Making the most of it

Today is Christopher's last day in the Terrible Twos, and he is making the most of it. Tantrums, refusal to eat, denying that he needs a nap...it's like he read a textbook and is following the typical two behaviors exactly. It's almost cute.
But when we took a trip to Homestead Farm, a pick-your-own farm that has barnyard animals, I got a glimpse of the future. Christopher went around a quizzed each animal "Goat, can you say 'meh'? Cow, can you say 'moo'?" He warned me to watch out for cars. And after I rubbed a peach on his cheek to show him how soft and fuzzy it was, he turned around and did the same thing to Matthew. "Baby brudder, can you feel that? It's soffft."
He's really getting to be a big boy.
But I wish he'd just take the nap already.

Look! There he goes....

Matthew had a doctor's appointment today...his one-month checkup already. Brian had to take him because I am laid low by mastitis (I can't breastfeed, but still managed to get the most dreaded breastfeeding ailment through pumping. Great.) He's gained a pound in the last week (!) and is now 10 pounds, 15 oz, which puts him in the 75th percentile for weight. He's 22 3/4 inches, which is the 90th percentile. The DNA results are pending as we wait to see if they switched babies at the hospital.
Anyway, Matthew has been put on a bit of a diet - no more than 5 oz. at a feeding - and was fussy when he got home and ate his allotted amount and then didn't get anymore. Finally we put him down on his stomach on his activity mat.
He decided he didn't like that - so he rolled over. At one month, one day old. From belly to stomach, just rolled over. Then he looked around in triumph and stopped fussing. Maybe he was cranky because he just wanted a chance to show us what he could do.

One More

Mr. Christopher has company...a new little brother, Matthew Robert. So far they're getting on amazingly well. Christopher ignores Matthew 95 percent of the time, then dive-bombs him, kissing and cuddling him while cooing "Baby brother is so sweet...Mommy, come here! Isn't baby brother sweet? Awwww." Matthew usually tolerates it pretty well, as long as he's asleep.
I've been buffeted from the true difficulties of having two kids until yesterday, when Brian went back to work, leaving me alone with the two beasties for the first time. It was surprisingly calm. I just have to keep reminding myself that everything will be a mess and will be chaotic at some point...at least now I have an excuse.

Well, that was unexpected

Christopher got a big-boy bed today.
We had already moved him into the bigger room and put the stuff from there into the smaller room (sorry, visitors; you've been downgraded). He slept in his crib last night, but after he jumped out and hit his head on Saturday, we decided a change was needed. Hence the bed.
We went to Ikea and picked out a toddler bed. It has a cat and dog carved on the headboard; he loved it. We got the sheets and everything, and while they were being washed, he had a great time "sleeping" on the bed and playing on it. We had a lot of talks about how he was going to stay in his bed all night and sleep. He got more and more excited as bedtime got closer. We cuddled up together in his big boy bed to read books. But as I reached down to kiss him good night, he matter-of-factly said "I go in crib now."
That was that. He wouldn't hear of sleeping in the bed. He was going to sleep in the crib, and that was it. He climbed out of the bed and stood by his crib, waiting. Worried about him jumping out, we decided to lower the side, but he very firmly said "Side up."
Then, he went to sleep in his crib.

What I've been dreading finally happened.

Last night Christopher woke up screaming around 3 a.m. Brian went in to see what was wrong, but Christopher just wanted to get down, so he came back to bed. I was laying there, about to go in myself, when I realized the screaming was getting louder and louder...I sat up and almost fell over when I saw a small screaming munchkin come running into our room. He climbed up on the bed, shouted "I sleep there" and threw himself down between Brian and I.
My sleepy brain could not process what had just happened. Why had Brian let him out of the crib? Why was he running around loose at night? What happened to the crib, the ultimate toddler containment system?
Brian summed it up in one terse sentence: "He climbed out."
The last vestiges of babyhood are gone.

We might be homeschooling

I tried taking Christopher to a class at the Community Center again today. After the Funfit debacle - he made it through just one class without running out, screaming - I had vowed never to go back. But this was an open class for people who were thinking of enrolling in the winter, and his friend Anna would be there, so I figured I would try it. Despite the fact that he is exhausted, still having not caught up on his sleep after the wedding.
It may have been a mistake. The class was about sports, and they were doing football today. Christopher did fine until about 20 minutes into the class, when he abruptly stopped throwing the football, curled up on the floor and refused to get up.
We ended up leaving early - I am trying to recover from a stomach bug, and not in the mood to convince a squirming toddler to throw things. And it wasn't early enough. He threw a major tantrum on the way out.
So, homeschooling tips would be much appreciated.

I'm training a ringer!

I have gotten a little obsessed with Christmas cookies.
Every year, I hassle people - Brian, my mother, my grandmother, friends - to make Christmas cookies. Typically people are not exactly brimming with enthusiasm. Something about calories, or fat, or having delicious things that have a lot of calories and fat hanging around the house during the bleakest, most housebound time of the year.
But I'm still obsessed. And this year, three things are coinciding to make it the best Christmas cookie year ever.
1. I'm pregnant. Fat? Calories? Hahahahaha. Already there.
2. My mom's group is going to have a Christmas cookie exchange. Excuse to bake!
3. I'm training a ringer.
Christopher has discovered a new love - baking. It allows him to sit on the counter (under close supervision, of course) and "help" me measure ingredients, pour them into the bowl, spill things all over the place. He loves it. I can tell myself I'm introducing him to reading, following instructions, and math (he looked at me blankly today when I asked him to add 1/3 and 2/3, but he'll catch on soon). He was grouchy this morning, until we started to make muffins. By 8 a.m., we had a batch in the oven and he was happy as a clam.
I think it will be pretty easy to transition him to cookies, especially since he's become obsessed with the subject (thanks, Cookie Monster). So, I'll be able to set up a sweatshop and feed my obsession - literally. Let the countdown to Christmas season begin.