Sign that Reese cares about her little brother

One morning this week, the kids were playing in the basement playroom while I showered. After showering I grabbed Aidan and took him upstairs to play while I finished getting ready. About 20 minutes later, Reese came running up the stairs, all out of breath. She said, "Mommy come look! Aidan is not downstairs anymore, I can't find him anywhere! I'm just worried about him." I said, "Reese, mommy brought Aidan upstairs to play. He is in the living room." She peeked in the living room and confirmed that he was there, then as she headed back downstairs, said, "I was just worried about Aidan." It was so sweet and gave me hope that the two of them will be close and be friends someday!

Teething?

Since birth, Aidan has been the most laid back child I have ever known. He has never been one to fuss for no reason, matter of fact, sometimes he doesn't fuss when he has reason to! He will let you know when he is ready for bed by getting a little crabby and whiny, but as soon as you set him in his crib, he snuggles into his blanket and lays down. In the morning or after naps, I will check on him in his crib and he will be sitting up and grinning at me. Who knows how long he has been awake because he is content to just sit there until I come in to get him.

Well, recently my laid back guy has been a lot more aggressive. He will throw his head around or slap at your face if he does not get what he wants. He sticks food in his mouth and chews it for a little while, then spits it out on the table. Tonight at dinner he just screamed and threw little hissy fits all through dinner. I am assuming that this change in behavior is due to teething or some other growing pains, though I do not feel any teeth in his gums. Whatever the cause in his change in behavior, I hope that I have my little boy back soon!

No self esteem problem here

Driving home today after picking up the kids from Grammy's house, Reese observes that the cars are following us home. "All the cars are going to our house. They are excited to see me!"

I am a big girl!

This past weekend, my mother-in-law was asking Reese if she knew her own name. She said, "If you got lost, what would you tell someone your name is?" To which Reese answered, "I am a big girl!" She then switched tactics and asked, "What does Jack call you?". To which she responded, "Reese!"

It was funny because later when Jack was in trouble, Reese had no problem yelling at him using his full name! Guess I need to quit using all of my pet names for her and use her real name more often!

Are men naturally better drivers?

At my nephews birthday party today, he received a power wheels Lightning McQueen car. He immediately hopped in and pushed the pedal and was off. Though he didn't understand to let off of the gas pedal or put it in reverse when he got close to something, he was not afraid to just get in and drive! He looked very comfortable with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the shifter (sometimes doing the parade wave!) Reese was absolutely dying to get in the car and she snuck into the drivers seat one time when he was occupied with something else. She got in and started pushing the buttons for the horn, happy just to push buttons. I helped her to put it in gear and showed her where the gas pedal was. She pushed down on the pedal, held onto the steering wheel with both hands and screamed as she drove across the yard! She did two or three trips before Jack became aware that she was in the car and wanted it back! Reese jumped out of the car without too much of a fight and chased Jack around the yard as he went back to his driving. Watching them as they both got into the car for the first time and their very different reactions as they drove made me really think about how different men and women are, even at a very young age!

Creatures of habit

Children are by nature creatures of habit, well at least my children are. During the week, they get up, eat breakfast, play, get dressed, go to grammys, eat lunch, take naps, eat snack, play, eat dinner and get ready for bed at the same time. They know the schedule and what to expect. I believe that they are much better behaved when our daily routines follow this schedule. As a result I strive to stay as close to our regular schedule on weekends and special occasions as possible. If it is not possible to follow the schedule we make modifications to make it work. For example, if we are planning on a late dinner with friends I would feed the kids a large snack at their regular dinner time. I tried changing the schedule on weekends and special occassions a time or two when Reese was younger, but once Aidan came along it was not worth the fight of dealing with two crabby kids because I wanted to do something that interrupted their schedule. As a result, if we want to go shopping during the weekend, we will go before or after nap time. If we go to a party and the kids get tired, we head home and put them to bed. Some people think that this makes us not fun to hang around or that we let the kids control our lives. I think that it works for our family and that is all that matters to me.

Fun at the park

This afternoon I took the kids to the park on the way home. We went straight to the swings and I was pushing both kids and tickling them. After a few minutes Reese said, "Mommy, want to take a picture?" Now whenever I ask her to pose for a picture she won't look at me or take her thumb out of her mouth! I don't have a camera on me, not even my cell phone, and she is all ready to pose!

A few minutes later, Reese is slowing down and needs another push. I say, "Reese, it looks like you are slowing down." She looks and me and replies, "Yeah mommy. I'm running out of gas."

Aidan had fun swinging, but couldn't wait to get down and climb all around the equipment. He is such a little monkey and has absolutely no fear. He would climb all the way to the top of the equipment and then peer over the edge. If I stood near the edge he was leaning over he would turn around and take off the other direction towards a more dangerous area. I can't imagine what it is going to be like with him once he can actually walk!