My life with a two-year old...

My life with a two-year old: tiring, playful, repetitive, sweet, disgusting, joyful, frustrating, chaotic, sloppy, silly, tiring some more...I am sure all you mommies out there can add your own list of adjectives to go right along with mine.

Normally I just chalk it up to normal toddler behavior. There are so many moments I enjoy. I absolutely love it when Scott gives me kisses, when he laughs hysterically at something that I am doing, when he snuggles up and sits on my lap to watch TV, when he learns a new word or shows other signs of learning. He really is a joy in our lives. But he is two. And with that age comes a certain amount of "extreme" behavior. Lately Scott has discovered that he can scream when he doesn't like what is happening, such as nap time, diaper changes, getting into the car seat when he would rather run around outside, etc. We have our moments, I generally walk away from tantrums and they typically don't last very long.

This week started out just the same as the rest...but then it all started going downhill on Sunday at bath time. Scott pooped in the bathtub. In the grand scheme of things, it usually isn't that big of a deal. Luckily Matt was home so he took him to the shower to clean him off, while I took care of the tub. Done.

Monday I had a few errands to run. Scott and I went to the bank to deposit a check. I try to use the ATM so I can park right in front of the machine and avoid having to take Scott out of the car. This time I left the car running, with the A/C on, as well as giving Scott a book to read while his DVD played. I am only 8 feet away from the car, and it was going to be a quick transaction. So being the "responsible" parent that I am, I made sure to check to see that the doors were locked, but just leave mine unlocked so I could hop back in. ***I feel like I have to put disclaimers all over this paragraph...When I have to leave Scott in the car (such as for pumping gas, or using the ATM--I would NEVER leave my child in the car if I was not able to supervise him directly) I will take my keys, at least the remote to lock/unlock the car. But this time I didn't. And so, the inevitable happened...my door locked behind me. Which means I was locked out, and Scott was locked in. Luckily I keep my phone with me too, so I was able to call for help the very moment it happened. Matt was not able to come to rescue us immediately, so I called AAA and they issued an emergency call to have my door unlocked. I had to wait 15 minutes, but it wasn't bad at all. Scott was in his car seat, with the A/C on, watching his movie. At one point I made faces at him and he laughed. I could have just as easily been chatting with a friend outside the car while he waited patiently. But still, now I have the "I locked my son in the car" on my parenting record.

So we got over that incident pretty quickly. I never felt panicked, in fact my AAA operator was a little more scared than I was. But then comes today...

I took Scott to get his haircut. This is his 3rd haircut, and he has usually done fairly well, with a little candy encouragement. Not today. He was screaming at the top of his lungs the entire time. I had to hold him on my lap, pin his arms down, and hold his head still. Once the lady started I was NOT going to leave without finishing his haircut. I felt like all eyes were on me with the judgments of "bad mother" floating all around. It took all the energy I had to hold him and it was quite frustrating. Luckily daddy came (once it was finished) and we had lunch to calm down.

After that was over I thought we just needed to come home and take a nap, but first he would need a bath to clean off all the loose hair down his neck (because he won't wear the drape). So bath time starts...and just like that (after I cleaned and sanitized the tub from Sunday's accident), he poops again in the bath! ARGH! So, needless to say, I have been just a tad overwhelmed with my son's antics this week. I realize that the car situation was MY fault, but it adds to the stress of being "mom."

20 Weeks

Half way there! Yesterday marked 20-weeks of pregnancy, which means I am half way to my due date! Our little baby girl sure does like to make herself known, especially when I am settling down to go to sleep. I figure she will be a dancer, or maybe a soccer player, or a martial arts expert...something with lots of kicks and twirls.

On the other hand, she doesn't get noticed too much just yet by others because I guess I am not showing all that much. When I am at work I am wearing baggy scrubs, so you can't tell at all. I only really "pop" out when I am wearing something a little more form fitting. But based on her ultrasound I am not too worried about my size, she measured to be just right. But for comparison's sake, here is a link to my post I did for my 1st pregnancy's half way point (picture included)

I hope these next 20 weeks (or so) fly by just as quickly as the first half. I think because I am so busy chasing Scott around I don't get much time to sit back and just daydream about my pregnancy. There is less time devoted to dwelling about it, so the time just seems to fly by.

