Our C-Rex

Oh this boy of ours :)  He has definitely been testing the limits lately and wearing us down pretty fast some days. I'm sure he can sense Connor's future arrival and that momma can't just crawl around after him as much these days, but I refuse to throw in the towel and be defeated by a 17 month old! haha. Some days you just know will be 'off days', but I'm trying my best to change my own attitude and thought I'd share how some (mostly negative) exchanges with people (mostly strangers) lately have helped shape a new mindset. Most importantly how when C is having his 15th floor fit of the day (because he threw the ball correctly?), he will see me waiting on him patiently with a smile, not rolling my eyes laughing... mom fail on that one in the past, eek.

 

 

You see, little C-Rex is just a clone of his daddy and me. I'm sure our parents had a time raising us ;) We all have type A personalities with very big plans and are determined to master life on our own :) I joke Colin is an adult trapped in a baby body. He gets so frustrated if he takes my hand, leading me to the garage door, and I won't open it for him to go sit on his push car. Despite the torrential downpour outside...

 

He doesn't say much that makes sense, but he know how things work. He wants his own fork/spoon/cup. He wants to hold his own pouches and sip cups. He wants to hand feed the cat and when they leave him, he gets mad at them and starts putting food in their water bowl...

 

He doesn't watch too much TV, but if the TV is on he will absolutely protest whatever game/show is on until you change it to Mickey or George. He also owns the spice drawer. Period. Soon after this the whole bottle of white pepper covered the floor; a step up from dumping parsley last week. He knows how to open everything!

 

Toys are love/hate right now. He can build blocks and take apart with the best. If one doesn't fit right, it gets chunked across the room. But his sweet side likes to put them back in the bag :) BONUS for me!

 

He doesn't care to follow other kids yet and will take off when we're in public to anywhere I'm not going :) Good thing he's not too fast yet. He has never liked dirt/gravel/etc on his hands, but is learning to use his hands/shirt to wipe it off on his own.

 

C is surprisingly interested in art work and stays pretty focused. Until I tell him not to eat the marker. Then everything on the table gets thrown to the window and he bangs his head on the table :) Don't you feel like doing that once in a while?!

 

 

He gets super bored at home and we've had to change out some toys to big boy toys this week. He got his own set of fruits/veggies, we're putting the train track together, and he's getting a nice tool set coming in the mail. Let's just call C 'advanced' haha.

 

He is now wanting to get down and do his own thing everywhere. Eating out can be quite tiresome when he just wants to throw your ice everywhere and maybe your knife too. Thanks for meeting for lunch today Aunt Jessie!!

 

Once out of the car, he immediately wants to take off to the woods. He loves navigating all the hills on his own, Mr. Independent! It is so true having a head-strong child can be exhausting and trying, but watching him learn how to do new things and seeing how excited he gets is priceless. He's fiercely independent and motivated; the reward in a few years will be so worth it :) It's funny for Derek and I to see our qualities in Colin. Some of our friends (and even strangers) speak negative sometimes on having a head-strong child and it's hard not to 1.agree and 2. to defend him. No one pushed Derek or I when we were young to get jobs in high school so we had our own money. No one pushed us to go pursue graduate degrees. No one pushes me to teach C colors or take him to library story time to learn new things despite screaming and throwing hard plastic toys at my head the whole drive there. Definitely no one pushes Derek to see the most patients in the ER, while helping out colleagues. We are just wired that way; stubborn and self-motivated, often to a exhausting fault due to our lack of flexibility sometimes :) Add being pregnant and I'm pooped everyday by 6! It's nice to see those qualities (even if it's tough on him and us sometimes) in Colin and know that we don't have to worry about him and the decisions he makes when he's grown. He'll be a proud, successful, and awfully stubborn ;) amazing person (or so I pray!). We'll also have to make sure we foster that sweet, sensitive, silly, artistic side too, even if that's a bit foreign for us type A parents. Sometimes we just need a different perspective to see the beauty in things! Thankfully with some extra love and attention, C had an overall wonderful today that made up for some recent tough days!

 

 

Now I wouldn't complain if Connor starts off a little more relaxed at the beginning...haha, just kidding (kind of). Sweet Emory Claire will be here in 2 months! So excited for friends having babies! They really are life changing and the best thing ever.