It's like a bit of a showdown around here at times...
I'm a bit amazed at what a roller coaster we are on here at times. One minute the boy can be screaming, crying, kicking, and who knows what else...then two minutes later he's doing something that has us laughing so hard or thinking about how sweet and loving he is. It seems that as time goes by, both extremes intensify a bit.
We attribute much of the crazy behaviors to being a two-year-old - it's just part of the deal to see him push some limits, explore boundaries, and try to get away with what he can. My friend Leila suggested something else that I had been wondering about - could be possible that he's starting to really sense that things are changing around here and that his reign as the one and only is about to end.
For the past few nights he's had a hard time settling down and staying calm - he's been almost impossible to get into his pjs (tonight I even had to get help from Wil) and then he becomes hysterical when I try to leave the room. Last night he cried and called out my name for an hour. Tonight is was closer to 30 minutes, but it was still pretty tough to take. It breaks my heart when that little voice pleads with me - "don't leave!" The other issue as of late has been meal time - he's going through a phase where he just doesn't seem interested in eating much. So instead of eating, he's been playing with his food - this usually ends in food flying around the dining room until I can get it out of his reach. Even his very favorite mac&cheese hasn't been safe from this fate lately. We suspected that cutting teeth could be contributing to both behavior difficulties, but it's hard to say for certain.
At the same time, this age has proven to be so fun to watch as Graham acquires more language and skills every day. He completely cracks us up sometimes and has moments when you can't believe how sweet and caring he is. He continues to be quite tuned in to how other people are feeling and is always concerned that we're "ok." His play is developing and he is doing a bit more "pretend" kinds of activities - very fun to watch. And he continues to be completely and totally in love with his Pa-Paw and gets sooo excited when he's around. In fact, just today when we were getting Graham's haircut, the hairdresser asked him to sit still and G asked, "like Pa-Paw?" - Yep, I imagine Pa-Paw would sit still while his hair is cut (and we actually did talk about that when we had dinner with Pa-Paw the other night...apparently it stuck with him!)
The other thing that was oh-so-helpful in getting us through the haircut was my iPod Touch. Graham LOVES that thing and we've been able to use it as a powerful motivator (that and his fav tv show - Jack's Big Music Show). His favorite thing to do with the iPod is watch episodes of Jack, but he is also enjoying alphabet flashcards and another app that has farm animals and sounds. Tonight when he was using the iPod I looked over and here he was holding the thing with his toes while he used his hands to click on different things. It was too funny and prompted me to put together this scrapbook page...
While there are so many highs and lows packed into just one day, I wouldn't trade one minute of our time with Graham. He's an amazing little guy and I really can't imagine a life without him. These are busy and crazy times - about to get even crazier as we bring this baby sister into the mix. I'm doing my best to enjoy the moment and not wish it all by too quickly :)
