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Terrible Twos Tuesday -

Doesn't Trevor look so sweet and inncoent?

I have to say that Trevor hasn't been getting into quite as much mischief such as getting touch up car paint all over, or emptying full bottles of Windex in minutes, HOWEVER, he is now quite demanding and whiney as of late- trying to get his way. Whenever I tell him its naptime he screams "EAT, EAT, EAT" - I know he is trying to delay naptime, and he is smart, he uses "Eat" "eat" as he knows mommy loves to feed him (my failure to thrive baby).

The terrible twos are realy testing me lately. He can be manipulative (like using the EAT, EAT, EAT as he knows I love getting food in him)-and when I am on the phone; boy he sure knows he can pester me for a cookie and I will give in). He also has the memory of an elephant - wakes up from his nap demanding whatever I bribed him with to get him down (such as going outside or watching Barney). And he definitely knows his mind and is stubborn (gee, I wonder where he got that from). But he is a funny and sweet little boy and is very affectionate (ok, I'm gonna claim being responsible for those traits too!) You should see him with his baby alive doll. Super cute! I can't wait to see what this little guy will grow up to be.

I admit, I haven't been doing my best parenting lately, so I have been contributing to the perpetuation of the "terrible twos". I know I've been giving in too much as I've got lots of stuff going on and I am just not tolerating the incessant whining, constant fighting with ryan and the colicky crying episodes that go on for an hour or two at times (almost daily after a nap and sometimes after dinner). Its hard to know what to do as sometimes I wonder if what is bothering him is a sensory issue, and if he is sick (which he is alot), I know he is not feeling his best and wont act his best. And, I always wonder if maybe he is just super hungry, or maybe he is feeling some pain from reflux, or maybe he is just off because he doesn't nap long enough. And, I know it must be frustrating when he tries so hard to communicate and I still can't understand him (because of his speech delay). So, I think because it might be something that is really upsetting him or painful, I tend to go easy on him. Lately though I've been thinking he is just used to getting his way and I need to be more consistent with time outs and such. You'd think by my third one I'd have things more figured out by now, but I don't!

I need super nanny to come over, help me sort through this and get a better game plan!

Terrible Two's Teusday - Trevor and the kitty litter and the carbon monoxide detector

Terrible Twos Teusday

While the "terrible twos" are not always so terrible; they are alwasy interesting. I know some toddlers get a bad rap with the verbage of terrible twos, but mine is again going through some "terrible two" edness.

Just a few days ago my little terrible two year old saw his opportunity to live up to the terrible twos definition.





Friends had come to the door looking for Stephen to come out and play. After he talked to them at the door, he decided to go out and play and ran upstairs to change. Ryan shut the door, BUT DID NOT LOCK IT. Trevor being Trevor noticed this. He went to the other door and got his boots and put them on. Then went back to the front door and out he went. Its about 10 below zero and he is outside in his boots. We realized he opened the door and went out within seconds of him getting outside, but none of us had any shoes on so we called to him to get back in and reminded him how cold it was outside. So guess what happens next. He backs further away and smiles at us. Then mean mommy me tells him to GET INSIDE NOW in my angriest voice and even with that he still stood there coontemplating whether he would obey or not.



right now I think he may be opeing up candy on the island. He whizzes around on the kitchen chairs and anything on the countertops, stove, or island is fair game to him as its in his reach. Excuse me a moment while I try to curb the massive sugar intake . . . . .











Ok, sugar consumption crisis taken care of . . . . . (and just so you know, I had the candy out as a bribe to get him to take his medicine. How low I've stooped as a mom!)



I do like the things toddlers say at this age. They are very interesting conversationalists!



I will never forget being in Factory Card outlet when Ryan was about this age. He was REALLY, REALLY into Thomas and all the Thomas trains! We were in line waiting to check out. There was quite a line in front of and in back of, which made what he said (or should I say shouted - or so it seemed to me) all the more embarrassing. Now I don't mean to be vulger, crass or offensive, but he clearly said PUSSY! And then he said it a couple of more times. Now I knew right away he meant "Percy", but that is not how he pronounced it. (Maybe people who come up with characters for kids TV cartoons should reflect on this). So I, a little more loudly than normal, said "Oh yes, I see you are looking at PERCY" and then ever so slowly looked around to see if anyone was still staring!



another one of those embarrrasing times was when we were in Meijer passing the "intimate apparal" section. Ryan said very loudly (his normal voice is very loud!) "Look mom - booby holders!"


Now I am going through that stage with Trevor. He doesn't have a ton of words yet, but I can tell already I am going to have many embarrasing moments ahead if I should ever go out in public with him!


We were trying to get him to say YES. He can say yah, but doesnt' pronounce the S, so we've been doing lots of S sounds and keep saying YES! Can you guess what he turned the yah into? SHET (sounding like SH@T with an I!)



I forgot about Sunday's Terrible Two moment. I went to take a shower. The kids were off school and so i had waited to take my shower as we lounged around in our PJ's. i went to shower and told Stephen to keep an eye on Trevor. So, of course you know he didn't. After I got out of the shower and was dressing I could hear the distinctive sound of the kitty litter being scooped. So I knew once again that Trevor had scooped and tossed lots of kitty litter (hopefully not the kitty turds) all around the hallway. Stephen was downstairs so engrossed in some cartoon or something that a burgler could have broken in and never been seen or heard.

