Terrible Twos?

Why don't you be the judge at just how terrible Carter's twos are.  I'll present the evidence since he turned 2 in March.

• When worshiping at church, he runs out the door and once captured slaps mom in the face.
• While hunting Easter eggs, he finds the only staircase and tries to escape, many times. 
• I got home from work and he greeted me by wiping peanut butter all over my nice clothes.
• When we don't pay attention to him he emits a sharp blast of noise until we talk to him.
• Found a bulldozer in Macy's crib, which I assume was thrown at her while she was napping.
• Wrote on the wall with a pencil and pen, 3 times.
• Regularly launches toys off our balcony, including a piece of our washing machine.
• Dumps his drinks into his food and then dumps food on the floor.
• Tried to steal skittles from a random man on the escalator and succeeded.  
• Throws groceries on the floor while shopping or throw them at shoppers. 
• Sat on my back and tried to rip my hair out, when I screamed he pulled harder.  
• TMI- used his spoon to taste his pee.  GROSS!!
• Climbs out of crib or precariously hangs off the side.
• Continually screams, talks loudly, throws things, hits, climbs, gets hurt, and makes messes.  

We never stop laughing at this hilarious, energetic 2 year old.  He is no shy, cautious kid.  He has NO fear.  He's a product of two A.D.D, loud, crazy parents, so you can't really hold him responsible.  We do try time outs, which are somewhat effective, except when you go to get him and he hits you in the face.  At the core, he is the sweetest, happiest guy and full of life.  He talks non-stop from the time he wakes until he sleeps.

Now please give us your verdict on a scale of 1-10 of terribleness, he's gotta be a terrible 10! 

Tales from the potty

He dragged the potty out on the balcony to do his business.

After lots of readiness signs, we decided to try potty training Carter at 24 months old.  I was on spring break, and of course there is no better way to have a fun-filled rip roaring time than to potty train.  We were pretty non-committal, so if it went badly we would just forget it all together.  The week prior we read Superhero Potty Time and Big Boy Undies.  We got a cute green potty from IKEA and talked a lot about it.  I set Carter on it in his clothes and he pooped right away, in his diaper.

Big boy underwear!

Day 1- I was way too nervous to let Carter go naked, so he just wore his diaper.  We put the potty in the living room for easy access.  I made an adorable sticker chart.  The first time I put Carter on the potty without his diaper he peed!!  We made a big deal out of it and put a sticker on his chart, which he LOVED!  After 2 pees in the potty he understood how to earn stickers, so he wanted more.  He would sit down and squeeze until a little pee came out and then I would give him the sticker.  Then he would say "more, more" and go back to his potty and squeeze more out.  He would pee in his diaper also throughout the day and at nap time.  At the end of the day he had peed 12 out of 12 times while sitting on his potty.  He peed every time we sat him there, but only pooped in his diaper.  We were pleasantly surprised, actually we were shocked at how ready Carter seemed to be.

Day 2- After Carter's success on Day 1, we thought he was ready for his big boy underwear.  The morning was perfect, he peed every time we put him on the potty and he did his first poop!  We were thrilled and gave him candy.  Once he learned candy was a prize he kept asking for it after every pee.  I tried to explain that he has to poo to get candy, but to him pee and poop are the same thing, I think.  By the end of the day, he had pooped in the potty 3 times and peed tons.  He even kept his diaper dry when we went out for 3 hours.  After 5:00 pm we got a little relaxed and he had 3 accidents in his underwear, one was poopy.  YUCK!  Overall, Carter did an amazing job and loved getting candy!

Day 3- Before we left for church at 10:30 am, Carter had already pooped in the potty 4 times.  We're starting to think he's intentionally cutting his poo short, so he can get more candy.  If that's even possible.  While Blair was brushing his teeth, he somehow pooped on Blair's leg!  He wore a diaper at church and at nap time.  We had failed to do laundry, so he went naked booty at home.  He even started sitting on the potty himself when he had to poop, while I just sat on the couch and watched.  He only had 1 accident, 5 poops, and around 13 pees in the potty.