We are having a...

Our little baby wants to say "hello!"

I realize these pictures may not be that to clear to a lot of people, but this next one has a little hint at the bottom to tell you what it is:

That's right! We are having a GIRL! Oh my!

Matt and I are very happy to finally know "who" are little baby is, and now we can start planning for all the additional things we are going to need...mostly clothes! Next, we have to pick a name for our little girl.

Boy or Girl?

Time to start the guessing! We'll be going in for an ultrasound on Tuesday, February 1st, and hopefully the baby will cooperate to show us who he or she is!

Personally, I don't have any strong feelings one way or the other, no predictions. Although just for convenience Matt and I have been saying "he," perhaps mostly out of habit.

The Chinese gender calendar predicts: GIRL

What do you think?

2-years old!

Scott turned two just a few weeks ago! Scott is such a wonderful little boy. He is so gentle and sweet, and yet he is an adventurous little boy who loves to climb, jump, and even wrestle. He is a very quick learner. Generally when he has a new toy in front of him the first thing he does is he figures out how it works, not necessarily how to play with it, but how it works. He finds the on/off switch and he opens and closes it, and once he has figured it all out, then it is time to play!
Scott has had some "terrible-two's" behavior, but he has also learned that it doesn't get him what he wants, so it really hasn't been that bad. We had about one week of the full screaming tantrums, but those seem to have dissipated, I think that was possibly also related to the fact that all of a sudden his pacifier magically disappeared. :)

Scott has a loving heart. He is gentle with his friends, he gives love to his mommy and daddy, and sometimes even to his friends. Scott is also very independent. He doesn't seclude himself, but he also doesn't need constant interaction. He can occupy himself very well (which comes in handy when mommy needs to cook dinner or do dishes). When we tell Scott it is time to go to bed, he finds a few toys to take to bed and then scampers off to his room. The toys aren't usually a distraction, so we allow him to do it for now. Scott still enjoys his swim lessons, in fact, he has moved up to the baby-grad class. He is such a little fish! His teachers often have to keep an eye on him because it is not uncommon for him to try to swim on his own while they are working with another student. Luckily the classes are small, so there aren't too many children to wrangle.

Right now, Scott's favorite toys to play with are his trains and cars. He also loves to color with his crayons and chalk. He is also very good with puzzles, so he received the shape-o-ball for his birthday. And speaking of balls, he LOVES to bounce and throw and kick bouncy balls. When Scott gets a chance to pick out his own movie, he will usually choose "Finding Nemo," "Thomas and Friends," "Bug's Life," or "Cars."

Here is a fun picture from Scott's birthday party. We kept it very simple. Just cupcakes and family only. Scott got a new tricycle, some clothes, and a bunch of other toys from family members. We just love our little boy to pieces and can't wait to see what this year will bring!

Expecting

I suppose now would be a good time to officially announce we are expecting our second baby! I am due July 1, 2011. So far everything has been going great, with a little morning sickness that peaked at just mild nausea, that has now tapered off into my memories only. There really isn't much else to say. We are thrilled, of course (so you need not ask). I have told Scott on a number of occasions that he is going to be a big brother, but of course, that means absolutely nothing to him, so I guess it will just be a big surprise one day when we bring home a baby. :)

Thanksgiving weekend

It's the most wonderful time of the year! I love the cold weather, the joy that the holidays bring, and spending time with family. This year we had two Thanksgiving dinners. First we went to Camarillo to have dinner with some of my family. We were lucky enough to avoid any and all traffic!

The next day we drove out to Big Bear to spend the weekend, and another Thanksgiving dinner with Matt's family. We had a nice layer of snow on the ground to play in. Scott enjoyed walking around in the snow, until he fell down and felt how cold it was! It wouldn't have been so bad if he didn't refuse to wear his mittens, oh well, maybe next year? Mittens or no mittens, we had fun, especially as we went sledding in the front yard. Scott even went all by himself on the sled.

So now, we move on to the next big fun celebration in December...Scott's birthday! Soon our little man will be two years old...and he acts like it! He is just so active. He loves to climb and run and he will occasionally let his momentum get the best of him and have a tumble or two.