Not so sure about the "Terrible Twos"

I'm pretty sure it happens around 18 months in our family. It's that age where you want so much to be independent, but you're not sure how to express yourself in words. So you throw a fit. A full on, arched back, throw yourself on the floor, kicking, screaming fit.

I fully admit to having the worst memory... ever. So I don't quite recall what Jacob was like at Gavin's age. But I do remember that 18 months was way more high maintenance than when he was two. At two, he was really sweet and compliant actually. So it worked out to our advantage that Gavin didn't join our family until Jacob was two and three months. I was more than grateful to have a sweet, compliant toddler around while getting used to life with a brand-new baby.

Gavin was a really good baby too. He slept through the night around 6-8 weeks (Babywise worked like a charm :) and was always happy and full of smiles. Gavin would coo and play when he was awake and sleep quietly for hours when he was not. Hmmm... I must be making up for it now.

Gavin can say a few words to express himself (like more, all done, please, thank you, love you) but what he can't yet say is, "Mommy I want to go outside!!" So he goes to the door, tries unsuccessfully to open it, and throws himself on the floor when I try to pull him away. Now Gavin is a big (in the 100% for everything), strong little guy. I can barely pick him up while he is throwing a fit, let alone contain him. So I just let him throw his fit until he's done.

Adam and I have always struggled with when to start spanking. Do they really understand at 18 months? Well, today I spanked Gavin... and he understood. So that answers my question. ;) He was throwing a major tantrum as I put him in his highchair for lunch. I could hardly get him in because he arched his back and was fighting me with all of his strength. I finally got him in and placed his sandwich on his tray. Which he picked up and threw as hard as he could. So I immediately picked him up, told him no, and spanked him. I sat him back in his highchair and gave him his sandwich again. Let's just say he didn't throw it this time. After sniffling submissively, he picked up his sandwich and ate it.

Gavin really does light up my life with joy everyday. He is full of smiles and giggles and sweet moments. It's just every now and then when he wants his way... and doesn't get it. I guess he'll learn soon enough, maybe even the hard way. Mommy does not give in. :)

Five Things...

My friend April sent this to me and I learned some fun things about her, so I thought I'd put it on my blog.

*_Five jobs I have had in my life_:*
1) Lifeguard
2) Swim Instructor
3) Camp Counselor (the most fun job by far!)
4) Receptionist at an Aquatic Center
5) First Grade Teacher

*_Five movies I've watched more than once_:*
1) The Sound of Music
2) The Princess Bride
3) 10 Things I Hate About You
4) The Family Man
5) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

*_Five places I have lived_:*
1) Mount Vernon, WA
2) Marysville, WA
3) Bellingham, WA
4) Federal Way, WA
5) Puyallup, WA

*_Five T.V. Shows that I watch_:*
1) Grey's Anatomy
2) Lost
3) How I Met Your Mother
4) So You Think You Can Dance
5) The Biggest Loser


*_Five Places I've been_:*
1) Jamaica
2) Mazatlan, Cabo, Puerta Vallarta (on our honeymoon cruise)
3) Maui and Oahu
4) Washington, D.C.
5) Tijuana on a mission trip

*_Five of my favorite foods_:*
1) Chicken Fettucini
2) Four Cheese Chicken Pizza at Casa Mia
3) Pollo A La Crema at Mazatlan
4) Blueberry Pancakes
5) Chips with Spinach/Artichoke Dip

*_Five places I would rather be right now_:*
1) On a beach... anywhere warm and beautiful
2) It's a Small World ride with Jacob
3) Having coffee and conversation with a good friend
4) Cuddling with my husband in our Family Fun Room, watching Grey's Anatomy
5) Getting a professional massage

*_Things I am looking forward to this year_:*
1) Taking our family to Florida for my brother-in-law's wedding
2) Spending time at my dad's condo in Maui
3) Watching Jacob and Gavin explode in excitement on Christmas
4) Good friends having babies
5) Watching my own babies grow and cherishing each pumpkin patch excursion, birthday party, Christmas tradition, Easter egg hunt, vacation, time together as a family

Some cute and funny moments

***When I sneezed the other day, Gavin smiled and said, "Ble you!" It was so cute that Adam and I pretended we were sneezing just to hear it again. Apparently, he also knows the difference between real and pretend sneezes. :)

***I opened our garbage can only to find that it was filled with shoes. As many shoes as Gavin could find and fit inside. Nice.

***Gavin and Adam were playing a few days ago when Jacob said in an exasperated voice, "Where's Gavin's own daddy?" Like he'd had enough of Gavin borrowing HIS daddy!

***Jacob had spent the evening jumping on the trampoline at a friend's house and said, "Mommy, they falled me down. They falled me down on that trampoline."

***Last night, Adam and I tucked Jacob into bed with a sheet of stickers in his hand. I checked on him a few hours later and he was asleep, still clutching onto the stickers. At 5 o'clock this morning, I checked on him again as Adam was leaving for a trip. Not only did he have every sticker stuck to every part of his body, but he was saying in his sleep, "Need tape. Tape to stick my stickers on." When did he put all of those stickers on? Sometime between 10 and 5 o'clock? In the dark? Amazing.