Day 4- Carter was sitting on his potty today and reached behind him to grab a book off the shelf.  He then sat there and read for awhile, just like Daddy.  He has a total potty obsession now.  When he pops off the potty, he immediately says, "Tandy?" (candy).  He even likes to dump it out himself.  We took him out today with big boy underwear and he told us when he had to go, so there were no accidents while we were out.  At nap time he waits until he wakes up to go.  A few hours after he went to bed for the night, he called for Daddy and then we let him pee in his potty.  He was waiting, even though he had on a diaper.  The only accidents he has are when we're home and we don't get his underwear down in time or if he's watching TV.

Day 5- We were at the mall today and we let him wear a diaper.  He said to me "No poo poo in stroller." I told him he was wearing a diaper and it was ok to poo poo.  Well he waited 3 hours until we got home and then went pee pee.   I was so proud of him.  He really gets it!  I think the next step is using a public toilet, which we haven't attempted yet.  I hate germs.  We're still nervous to go on long outings with big boy underwear because it's hard to get home fast or find a clean place to potty in HK, but I think we need to keep moving forward with the training. 

Sticker chart

Carter's 1st Haircut

     We waited until right before Carter turned 2 to get his first haircut.  I was really reluctant, but knew it was time.  I loved Carter's shaggy blond hair and didn't want them to change his look too much.  We went to this adorable place called Spa-La-La in Niceville.  They had a yellow race car for Carter to sit in while he watched Ratatouille.  They put a race car smock on him and I thought he was going to be just fine.  Well once he felt the first squirt of water, he wanted to get out of his race car.  They had tons of distractions there, so I managed to keep his mind off the haircut.  I specifically told the lady, "just a trim".  Maybe I should have spoken in exact millimeters.

BEFORE

AFTER

  I got a little teary-eyed on the way home because that woman turned my baby into a little boy.  I couldn't believe the difference.  After a week, I got used to it and now I do like his hair.  I just miss my sweet little baby and his blond hair in his face.

Certificate from the salon

Carter's Under the Sea Birthday Party

    My sweet Carter is 2 and we decided to celebrate with family and friends this year, since we were in the states.  His party was actually 2 weeks before his real birthday.  Carter loves all things ocean, so we had an "Under the Sea Party".  We had fruit sushi, octopus dip, ocean jello, cupcakes, fruit skewers, hot dogs, and assorted fish.  Morgan made a blowfish out of a watermelon, Gigi molded fruit roll ups and rice krispy treats into sushi, Gram made the cupcakes, and Mommy searched the internet for all the ideas.  Gigi and Granddad let us use their beautiful home.  Aunt Morgan and Pop captured all the details with their fancy camera work.  Miles helped move the present opening along.  Lauren helped with crying babies.  Jim and Nicole helped free Carter's toys from those annoying boxes they come in.  Aunt Lori controlled the clown fish and kept him from attacking anyone.  Carter went crazy over his new dump truck and Thomas the train.  He favored jello over the "pup"cake and fruit over the jello.  We had a blast fishing, blowing bubbles, and playing with the beach balls by the pool.  The best part was when Carter finished blowing out his candle and realized it was HIS birthday party, he yelled out "Happy Birthday".  Up until that point he thought we were just having a random party.   

Notice Aunt Morgan's original art work on the shutters!

Great Grandma Pat and Aunt Lori came

Sweet Pop and Harper

No smash cake this year, but we still watched him carefully eat a cupcake.

The typical family photo, these days.

The party goers almost ate the tablecloth they were so hungry!

Carter loves playing with Uncle Will!

A very special guest, Mr. Clownfish, thanks to Gigi and Grandad!  With a remote control you could make him swim around the room.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Carter!

