The Kids R' Crazy!

So much has been happening at our house lately I've been drawing a blank when it comes to posting. Who would have thought I would EVER be at a loss for words?!?! Crazy. One minute I will be thinking of something fun to write about, but by the time I actually get to it, I can't remember! That seems to be happening to me right now...........so I guess I will just ramble about random things...

Will is crawling. Yep, with all 4 limbs moving in sync. If he wants to get somewhere fast he still prefers the army crawl, but he's starting to figure out full-blown crawl mode. This is really scary. I don't think I'm ready to have him mobile. Granted, he's still slow and I can always ward off disasters before they happen...but that will not be the case once he really gets going. Last night he opened one of the kitchen drawers and for some reason, I don't remember Lili doing that this early. The monitor base that sits on the floor in our hallway outside the kids bedroom is a favorite...between the "night light", the on/off button, the antenna and the cord...it's fun for hours! We have put him on restriction though because he seems to be getting a little too feisty with it! His "communication" skills have also drastically changed over the last few weeks. The babbling is hilarious...and continuous...and sometimes seems like it never stops. He sounds so cute though, you can't help but smile! The "yelling", however, is driving both Drew and I a little crazy. Obviously we understand that Little Dude has discovered his voice and is experimenting, but seriously...HE.IS.LOUD. Not moderately loud...SUPER.LOUD. This morning he was in his crib, yelling away at 5:00am. He's not upset...just saying "HELLO.WORLD.I'M.AWAKE!". We thought a bottle might quiet him down...which it did...for about 10 minutes. Then he was back to yelling. Most of the time I can laugh, but at 5:30am it's a little bit like nails on a chalkboard. Drew had to go outside for a bit to take a break in order to continue with our morning routine...hehe... Thank God he did! I was pretty sure he was going to lose it soon! The funny part about Will is that he looks at you and smiles his freakishly happy smile and then yells, at the top of his lungs...just to yell! There's no purpose!

Miss. Lili has become this little person before our eyes...talking so much more than I had expected at this age and comprehending so much more too! She's starting to become very particular about things, which means that life has become a little more difficult as we attempt to figure out what she wants. One minute she wants the pink shirt, the next minute she wants the blue one. We have been trying to give her lots of choices, but are limiting them to only 2 options. Do you want milk or do you want water? She's beginning to understand now that those are her only two options and juice is not one of them! Most of the time allowing her to make these decisions seems to work well...but we still have our moments. That's when tantrums leave us both exhausted. I can't say I always handle everything the right way, but I'm learning. It's hard to figure out what works for you and your child and what doesn't. Someone recommended Love & Logic to me, which is a method for dealing with child behavior. It's something you can start when they are babies and continue with into adulthood. Here is the description that their website gives:

Love and Logic is a philosophy of raising and teaching children which allows adults to be happier, empowered, and more skilled in the interactions with children. Love allows children to grow through their mistakes. Logic allows children to live with the consequences of their choices. Love and Logic is a way of working with children that puts parents and teachers back in control, teaches children to be responsible, and prepares young people to live in the real world, with its many choices and consequences.

A lot of the techniques they describe seem so simple...and they are...but they work! Lili has responded better to some of the L&L techniques than almost anything else that we have tried. The toughest part right now is that it's all so new to me, so I will often find myself in a certain situation and not know what to do. I know it's going to take some time to really understand the method and how to respond quickly in an L&L way...but in the meantime, I hate that I'm so inconsistent! When I do address a situation with some of the new techniques that I have learned, not only does Lili seem to respond better, but I also feel better about how it was handled. I don't feel bad about yelling, because the situation didn't involve yelling...I don't feel bad about showing my frustration, because staying calm is a key component to this working. The local community center just sent out their fall class schedule and guess what? They have a Love & Logic course!! I talked to my boss and worked out my schedule so that I can attend. It starts in October and runs 1 day per week for 5 weeks. I can't wait to go!!!

Watching the kids interact now is pretty interesting too. Will can zone in on one of Lili's Nuks or sippy cups from across the room and down the hall and next thing you know, he's on it! The army crawl gets faster and faster and suddenly he has it in his freakishly strong hands. Yes, our freakishly happy boy is also freakishly strong. He's stronger than Lili and once he grabs onto something, she can't get it away from him. The only thing she can think of to do next is to smack him......but her smacks are like bullets on a bulletproof vest. They do nothing. Little Dude doesn't even flinch and most of the time he just laughs. He certainly doesn't stop whatever he's doing to make her mad. Last night we were all in the kitchen while I was making dinner. Lili was running around and Will was on the floor playing with the fridge magnets. He ended up grabbing something that she wanted and I suddenly hear him laughing hysterically behind me. I turn around.......to find Lili...STANDING...WITH BOTH FEET...on his stomach. He just thought that was funniest thing. Of course it was freaky to see and couldn't be good for him, so Lili was scolded and I sat Little Dude back up so he wouldn't be so exposed to her fits of rage. I have a bad feeling that this is just the start of the bullying between siblings!