I knew it had to end sooner or later. Caden has been too good for too many days in a row. He's been listening better, saying "please" versus screaming at the top of his lungs, going down for naps like a champ, not (always) chucking his sippy cup of milk across the table like a ninja star. I havent had anything to blog about (or maybe I've just been enjoying the bliss of a very rarely seen placid 22 month old).
For the first 24 hours of the newly emerged Caden, I held my breath and waited for my crazy tot to return to his rambunctious, mama-exhausting ways. At 48 hours, I was still waiting. After 72 straight hours of good behavior, I started to relax a little bit and began to revel in my seemingly successful taming of the not-quite-so-terrible-twos. I got too comfortable (and all the moms out there know that's never a good idea). Here's how the end of an era (or at least a few nice days) went down...
- The morning went well. No screaming. No milk-chucking. No dog torturing. No brother tackling. No climbing on too-high furniture and giving mama s heartache. No major injuries. Life was swell.
- I took the boys on our usual run to drop Caden off at his "school" (a place where toddlers can safely be crazy with other toddlers and get as messy as they want and you don't have to clean it up).
- School was over, so Cooper and I picked Caden up and we all had fun outside for a bit.
- I was feeling so good about the way things were going that I let Caden help me water our new garden, and I didn't even flinch when he watered my car, the garage, the dogs, his brother, or myself instead. We were soaked but we were happy.
- Eventually, I convinced (or maybe I dragged) a soaking wet Caden inside to eat lunch. He, as usual, grabbed 4 (out of at least 20) cars and started wheeling them all over the living room, playroom, kitchen, etc. (the kid is seriously obsessed with these things).
Caden & his cars
- As I was cutting up Caden's sandwich, Cooper started fussing in his exersaucer. It wasn't a "Mom, stop doing whatever the heck you're doing and feed me now" cry. It was more of a "Mama, I'm bored and I want out pretty soon" whimper.
- I kept cutting Caden's food into little non-choke-able bites. All of the sudden, out of the corner of my eye I see Caden quickly approach his brother with a cute little smile. I pause, but I don't sprint over to intervene because lately he has been very affectionate with his little brother (I'm in the 72 hour comfortable stage, remember?)...
- I smile back and continue the lunch preparations. Then, I hear it. It's a very quick but sharp SMACK! Cooper shrieks at the top of his lungs.
- I lunge into action. Caden runs away toting his weapon of choice, a 1963 powder blue corvette. I see the tiny but red marks on poor Cooper's forehead and immediately sweep him up to comfort him. After a minute or two, he's back to his happy self and I place him safely in his swing and go to confront the culprit.
- I immediately take his car out of his hand and face him forward so he's looking directly at me. Mama is mad! I don't yell, but talk very slowly and sternly while holding both of his hands down at his side. I explain that we "never ever hit under any circumstances in this house." I ask him if he understands, and guess what he does?! He hits me!
- Oh boy! Now, I'm really mad. I take away every single car and refuse to give them back.
- He screams, throws himself on the floor, does some impressive flutter-kicks and I just walk away.
- I let him and myself cool off for a minute before I go back over and we have another very stern conversation. This time, he hugs me. I hug him back, but it's one of the very first times that I'm actually angry at him (maybe a little disappointed too).
Now, I know he's not quite two and that these things happen and I realize there will be more sibling spats down the road (except next time Cooper may hit back). I also know he's a boy, and typically that means he'll be more physical in his outbursts. However, I think I felt disappointment as a mom for two reasons. Firstly, I make it a priority everyday to show Caden and Cooper oodles of affection and we all hug and kiss all the time. Secondly, instead of comforting his little brother in a moment of distress, he chose to hit him and cause him more discomfort. That is probably what bothered me most. Sure, he's just learning right and wrong, but I promise you he knew that hitting his brother was wrong (because he ran from me like a cheetah), and he did it anyway.
The rest of the day (this was on Wednesday) and days after have been OK (no more hitting episodes). Caden has had a few other outbursts (one because I took the broom away from him and another because the dogs ate the food he handed directly to them), but we've muddled through them. I miss our string-of-good-behavior-days, but I know this is all part of the journey of motherhood, and that there will be plenty of good and not-so-good days ahead. For now, I'll remember to breathe, but it might be awhile until I let myself get too comfortable again (a good long while).
Cooper & Caden are ready to swim!
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