   Happy Birthday, Carter!  You're 2 years old and I can't believe it.  You are the smartest, most handsome boy I know.  Everyday is an adventure, with non-stop talking and a few bruises to add to your collection.  You must get your clumsy-ness from Daddy!  I guess we always knew you'd be an energetic guy, because Mommy and Daddy are exactly the same way.  Let's just hope Macy will help to calm us all down.  Lately your vocabulary has gone through the roof and you're stringing words together with ease.  You have said things like, "I see the pilot", "humongous, yellow umbrella", "Oh, shark, bite you, hurt your finger", and "Is Mommy in the bathroom, No!"  I've never seen anything more amazing, than you learning to talk.  It's incredible how fast it progresses, especially when you are in a new environment, like being in Florida for 5 weeks.  You loved seeing your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousin.  I was so proud of you for being sweet with your cousin Harper.  I can't wait to see you guys become best friends.  You're really good about tidying up, sharing, and being gentle (except for when you throw toys and hit people in the head).  Since Macy was born, you stopped being our adventurous eater.  Now you prefer to eat hot dogs, spaghetti, chips, fruit, and anything in the breakfast category.  We do our best to steer you in a more healthy direction, but you are quite willful.  You love dipping your food in sauces, particularly ketchup, just like Daddy.  You'll dip oranges, pasta, eggs, and cheese right into your ketchup.  Nothing is really off limits when it comes to dipping.
   We're so in love with you Carter.  We can't get enough of your personality, your laugh, and your sweet spirit.  We pray that you will grow up to be a servant of God and love Him with all your heart.


PARTY PICS TO COME.................

Recent Videos

Carter ~ 22 months old

   Right before our eyes Carter is turning into a little boy, honestly he hasn't seemed like a baby for a long time now.  He's 22 months, which means party plans are underway.  I'm so proud of everything Carter has accomplished in the past few months.  This is the most exciting age, as far as language development goes.  I would estimate he has over 400 words and strings them together in simple 2 or 3 words phrases.  From the moment he wakes up, he is talking or should I say demanding what he wants.  Here is what he says every morning, (from the crib) "Mommy, Daddy" (walks in kitchen) "eat, banana, cereal, thank you" (sits to eat) "nummy cereal"  Imagine each word repeated at least 10 times.  He has pretty good pronunciation, so most people can understand him.  There are some words that are hilarious though, like granola bar "bala bala bah", pajamas "pajassies", butterfly "butterchassy", oatmeal "oat-mee-yall", blueberries "boobooberries", ambulance "amalance", and guitar "grintar" or
"tar".  Each day he learns new words and repeats everything we say, like "crap", whoops!  He imitates characters in books and people he sees, like our neighbor that has the loudest cough you've ever heard.  He'll cough right in his face and laugh, so embarrassing.  He loves singing "ABC's", "Twinkle, Twinkle", "Itsy-Bitsy Spider", "Wheels on the Bus", and "Old McDonald".  He gets the tune and some of the lyrics right, but he is oh so cute when he sings.  Lately, he loves counting things up to 2, like this "One, two bus, 2 bus."  He can count up to 10 like this, "1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10".  He knows all his body parts, animal sounds, and the colors: orange, red, pink, green, and yellow.  I'm not claiming he's a genius, but he's certainly close.  We've already contacted Harvard for an interview.
   Carter loves Barney, Elmo, all things transportation and construction, his brown bunny blanket (which he sleeps with), BOOKS, playgrounds, throwing rocks, animals, and his pink tricycle.  Sadly, he's stopped eating half the foods he used to love and now is being pretty selective.  His faves are hot dogs, bananas, yogurt, spaghetti, cheese, eggs, all bread, rice, everything unhealthy like ice cream and "tandy" and anything dipped in ketchup.  I hope my vegetable loving boy will return soon.  Carter loves to eat and begs us relentlessly to share all our food with him.  His favorite words are "more" and "some", as he points to his mouth.  Physically, Carter is much less dangerous, but still clumsy.  He runs with his hands flapping in the air, as though he could fall at any moment.  Just this week he tripped 6 times in one day and got a goose-egg and gash on his head.  Dislikes: brushing teeth, getting fingernails cut, changing activities to a less fun one, and sharing mommy with little sister.  Tantrums have started in full force and there is nothing one can do to stop them.  Imagine the most shrill high-pitched sound ever and then Carter laying on the floor thrashing around, once for 20 minutes.  Our strategy is two-fold, ignore him, then re-direct him, or one or the other.  Who knows?!  We're pretty clueless with how to deal with the terrible twos.  We can usually expect at least one mini-tantrum a day that is brief, but LOUD!  Carter is very helpful and loves to tidy up, throw things away, sweep, and assist Mommy with Macy's needs.  He takes great pride in being my little helper, which I love.  I'm looking forward to Carter getting along with Macy and her being able to play with him soon!       

