he just does not follow directions unless it's something he really wants to do.

At first, she was concerned that he wasn't understanding her words, but I assured her he was, and he was choosing to ignore her. Welcome to my life. Lee and I are so used to this that we weren't sure it was all that abnormal, but apparently Colby is a bit further down the stubborn and strong willed spectrum than the average child. No surprise, as both Lee and I fit that description.

What do you do with a 2 year old who just chooses to ignore you? We've been doing the counting/time outs at home, and that works some of the time, but Colby goes to time out about 3 times a day. Apparently, it's not working at preschool because they can't really put him in time out, and Colby has figured out that there's no real consequence. So, we are working with the teacher to come up with some sort of positive discipline. We've introduced a sticker chart, but Colby isn't all that thrilled with the idea so far because he just doesn't care about stickers. He does care about candy, but the teacher does not want us to use that.

Despite the challenges, Colby is still such a sweet, loving, and happy boy. And active. Very very active. Even though he gives Miller a good whack at least once a day, he is still very sweet and loving to her 90% of the time. He's just exploring his independence right now, and we're reeeeeeally hoping he'll get some of that out of his system as he gets closer to 3!

Mom, is this payback?

Uh oh...

There's a chink in the armor.

Colby is hitting Miller. And taking her binkie. And pushing her when she sits. And scratching her. And playing drums on her head...with sticks.

He seems to enjoy both the act and getting punished for it.
The first 6 months of toddler sweetness were just too good to be true.

I hope this is just a phase, and I hope it ends soon. Miller is going to be one tough cookie.

It has come down to this....

My desperate attempt at making my girl look like a girl. I dare you to call her a linebacker now.

Jammin'

Colby doesn't want to watch the Wiggles anymore....or Blues Clues...or Barney. He wants to watch live acoustic concerts that we record on TV, and he plays along and dances with his guitar. His favorite concerts so far are the Counting Crows, Weezer and Dave Mathews. He's also started "plugging in" his guitar...you know, because the real rock stars all have a cord hanging off their guitars.





Where did this child come from?

Six Months

Miller had her 6 month appointment, and she's healthy as a horse...and not petite.

Weight 22 lbs 15 oz....so basically 23 pounds (2 more pounds than Colby at 6 months)
Height 28 1/2 inches
Head: 18

We went to a new doctor (after the last one told me she had some "ass to move") and he assured me that although she's very big (all measurements are outside the 100th percentile), he's not worried a bit because Lee and I are both tall and thin. (well, I used to be...I'm working on that)

Miller has started solids, and after rejecting both rice cereal and oatmeal, we gave her squash and sweet potatoes and she loved them both. She's 4 days into eating and really getting the hang of it, although I've forgotten how messy it can be.


The fabulous news (for me) is that I added dairy and soy back into my diet about 3 weeks ago. I did it very gradually, starting with a piece of chocolate. After a few days of no reaction, I ate 2, and then 4, and then a few days later I got brave and had some ice cream. I can officially say that Miller has outgrown her food allergies! I suspect that maybe they were just slight intolerances, but whatever they were, her stools are looking normal and I'm drinking Starbucks Lattes. Woohoo!

Over the past week, we've had some snow and school has been cancelled, so I tried taking both kids to the gym with me. Colby did great, but Miller has had an absolute meltdown each time. The first time, they paged me to come get her after about 20 minutes. The second time, she burst into tears as soon as she saw the room. She remembered! Isn't she a bit young for that? Guess I'll be using the treadmill at home for a while longer.

Colby was soooo excited about the snow so that he could build a snowman. He's been talking about it all winter, especially since Clifford builds one in his still current favorite book, Clifford's Christmas. I woke him up early from his nap on the day that it snowed, got both him and Miller (and myself) bundled up.

I really wasn't sure he was going to get off the porch, but eventually I convinced him.


Once he got down, I discovered that the snow was too dry to make a snowball. I was so disappointed! We improvised and made a snowmound, and Colby was still pretty impressed.


Unfortunately, the snowman now lacks a face because Georgia wasted no time enjoying a little late night appetizer.

Colby also helped me shovel the sidewalk and driveway.


And Miller supervised from the sidelines...


I think I've gotten my snow fix for this year....we've had fun, but after three days trapped inside, I'm ready for school to start again!

Random things

The similarities between Miller and Colby as a babies are pretty amazing. It's hard to tell them apart physically, and they also seem to have very similar personalities. Just like Colby, Miller likes to have constant stimulation and needs to be entertained. She is not one to lounge around in her carseat without making a peep. She is also (unfortunately) not a snuggly lap baby. That's ok, though, because she really keeps us laughing with the new things she is doing.

Another similarity is that Miller seems to love her musical crib toy. Colby has been turning on his aquarium since he was a little baby, and to this day, we know when he's sleeping because it's the only time the music isn't playing. Much to our surprise, Miller has figured out how to turn on her mobile by reaching behind her head and hitting a button. At first, we thought it was an accident, but she did it three mornings in a row. She has also become very attached to her bunny, which she clutches while sleeping.


Miller has been rolling over from back to front for about a week now, which is about 3 weeks sooner than Colby did it. As soon as she hits her playmat, she rolls onto her belly and then needs assistance getting back over. (somehow, she forgot that she could roll over front to back)

Colby has a new favorite saying: "Colby do by self" or "I want Colby do it" It was only a matter of time, and he says this several times a day!

Since it's almost time for Miller to start solids, and Colby still loves his high chair (and so do we), we decided to purchase a second one. Colby likes to do art projects in his, so we really weren't ready to only have one. Here they are trying it out together. (Colby is picking at his fingernails, which he does ALL the time now)


That's about all the excitment for this week....I'm going to try to do better with posting weekly updates, even though I'm sure it's not the most exciting thing to read. The next update should have info about Miller's 6 month appointment, and I'm bracing myself to see where she is on the weight chart. (I already know she's not actually on it, I'm just wondering how far off of it she is.)

Only 344 days....

9 hours and 56 minutes until Christmas.

Colby asks me on a daily basis "Where Christmas go?" How in the world is it possible to explain that to a two year old? All the talk about Santa, reindeer, presents, lights, music, tacky yard displays...and then **poof**...Christmas is over. How does that make sense?

So, in our house, we're doing a gradual weaning of Christmas. That means we still read Clifford's Christmas on a daily basis. It also means we're still listening to Christmas music. Thankfully, we've moved on from Feliz Navidad and Colby has a new favorite song to play (over and over and over). Here he is doing a little dance for his baby sissa, who just loves to watch him perform.