10 Weeks Of Brotherhood - or - Why I Haven't Been Posting Much Lately

Well, let's see. Kieran has decided to nurse all the time, day and night. I guess he's hitting the three month growth spurt a tad early. He's big kid already - 12 pounds, nine ounces and 24 inches at his two month check-up last week, and clearly he's intent on busting that growth chart curve. I say go for it, Kieran. I've never been a big believer in those growth charts anyway, particularly for breastfed babies, so go right ahead and prove 'em wrong. Just one thing, please. The next time you decide to declare a National Suck Mommy Dry Week, could ya send out a memo ahead of time?

Meanwhile, the Older Brother Previously Known as Leonard is now known 'round these parts as Diesel, or wait, no, Cookie Monster, or well, yesterday it was Cheese Monster. I'll have to call him by his given name for our purposes here until he decides on a new name for himself.

At any rate, said Older Brother is arising at 5:00 with the appearance of "Father Sun." If anyone knows of any thrilling activities for the young set in central NJ at that early hour, I'm all ears. The ferrets are getting a lot of early morning attention these days, and we're baking a lot of bread, and reading a lot of books.

The main problem with getting up that early is that everyone is good and tired by about noon. And since Liam is 3.5, nothing, including naps, can be discussed, much less accomplished, without a great deal of negotiating. Which leaves us more tired. And when Liam gets tired, he asks ever more "why" questions. And if I dare answer, "I don't know," the guaranteed result is a tantrum. It is flattering in some ways that my son thinks I know the answer to everything, but I gotta tell ya, the idea of a teenager who thinks I know nothing starts sounding vaguely appealing by about 2:00 P.M.

Also! Yet more with the whining! We have reached a critical juncture with regard to Liam's use (or non-use) of the potty. After a brief flirtation with potty-training last year, Liam returned to diapers swearing never to use the potty again. Things have reached a boiling point because of two things. His Fuzzi Bunz are too small for him, and are leaking regularly*, which freaks him out. Also, I have had had it up to my ears with changing big boy poopy diapers, and there have been some times where I have not been exactly polite about that fact. Since this weekend is Kevin's 30-something birthday and approximately Liam's 3.5 birthday, we baked a cake and had a double birthday celebration. We struck a deal beforehand that big boys of 3.5 could use the potty, but after having one accident on the floor, Liam is now terrified of giving up diapers. I truly think we are back to Square One. And he really needs to be out of diapers by September for nursery school. So, yeah, fun times.

And then, and then, just when I'm worked up and really furious at my firstborn, he'll turn around and do something really adorable like make funny faces at Kieran to stop his crying while telling him he's the best baby in the world. Or he'll grab my hand and Casey's collar, pull us all over to wherever the baby is, and declare that it is time for a group hug. The emotional ups and downs are exhausting!

Some days I wonder how much longer I can keep this up, and then somehow I get up the next day and do it all over again...I'm a big believer in non-punitive discipline and parenting through play, but on days where I'm scraping the bottom of the energy barrel, those seem like awfully lofty ideals. Especially when what seems really appealing is to throw myself on the floor and have a good old tantrum of my own. Bah!

I'm sure I'll be in a better mood in a few days - this level of contentiousness and funk can't last that long. I hope. Otherwise you may see me, baby in one hand, ferret carrier in the other, running madly away from home and (and I mean this in the most loving way possible) the moody, cantankerous 3.5 year old who resides inside. In the meantime, some pictures from the last two weeks...

Kieran taking a break at Liam's school.

The face of innocence.

Preparing the 3.5 year/30-something birthday cake.

The other reason I don't have many pictures this time is that Liam swiped my camera for his own uses and hid it for a few days...

*True story - at the vet's the other day, I saw Liam standing near a puddle of pee in the waiting room. I was about to get upset about his diaper leaking when I realized he wasn't worried, he wasn't freaking out, and there were six dogs in the vicinity. I've just got diaper issues on the brain and totally spaced on the idea that one of the dogs had had an accident.