What About Me?

     My friends, which seem to all have kids less than 2 years apart, told me that my love would multiply once I had Macy.  I couldn't imagine feeling more joy than I did with Carter in my life.  At the same time, I fully believed my friends and trusted their advice.  Now Macy is only 2 weeks old and I'll admit I have shed more than a few tears over how Carter must be feeling.  I can see that this is a big adjustment for him.  He has been refusing meals (very unusual), slamming doors, throwing things, saying "NO" and "mine" for the first time, and using nursing time to get away with anything he can.  I have to protect Macy from Carter, so I'm usually holding her and to make it even harder, I'm not allowed to lift Carter, because of my c-section.  I read this tear-jerker of a poem tonight and it helped me gain a new perspective.

Loving Two

I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship. Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited. And I wonder: how could I ever love another child as I love you?

Then she is born, and I watch you. I watch the pain you feel at having to share me as you’ve never shared me before.

I hear you telling me in your own way, “Please love only me”. And I hear myself telling you in mine, “I can’t”, knowing, in fact, that I never can again.

You cry. I cry with you. I almost see our new baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared. A relationship we can never quite have again.

But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty. I’m afraid to let you see me enjoying her, as though I am betraying you.

But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.

More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine. The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.

But something else is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just we two. There are new times – only now, we are three. I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.

I watch how she adores you – as I have for so long. I see how excited you are by each of her new accomplishments. And I begin to realize that I haven’t taken something from you, I’ve given something to you. I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you.

I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong. And my question is finally answered, to my amazement. Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you – only differently.

And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I now know you’ll never share my love. There’s enough of that for both of you – you each have your own supply.

I love you – both. And I thank you both for blessing my life.
Author Unknown

Merry Christmas 2012!

Before Macy came we saw Santa Claus.

38 weeks pregnant

    This is the most special Christmas for our family, with the birth of our daughter on December 21st.  We came home from the hospital on the 23rd and had already wrapped the gifts.  On Christmas Eve, Carter opened one gift and we read the story of Jesus' birth (pinned Carter down, while he attempted to rip pages from the book).  That night, Macy was having her own celebration and kept us up most of the night.  Right on cue, Carter was up at 6:30 am; we summoned all our energy to give him the Christmas he deserves.  Now that he is 21 months old, he had a lot more fun opening gifts.  He would carefully tear 1 inch squares off at a time, not knowing how to shred into the gift with lightning speed.  His grandparents made the day by sending so many gifts for him and Macy.  That was sooo sweet, guys!  He got DVDS, a stuffed Elmo, a Leap Frog story pad, books, toy cars and trucks, a playhouse, and a remote control floating fish.  Carter loved everything and had such priceless reactions.  Macy slept and slept, but she got some really cute clothes.  Later we ate, took photos, and went out on our first walk with Macy in the stroller.  She showed her excitement by sleeping the whole time.  Next year, we look forward to having an awake little girl to share in our traditions.