Parenting Overdrive

So maybe it is just because we are on the march to 2 years old, or maybe it is because I was getting too comfortable in this current toddler phase, but in the last week, my dose of parenting has had to step it up a notch or few (thousand). Here are some of the things that I've been faced with the last few weeks...

Micah learned to climb out of his crib. Yup. Wow. It all started on a day where the morning (for Mackenna) held a squished hand in the door (accidentally, but forcefully, done by me), an eaten orange crayon (that really does come out the other end looking orange), and a cracked head on a concrete slab. The doctor was having me wake her up every few hours, so I decided to put her down to bed in our room so that waking her up wouldn't also mean waking Micah up. (Keep in mind that Curt was not home that evening - of course.) This absolutely, positively, infuriated the little guy. And I don't just think that he was concerned that she was still up and playing and he was missing it; it did actually seem like he just really wanted to be with her. His screaming in the next room prompted her screaming also - so I closed both doors, came out to the couch, and listened to their screaming for awhile. I started doing something else, and her screaming calmed down. I decided it was time to go check on Micah (my plan was to go show him that she was sleeping in our room). I opened the door to the room and was greeted by my sweet boy, thumb in mouth, frog in hand, just walking confidently, calmly toward me. My eyes did a double take. I second guessed whether or not I had remembered to actually put him in bed. I was totally shocked...and a little gitty about the whole situation. Part of me wanted to laugh, part of me wanted to congratulate him, part of me wanted to cry because my life was over, and part of me wanted to yell at him for messing up the perfect April Fool's day joke/picture about Micah climbing into Mackenna's crib that I had been plotting for weeks (this was the 31st). Anyway, he proceeded to do this two more times in the next 15 minutes - each time without hurting himself and each time as happily as could be. I gave up and decided to sit with the kids and read books until Curt got home. Marcia then called to check on plans for the week, and I told her about my evening. She came down and we re-did the bedtime routine, putting both kids to bed in the same room, and they both happily stayed in their crib. The reaction on Curt's face when I told him later was priceless. I really should have taped it -- it involved him hitting his head and opening his mouth WIDE in surprise! So that is the story - the parenting part of it involves a decision to possibly turn his crib around so that the high side faces out and the lower side faces the wall. I will also respond much better and actually correct him for this in the future (I already have had to twice), when I'm not completely overwhelmed by shock. We will go for a mixture of avoidance and correction on this one.

Also, Mackenna has decided that it is fun to ask to go potty and to sit on the potty about 5 to 10 times a day. I feel bad turning down this request, but neither am I really ready to go down this road - at all.

Micah went on a binge last week where he was throwing all of his food on the floor - unless it was fruit or cookies.

Micah is also getting really demanding. His vocabulary is growing (more on that in a few days - 21 month post) and he is really quite clear with his words. He consistently points to where he wants to go and says "that way" or points to what he wants and says "that one." Yup, that is special. He also has transitioned into violence when he doesn't get his way. This may mean hitting (or even biting) his sister if she is nearby, or it may mean throwing a toy or slapping mom or dad. Last night, Curt told him he couldn't move the slide onto the driveway from the "grass" and Micah proceeded to stiff arm push the little tikes basketball goal over that Curt was shooting baskets into, and then giving Curt a look that says "what now!?" Wow.

Mackenna is getting less violent - she hadn't bitten for months...until today. (This does keep in consistency with the pattern so far that they pendulum swing on behavior patterns - one is good, one is difficult, and then they flip flop on lots of things, lots of the time. Not sure if it is twin related, or just toddler related.)

So yes. Not for the weak at heart. And sometimes I feel VERY weak at heart.