Better Day

So yesterday was MUCH better. Brody still didn't take a nap (which I am starting to wondering if he is starting to weed his naps out. I need to ask if he is having a problem with naps at school) but Brody was much better with the listening and all together better than he was on Saturday. We did run a few errands yesterday morning and took the kids to the park twice, so maybe that helped. I have alwasy dreaded going out with both kids by myself, especially before Molly started walking, but I am starting to realize that getting out of the house makes the day much better. Also, as much as I question myself and how I am mothering my children, I just need to remind myself that he is just 2 and is testing his limits and that I am doing everything I can as a mother to teach him right from wrong. It is just so hard because I have these crazy expectations about how my kids are going to act and I need to realize that it is just unrealistic for me to think they are going to act the way I want them to. That is part of my controlling personality and I definitely want them to develop their own personality and I need to just embrace who they are rather than trying to make them who I think they should be. If only I could always remember that then I probably wouldn't have this problem, right?


Anyway, on a lighter note, here are some pictures from the park. Molly got on the swing for the first time and she loved it. Brody was never a swing person and pretty much hated it from the first time he got on one. He tried a couple times yesterday, but within one swing, he was asking to get off. He definitely got that from me. I don't like swinging either. I sent the following picture to Ted yesterday and he said it made his day. I know Ted misses the kids like crazy when he is gone and they feel the same way. Brody is such a daddy's boy. I hate having to tell Brody that he isn't here when he asks for him. And of course, Molly's face lights up when she sees him. I absolutely love those moments!


This next picture and video crack me up. When we first put Molly in the baby swing, she wouldn't stay towards the back of the swing and moved her self forward. At first, I thought she might fall out or that it would be uncomfortable, but as you can tell, she loved it!

Here is a picture of Brody. He wouldn't look at the camera so this is the best I could get. He loves slides!

Here is a picture of the kids at the park yesterday. It is so nice to have them around and for Brody and Molly to get to play with their cousins! Brody was talking about Anthony and Ashleigh when we got up this morning and it makes me smile!


And finally, I wanted to add this picture because it was too funny. I bought Brody a Dora DVD yesterday. He LOVES Dora and Diego. Well, I popped it in and normally, he will just watch a few minutes of it and then go on about his business, playing and running around. Well, he sat just like this for atleast 25 minutes. I couldn't believe it. He also quotes Swiper, the fox who steals stuff from Dora and boots. Yesterday, he tossed his cup and it landed behind the couch. Before I could tell him not to do that, he was saying "You'll never find your cup now......ha-ha-ha!" I had a hard time keeping a straight face! It was pretty funny.

Trying Day

Today has been one of those days. I don't feel like anything I did was right and found myself getting so frustrated with Brody at moments that I started questioning my mothering skills. I hate when that happens. From the moment he got up, he has not been listening. AT ALL! Everything I tell him, he does the opposite. Everytime he says he wants to watch something and I either turn the channel or put a DVD in, he wants to watch something different. He tells me he wants one thing, then turns around and says he doesn't want it. I know that the more I get frustrated, the worse it gets but DAMN....sometimes I can't help it. And now I am feeling guilty for that. I know that we are entering the Trying 3s, which I have heard is worse than the Terrible 2s, but when you are in the moment, it is hard to remember that everything he is doing is normal. He is testing his limits and I give him an A+ on that! He is too smart beyond his years and I am starting to realize that I can't get over on him too many times before he figures it out.

He can get me so upset at times by his actions and then turn around and say the cutest thing. For example, the other night, he was being difficult and when I took him to the potty before bed, he told me he wanted to sit and try and go potty. Normally, he pees standing up, but I said whatever. So he was sitting there and he asked me to sit next to him on the side of the tub. Then, as he was balancing on the toilet seat, he looks at me and says, "Mommy, I can't stick my butt in the toilet!" I just busted out laughing because I had no idea where that came from. Well, the next day, when I dropped him off at school, I was talking to his teacher and I told her that and she laughed and then said "Oh, there is a little boy, Davin, who is in his class with Down Syndrome. Everytime he goes potty, h lifts both lids up and essentially sits down directly in the water." They tell him not to do that, and Brody picked it up. Then the next night, same scenario, except this time, I was telling him something and he looked at me and said "Mommy, what you talking about?" It is these moments that I constantly remind myself of when I get upset because these are the moments that I will remember. The other stuff is just gravy!