***Today, Jacob and Gavin were getting haircuts and Jacob just started this random conversation with the hair stylist. Which he has never done before... usually he just watches himself intently in the mirror.

"I have a puppy. His name is Sy. Can Sy have a haircut? He doesn't need a haircut? I have a motorcycle. I ride with my Daddy. I ride motorcycles at the fair too. And I ride the swings with Ashley." (It actually was pretty cute. This little girl saw Jacob at the fair and wanted to go on rides with him. So they held hands and ran from ride to ride together. At age 3, you're just so bold with the opposite sex...)

To all of which, the hairstylist responded with either, "Yeah, uh-uh, or really?" I guess he didn't find the conversation as stimulating as I did. ;)

Little Gym. Part II.

I took Gavin to Little Gym this week for the very first time. Although I was really excited to bring him, it was actually a little more bittersweet than I was expecting. I've just been so used to taking Jacob... since he was 21 months old. I had this sad pit in my stomach as I watched Jacob (preschool hadn't started yet) peer through the window with his sweet eyes. I felt as if I was betraying him somehow by being there with Gavin. Little Gym has always been a mommy and Jacob thing. We have so many memories and bonding moments there. How did he get too big for this class already? With all of these thoughts going through my head, I convinced myself that it's time to make those memories and have those moments with Gavin now.

The class starts in a circle, as each child is introduced and gets to bang on the drum. This was Jacob's favorite part, so I couldn't wait to watch Gavin run to the drum in excitement. Except he didn't. He clung to mommy with a scared little look. Seriously?! I thought he would be all over the drum! The air track came next, which he would only go on if I went with him. He did like the exploring time and tried the little activities his teacher modeled. He also loved playing with the balls and squealed in delight as we passed it back and forth. All was well actually, until it was time to clean up the balls. Gavin threw the biggest. fit. ever!! I guess we haven't practiced this skill at home so much. We just play until we are done, without a specific time to clean up. That's the great thing about Little Gym. They are learning so many things that I don't even realize! Anyway, he decided to finally calm down when the bubbles came out. Thank goodness.

Where is my Little Gym buddy who knows everything? I guess we have to start from scratch. Kind of like each beginning of the school year. I'm sure it won't be long before Gavin is doing forward rolls, monkey jumps, bear walks, and walking on the balance beam. He'll be a pro too someday... it just might take awhile. ;)

Time for Preschool!

Jacob will be starting preschool next Monday. It works out perfectly because I teach Thursday/Friday, and he goes to preschool on Monday/Tuesday. Plus, an added bonus is that I can have some Gavin bonding time at Little Gym while Jacob is in preschool. It will be a lot more busy than I'm used to, but I think they'll have a lot of fun. ;)

So yesterday, we got to meet Jacob's preschool teacher. She was really nice, extremely organized, and I am so excited for Jacob to begin this fun learning journey. They have three field trips (pumpkin patch, fire hall, spring picnic) and five classroom parties (Harvest, Happy Birthday Jesus, Valentine's Day, Jesus is Alive, and End of the Year celebration) He even has a special sharing and snack day. So cute and fun. Especially being a teacher, it was very surreal to be there for my son's first preschool experience. It's all happening so fast!

They had the opportunity to explore and play upon arriving. Jacob went straight to the trains.

Here is Jacob's preschool teacher reading the class a book. There are only ten students, mostly boys as you can see. :)
Having a snack while his teacher talked with the parents
Mommy's official preschool picture of her big boy. We couldn't find a sign, so I figured this window would have to do for now.

Doin' the Puyallup

So we did the Puyallup. It was a really fun day... beautiful weather, free admission with our military ID, virtually no lines, and $1 for all of the rides. Unbelievable! And, we decided (since my mom was here) to get tickets for the Chris Daughtry concert. Date night at a concert... how often do we get to do that?! It was awesome.







This was one of the only rides they would let Gavin go on since he wasn't two yet. (Some ride operators were more easy going than others :) He was fine with watching his big brother on all of them though. Pushing his own stoller was entertainment enough for him!

Back to School!

Today was my first day of school. SO many things have changed this year. Considering I'm not the biggest fan of change... it's going pretty well so far. My friend who was going to job share with me decided to stay home with her nine-month old son. I was really happy for her, but having only a few weeks to find a new job share partner was a little scary. A lot scary. Thankfully, God blessed me with an AMAZING new teaching partner, so we've been having fun setting up our classroom and getting ready for the first day.

Our school was remodeled over the summer, so it was really refreshing and exciting to come back. The bittersweet part is that many of my friends are teaching at one of the new schools, so familiar faces are few and far between. I love our school though and I love teaching first grade. Job sharing truly couldn't be more perfect for me. I get to be at home with my kids for the majority of the week, which is so important to me. Teaching though, works a different part of my brain and allows for adult social time (that I very much need). At the end of the day, I couldn't be more excited to see Jacob and Gavin. I love watching them run into my arms and soaking up every ounce of being with them. My first job share partner put it this way... just when you get burned out of being at home with your kids, it's your day to be at school. And just when you get burned out of being at school, you get to be at home with your kids again. Nice.

Back to my first day. It went well. My job share partner and I are both there this week so that definitely helps. It's pretty typical to have a honeymoon period for the first few days, so ask me in a few weeks how everything is. ;) So far, so good!