Jack @ 33 Months
This month has been incredibly trying with Jack. It seems we’re in a new testing phase and he’s pushing this battle of wills to the outer limits. Mark and I are working on being absolutely consistent with the discipline, because we know that’s the only way we’re going to achieve some measure of peace around here. I’m just praying that we can get through the worst of this before David comes along.
Singing a lovely aria with a double-cheeked piano accompaniment
Jack has always been an early riser, and so am I, so that’s not so terrible. But, since we’ve been here he’s been waking up between 6-6:30am every day, and that’s just TOO early as I look down the road a couple of months at the coming nights when sleep will be scarce. He responds well to sound cues indicating when things should happen, such as the mantle clock “bonging” and telling us we have to go to bed, or the timer going “ding” to tell us we have to get out of the tub. It’s amusing really- if I tell him it’s time to get out of the tub, he screams and fights about it, but if I set the timer, when it dings, he almost never fights about getting out. Anyway… knowing this, I bought him a CD clock radio, and put in a Laurie Berkner CD to serve as the alarm. It’s only been a couple of days, but I think it’s going to work well. I don’t really care when he wakes up, but the rule is that it is not morning time until Laurie starts singing, and he may not get out of his bed. I’ve set the alarm for 6:45 for now, but my goal is to get to at least 7am. It took a couple of weeks being out of the crib, but Jack has finally figured out that he doesn’t have to call for me to get him out of bed. This morning, he came into the bedroom at 6am: “I climbed out Mommy!” I sent him right back to bed and reminded him that it was not morning yet, and he must stay in bed until he heard Laurie Berkner, and I didn’t hear a peep until then!
Jack’s current raison d’être is the garage door. He lives to open and close it. I was trying to wake him up from an extra long nap the other day, and just couldn’t convince him to wake up, until I said “we need to go to the store, do you want to open the garage?” Like Lazarus from his tomb when Jesus said “come forth!”, Jack woke from his dead sleep and ran for the garage.
There may already be signs of the coming jealousy when David comes along… when I pull up my shirt a bit baring my tummy so Jack can feel (or see) David kicking, Jack might put his hand there briefly, but has very little interest, and soon gets frustrated saying, “can you close your tummy Mommy?! Need to play toys!”
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Boys will be boys?
I had my first appointment today with my new OB here in Dallas, and really liked him. When he asked if we knew what we were having and I told him it was another boy, he said, “Well, at least they’ll keep each other busy beating each other up.” He proceeded to tell me about when he and his brother (2.5 years older) were young, his brother beat him so bad one day that both of his eyes swelled shut for several days. When he could finally see again, young Jeffrey waited for his brother to get home from school with a rake in hand. The end of the wooden handle had been broken off and what was left was pretty sharp. As his brother came towards the house, he threw the rake at him as one might throw a javelin. The rake went into his brother’s mouth and exited through his cheek, and IMPALED him to a tree.
And I thought the fact that Mark still had BBs embedded in his back from when he and his brother used to try and kill each other was bad…
Filed under Misc | Comment (1)An old friend and a new friend
One of the nicest things about being here in the Dallas area so far is seeing my best friend from high school and college frequently. Sheila is only 20 minutes away, and we’re both trying to get through the day with a 2 year old, so we’ve seen a lot of each other this week. Her daughter (exactly 1 month older) and Jack have played together really well, considering they both firmly subscribe to the Toddler Rules of Ownership:
1. If I like it, it’s mine.
2. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it’s mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine.
5. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I’m doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it’s mine.
8. If I think it’s mine, it’s mine.
9. If it’s yours and I steal it, it’s mine.
It’s really interesting to see the difference in Jack playing with a girl vs. with a boy. When Jack’s friend Micah would come over to play, before we moved, he had a decidedly male, competitive, sort of territorial response. They had a great time together, but there were constant battles, most of which seemed to be Jack’s issues with another boy being on his “home turf”. With Abby he’s entirely different. He shares much better and just responds to her differently. Maybe it partly has to do with spending so much time with Emily… who knows. Anyway, he’s enjoying having a new friend.
Here’s a picture of them in the sandbox, just before they mutually decided that it would be a great idea to move all the sand over to the little picnic table.
Settling in
Well, almost all the boxes are unpacked and things are put away for the most part. We are enjoying having more space in our master bedroom, and are glad to now have a spare bedroom for company and extra storage. We have so much junk (as anyone who helped us pack the truck will tell you). Thank goodness for the garage. It has some extra storage space, and though it is just a garage and a half really, Mark is able to squeeze both cars in there.
Here’s a picture of the house. It’s not much to look at, but it’s been well maintained and we’re grateful for a comfortable place to live. My parents have been a huge help, especially in getting the yard into shape. The back yard was overrun with weeds, but it already looks much better. The front yard was not bad, and Mom prettied it up with some flowers. Isn’t that a great tree? It will be nice to have some shade during the summer months when we’re baking in the heat.
There is a little boy next door who is just a couple of months older than Jack, and the boys have already been talking and playing ball across the fence. There is a park within just a couple of blocks, and the big park in town has the largest playground I’ve ever seen, and also has a “sprayground” with water fountains and sprayers, etc. that will be fun during the summer.
Jack has made the switch from the crib to a twin bed. We had bought him a cool bed tent over a year ago, and he really likes it. Though he has been rather clingy to me since we moved and has done more screaming and whining than usual since we’ve been here, he has made the transition very well. I’m sure he appreciates the fact that we are no longer telling him to have “quiet feet” every other minute to try and keep him from disturbing the grumpy neighbors below us.
Mark’s commute to work has not been bad - about 45 minutes. He likes the people he’s working with, and enjoys the fact that his boots are no longer a “fashion statement” but a fairly normal thing to see in the workplace!
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