Then, there is my angel baby, Molly. I hate to say that like I am comparing her to Brody, but she is so good that I sometimes have a hard time believing she is mine! She is walking EVERYWHERE! She no longer likes to crawl and will crawl a few times, then stop and stand and start walking. I guess she has figured out that she can get wherever she wants to go faster by walking than crawling. She is still such a laidback baby and just goes with the flow. She definitely has her daddy's personality. I can't believe that she will be a 1 next month! Where does the time go??? It is often bittersweet with her, as it was with Brody at this age, because I am so excited to see her grow and develop, but the other part of me is sad to see the baby disappear in her everyday. Everyday presents one more 24-hour period where she is distancing herself from the baby into a little girl! I could get emotional just thinking about it.

I can't believe there is a little over a month before Christmas. I need to get on the ball with my Christmas shopping. Tab keeps reminding me everyday! I just need to make my list and start knocking it out. But like every year, I will probably end up doing all my shopping 1-2 weeks before Christmas. That's just how I roll, I guess.

Well, I am off to relax and watch a little TV before I fall asleep. Today really tired me out.

Growing Up...Too Fast

So we now have a walker and a big boy who pee-pees on the potty. Yesterday was an eventful day in our household. Not only was it Halloween but Molly took many, many steps on her own. She has been able to get into the standing position by herself, without holding onto anything, for a couple weeks now, but she officially started walking. Now, she is everywhere. Here is a cute video of her first real steps!

On the Brody front, before his nap yesterday, he peed on the potty. Then, last night right before bed, he went again. THEN this morning, when I woke him up, his diaper was completely dry and he said he needed to go. We headed into the bathroom and he went again! I am so proud of him. I have been waiting for him to start going potty here. He has gone at school a couple of times, but has yet to go here (with the exception of a really long time ago, which of course, was a fluke!). So, hopefully, this means more good things to come!

Last night was really fun. The kids were dressed up and we took both Brody and Molly to a few houses, but then my Mom took Molly back home to get her ready for bed and Ted and I kept Brody out for a little longer. He did so good! There were a few times he got scared, but he started saying "No one can scare me! No one can scare me!" It was so cute. He got lots of candy, but mean Mommy is probably not going to let him have a lot of it. I did let him have a sucker last night, which was pretty monumental!

Here are some cute pics of little Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion!

Also, I am going to post some other pics this weekend a little later. I had all three kids (Brody, Molly, AND Mallory) and a pre-teen whose voice is deeper than his father's (Ethan) on Saturday morning by myself. Tab went to get her hair done and Ted was hunting. It went pretty well with the exception of a few moments. Those, of course, were courtesy of my kid! At one point, I couldn't find Brody. I searched all downstairs, upstairs, in every room and immediately my blood pressure was elevated. When I went into our foyer area, the flip-flops that he had on were strategically pointed towards the front door and I ran outside. I immediately checked my neighbor's house and sure enough, my little Brody was jumping on their trampoline! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I have Mother of the Year in the bag this year! He just looked at me and said "Mommy....I'm jumping on the trampoline!" I was so happy to see him, but of course, I wanted to beat him for walking out of the house without me knowing. My parents suggested putting a lock on the top of the front door, but our alarm has a chime on it that will ring when the doors open. I think I am going to try that first and see what happens. The funny thing is that I didn't even hear the door open. And, he closed it completely so I did not even think that he made it outside. Whew, that was scary!

And finally, here is a cute video of Brody singing! I am thinking I am going to start posting these on YouTube and hopefully, Justin Timberlake or Usher might see them and Brody can be the next Justin Beiber!