And, of course we had a Terrible Twos moment yesteday as well. Again I went for a shower (I got to stop doing that!) and Trevor knows this is his chance to wreak havoc on the house. I come out of the shower and hear the carbon monoxide detector going off. It was plugged in and working. Treovr had sprayed hair spray (tons of hair spray) in the hallway causing it to go off. I don't know why, but Febreeze or other cleaners sprayed (even non aerosol) make the detector go off. Again after a few minutes my other two finally come up the stairs to see what all the noise is about.



Today he also decided to "wash the baggie of scrambled eggs I had out on the counter (was to be my breakfast but thats what I get for trying to start a load of laundry and leaving food out - I'm so good at telling the boys don't leave anything out that you don't wnat trevor to touch, but apparantly I forget sometimes too. ) And then he decided to wash the blueberries in a container onthe counter. We are almost out of Palmolive thanks to my little dishwasher (and food washer).

Wonder what he will do today for entertainment (or embarrasment) value. We do have his Early Intervention yearly eval here today - maybe he will be napping then!



Now i must go and save the kitty litter. I heard Trevor walk up the stairs and he just loves using the kitty pooper scooper next to the kitty box. Barney isn't keeping him tuned in so much these days, sigh!

Terrible Twos-Day

Its "Terrible Twos-day"

Yep, Trevor is two, but actually I have to say the terrible twos are not bad at age 2, they were bad at 18 mos-about 24 (or maybe up to25 mos but mostly back in the 18, 19 month range). I couldn't leave him alone for a second back then or he would roll his kitchen chair (his step stool on wheels) all around the kitchen. He wheeled it over to the microwave and started it (i was close by and got ot it in 2 secs so no problem). He had poured out the salt more times than I can count (yes I did move it to higher up counters and such, but it somehow would end up back on the table and in his sight of vision). He also liked starting up the dishwasher, and taking all the little sticky things on the inside of the cabinets so they don't slam hard. And lets not forget throwing out Tupperware bowls and over 100 dollars of stamps. i really was at my witts end back then. Thank goodness he has always been cute and I could mostly laugh. And those are just some of the things I am remembering off the top of my head. I wondered how I would keep him safe, stay sane, and not get some bladder problems from trying to wait till nap time to use the bathroom.

So anyhow, technically he is 27 months and definitely two. But the twos are easier in lots of ways than the 18 mos, 19 mos period. He does understand when i tell him he has to finish a meatball before he can have a cookie. He is much better at anticipating things, and he loves to clean and be helpful (really he loves vaccuming, dusting, windexig, doing dishes, putting stuff in the dishwasher and he loves putting clothes in the washer - he flings the clothes in the washter from down below when he hears me start the water running. He is pretty smart and although he doesn't have many words yet, he definitely understands a lot more than you would think he does.

His latest thing is having temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way. Pretty typical, but I laugh my butt off watching him do it. The temper tantrum isn't the funny thing, its how he does it. I hope to capture it on tape. When he is in the kitchen, he knows the floor is hard, so he gently "throw's himself down on it and then gently knocks his head on the floor, and then looks to see if we are watching. Try as I might, I can't help but laugh. It is too funny watching him be so gentle knowing if he isn't that he will hurt himself. So obviously he isn't not really having a tantrum - he's testing his manipulation skills.

I've been a bit lax about time outs with him, but he threw peas today at me during my dinner (he was already done with his, but decided he wanted my peas, but then didn't want them). So he went to time out. I know it is not funny and I did put him in time out, but it is so hard being the disciplinarian with him at times because he is so cute and funny and for so long he was just such a crabby crabby baby (silent reflux and not being able to communicate and being lactose intlerant will do that to you!). so anyhow, he did his time out and I told him to say he was sorry - he signed it and then we hugged and all was better.

I definiltey think the terrible twos have their moments, but mostly this is a fun stage aside from the tantrums and the daredevil stunts he does that will give me heart palpitations.

We go to a little class called Little Learners on Teusday. It's a mom and tot class. I really like going to see how other 2 year olds are. Sometimes its a good measure to see how my little one is doing. Its easy to baby him because he is so tiny and speech delayed, but he is pretty smart and doesn't need the baby-ing probably as much as I want to give it. I remember a year ago he was in Little Learners for the first time - it was a very tough experience. He cried, did not want to let go of me so I could get my coat off. Did not want anyone to sing his name (made him cry). I believe we did leave early several times. I was just learning about his Sensory Sensativities this time last year (and it was about this time he was diagnosed with Failure to Thrive). What a difference a year makes. He is doing wonderul in the class. he loves the class and even has little "friends".

So maybe the Terrible twos aren't so terrible. Maybe I might even consider calling them the Terrific twos - he is eating well, sleeping well, gaining some weight, talking more, getting over some of his Sensory issues. So all in all, I am really liking the Two's!! (Except when I open the fridge and meatball sauce is oozing out of it and leaving marks like a blood trail along my kitchen, sigh . . . . )