In just 30 months...

*I scheduled this post to publish this morning and I hadn't finished it or spell-checked it! So as off 11:45 am I have finished and edited it...oops!

This "baby" boy has turned my life upside down. And I wouldn't ever trade one minute of it. I jumped in this parenting thing with both feet running and never looked back, from the second that line turned pink. Even writing this a few weeks before I post it, I have so much to say about Kian.

Kian: Cian; Irish/Gaelic warrior; meaning ancient. I loved that Kian was the name of a warrior in Irish stories. This boy? He's a warrior. He's tough. He's rugged. He's stubborn. He doesn't give up (I love his persistence!). He's as feisty as they come. He falls down and jumps back up, never missing a beat. From the minute he wakes up, proclaiming loudly to the house "I'm awake! Good morning!" to the minute we make him go to bed, still loudly chattering away and at times protesting.

He's going to be a leader. He's got confidence and attitude. He's too smart sometimes, exasperating us as we are confined with what we do and say in front of him. His memory is made of steel and reminds us of many mistakes we've made along with all the good things. His love of learning is insatiable. It's not good enough to say "don't do this". He needs to know why and how and what the outcomes might be that make mommy and daddy say what we say. He knows the story of Columbus because he asked about Columbus day, the Nativity and so many Jesus,& Bible stories, and tells us how the process of toys and electronics work.

I am so in love with him it's ridiculous. (which happens to be one of his favorite sayings "that's ridiculous, mommy!) I love both of my boys to death, but something about the firstborn, the one that makes you a parent for the first time, is amazing. And perhaps I feel with him a little too much at times because I am a firstborn also. It's not easy being the firstborn, the eldest, and it's not easy being two, and it's not easy adjusting to a sibling. So, though I have lost patience at times, these things always come back to my mind and I am ready to keep at it with him, gently. The last few months have been hard, challenging, fun, amusing, tearful, heartwarming, so many emotions all rolled together. Seeing him love on his brother, seeing him swat at his brother. Seeing some jealousy rear up, seeing some brotherly protectiveness sprout... We're on the upswing and it's so much more enjoyable.

And he is so in love with his brother it's crazy. He was very protective at first; stopping every child, cat or object, fiercely exclaiming "don't see my brother!". Thankfully, he's slightly more willing to share with his chosen ones. He loves to help give Karter a bath or find his burp cloth. Kian tells me how to take care of his baby. "Change his diaper, mommy, he pooped!" Or "feed him mommy, now feed him on the other side!" Just in case I hadn't done this before. For now he's gladly sharing any and all of his toys (even the non-infant-safe ones like trains and cars with loose wheels) and we all know that will change very quickly. He tries to teach Karter things and helps him with tummy time to "get strong and big like me". Of course, sometimes his help is no help at all--trying to pick Karter up from the floor or out of the swing. And laying on him suffocating him with kisses so much that his face is dripping wet. Or laying next to him and then rolling Karter up on him. (And this is in the two seconds I am just trying to put a pair of pants on!) My fault for preparing him on how babies will act when they come home but forgetting to prepare him for how he needs to be with the baby. Duh!

Now that Kian is older I felt that I haven't' updated much on him lately. Sure, I post lots of the funny things he says (funny to me). But, since he's two... and a half now I thought for my own record at least I would just catch us all up to speed. His gross motor skills are great, running, jumping up with two feet, on and off steps, jumping forward he mastered in November. He can stand on one foot for a short period of time and climbs like a monkey if we let him. He still does fall, more than I think he should. We took him to the orthopedist in September and agreed he has very flat feet and we were given the option of getting arch inserts or letting it go, that it wouldn't make a difference yet. With the urging of the doctor we opted to wait. If it continues much longer I will get them. Obviously uneven surfaces and when he's tired, this happens a lot more, but it's part of the reason he's so banged up all the time. (Other times it's his never-slow-down attitude and mommy's content to let him explore and discover and take risks on his own.) Potty training had regressed a lot to the point where we were almost back in diapers full-time but in the last few weeks he's doing awesome. One day we just overcame the pooping in the toilet thing and he's been going in there ever since. I love that part. He is total boy in that he cannot pull himself away from playing to pee, so I constantly am reminding him and taking him so we avoid wet pants. I wish that part would hurry up and be done with!

Obviously we all know how chatty and witty he is =D He knows so many songs and loves to tell me to find them on the computer (youtube is highly entertaining for a two year old I guess!) He picked up all the lyrics to the Christmas songs from the short rides in the car, but loves to make one big song out of them. I make him "read" me books now because he's got them all memorized. He names the letters of the alphabet and tells you a person or thing that starts with each letter (A for Ace, G for Grant or Gramps, J for Jon, etc.). He recognizes his name, Karter's, mommy, daddy, all the cats' names, and about ten other words right now in writing or on flashcards. I've kind of neglected numbers for letters...oops. He can count to thirty. If you ask him how many of something you have and it's over two he likes to say "lots". He's gotten lazy! He tries very hard to write Ks. One of his favorite things to do at dinner or in the car is rhyme words-hockey, rocky, socky. It can be highly entertaining to see what he comes up with. Same with his imagination, it's just going crazy lately. The scenarios he comes up with and how he pretends things is so fun. It makes playing with him that much more enjoyable. He will be going back to Pearce in two weeks for 3 days each week, when I go back to work. I think it will be good for both of us. He can have time away from Karter and with his friends, and a good routine will be back in place for him. This will help with potty and overall keeping him from being bored and in trouble too much.


The downside to some of these things is that he's so darn smart, stubborn and independent (probably all my fault) that we butt heads, and hard when we do. Sometimes he is the sweetest, most polite boy ever (using 'excuse me' to get down from the table, or when I'm on the phone) and other times it's like living with the Tasmanian devil, only deaf- because I can't imagine any other reason he's not listening right?! And that you can't fool him anymore. Gone are the days of "it's all gone" or "it's dirty, you can't eat it" or "I can't find it". He'll do it himself then, or call us out on it. Oops! We both are navigating these new waters between baby and preschooler head-on, with excitement and some weariness. But, mostly it's fun and silly and definitely a learning process on all ends. I wouldn't trade the boy for the world and am thankful I get to be his mama.