I'm sure it must just be our imagination, but now that Ben is 2, it's like a switch has gone off. He acts like he never has before - tantrums about everything! See list below:
movies - unfortunately, we taught him how to change a DVD. So now it is a constant battle - him, opening the glass door to the entertainment centre, opening a movie case, taking it out, playing with it a bit, closing the case in some bizarre way, turning on the DVD player, putting the movie in, getting him to hit the "close" button only once, then having to sternly tell him not to open it again, trying to talk him into closing the glass door, only to have him change his mind and want a different movie, *repeat process*. It is exhausting and soooooooo frustrating.
food - wants to eat in the living room, at his kid's table, or in the kitchen on a big boy chair. We don't have a booster seat for him either. So he insists on STANDING on the chair, trying to bring a forkful of rice to his mouth. But alas, most of the rice falls off before he gets it to his mouth, because he has to lift it so high from the table to his mouth. It's a wonder any rice gets into his mouth at all. He actually ate a few bites of chicken - real chicken breast - last week. And a couple of carrots. Sheer amazement on my part. Of course, he been refusing these items ever since. Back to rice and fruit.
clothing - hates to have his clothes changed, unless you withhold a movie from him. I've had to become aggressive mean mom to get him dressed or even a diaper changed. Twice last week, he went to bed in his pajama pants and the shirt he wore all day. Now I've got a collection of pajama shirts in the drawer, but no pants. (Which reminds me...I've got to do his laundry!) Saturday night, he wouldn't even let me change his diaper, so he wore the diaper I managed to get on him after his nap. Let me just say that it was very heavy on Sunday morning.
boots/jacket - this is a whole other ball game from regular clothes. It is hell. We have taken to bribing him with trips to Grandma's house and books and movies to show to his daycare buddies. Sometimes even "little treats".
*As an aside, my darling son now requests "little treats" for breakfast.
"What do you want to eat for breakfast Ben?"
"Yittle tweets"
"Ben, you can't have a little treat for breakfast! You can have Cheerios, Rice Krispies, toast, an apple, oatmeal..."
[eyes light up] "Ice cweem!"
Yah right kid. If mommy can't, you can't.
bathtime - I must have bought the tear-ful shampoo instead of the tear-less shampoo. OMG. He freaks out when I have to wash his hair. But two days worth of bedhead just won't do! Not on my son!
So, are the "terrible twos" fact or fiction? I'm sure you can figure out my vote. Please note: some of these behaviours he's been exhibiting for longer than the past week (i.e. boots and jacket tantrums).
Now for the other kiddo - I'm now 32 weeks into this pregnancy. We went to an O.B. appointment this morning - all is well. I've gained [gasp] 23 pounds in total; I think with Ben I ended up around 32 or 33 pounds gained, so I seem to be about the same this time around. Baby is head down, but my doc said that he/she is still floating up (i.e. not engaged in my pelvis - is this too much information for you blog readers?). Baby is measuring exactly 32 weeks. Heartbeat was good - in the 140s. Blood pressure, hemoglobin, etc. were all very normal. I'm not anemic; glucose test was normal. She asked if the baby is moving at least 10 times a day. I laughed at her and said, "More like 30 times a day!" This kid is constantly moving, poking and jabbing in very uncomfortable places! Right now, he/she must be dancing or moving furniture around. I don't remember Ben being quite so active. Does this mean that this baby is going to be a handful? I sure hope not...I want another just as relaxed as Ben was. Pretty please?
