"You've got your hands full!". I can't tell you how often I hear this line. It used to annoy me, just for the sheer unoriginality of it. But it's true, and I know I look like my hands are full when I'm pushing a double stroller, holding the leash of a dog who still doesn't really know how to walk on a leash (he's 11), attempting to keep the kids' hands off of each other, picking up dog poop with an inside-out produce bag, and perhaps talking on the phone or reading a text... Yes, my hands are full, and it's okay that strangers notice. Today we got some laughs from passersby on our walk as Ian was spraying his spray bottle of "monster spray" (someone has to protect the neighborhood from monsters!), while Maggie was slouched in the stroller, holding a tiny bobble-head doggie, with grape fruit leather smeared all over her face. Max was sniffing and peeing madly, as we haven't been perfect dog walkers despite the 70 degree weather in January. We've been walking, but usually it involves at least one kid on foot and lots of sightseeing, so we barely get off the block.
This is sweet Maggie on Christmas Eve, all dressed up and ready to go. Sweet, perhaps in contrast to the little hellion that has since emerged from this innocent face! Okay, she's only just begun to hell-raise, and we know that it will get much much worse, but that girl is busy looking for things that will get a reaction from any of us. We can no longer assume that big brother is to blame for any altercation that may erupt... it's just as often her, trying to steal a toy or refusing to share something. Luckily, we can
usually all laugh (including Ian), because it's so damn cute to see such a fierce little will being exerted over something that is usually so inconsequential. It's a good thing she also does sweet things like grab your face and give you noisy "mu-ah" kisses, and walk around singing "Bye-Bye Guitoooooo" (just like her music teacher sings bye bye guitar, bye bye shakers, bye bye bells....), or gleefully shriek "Baaaaaybaay" as she collects her babies and puts them on the spread out blanket on the floor (that she got you to lay out for her with a series of grunts and made up signs). Yes, these innumerable edible things do make up for the screaming and kicking diaper changes and even the mouthfuls of dog food that she sneaks from Max's bowl and then comes and spits out in your hand before you even know she has it. The fun has just really begun.
Now Ian, my little lovey, can be like Jeckle and Hyde, as I believe most three year olds can. One minute he's handing out hugs and saying things like "Mommy, you look beautiful", and the next he's telling me "I don't like your attitude, Mommy!", or rolling his eyes saying "oh, come on!". One day I can help him get dressed, the next it's only Daddy. I have to say, though, that I *think* he saves the best of these mood swings for us. His teacher told us that he was so sweet, showing the new boy around at school and befriending him immediately. He has even managed to become friends with the boy at school who gets in to the most fights and has had the hardest time adjusting. He can bake a sand cake with his little girlfriend (her mother already told me it would be so nice if they got married) and he can get wild with the wildest boys. That's my well-rounded little guy. Somewhere along the way I've actually become
more comfortable when he is alone in the next room with Maggie than if she were by herself... I used to worry that he was taking the opportunity to test out her flexibility or her tolerance for something obnoxious or downright dangerous, but now he is usually keeping her out of trouble. He's already the protective big brother, and if we're playing with other kids on a playdate or at the park, he is most definitely making sure that no one else is antagonizing her (that role reserved for him, of course). I never thought far beyond the first year of having two little ones, mostly because it was survival mode for a while, but now I can see that they are going to be close, and it warms my heart.
This is sweet Maggie on Christmas Eve, all dressed up and ready to go. Sweet, perhaps in contrast to the little hellion that has since emerged from this innocent face! Okay, she's only just begun to hell-raise, and we know that it will get much much worse, but that girl is busy looking for things that will get a reaction from any of us. We can no longer assume that big brother is to blame for any altercation that may erupt... it's just as often her, trying to steal a toy or refusing to share something. Luckily, we can usually all laugh (including Ian), because it's so damn cute to see such a fierce little will being exerted over something that is usually so inconsequential. It's a good thing she also does sweet things like grab your face and give you noisy "mu-ah" kisses, and walk around singing "Bye-Bye Guitoooooo" (just like her music teacher sings bye bye guitar, bye bye shakers, bye bye bells....), or gleefully shriek "Baaaaaybaay" as she collects her babies and puts them on the spread out blanket on the floor (that she got you to lay out for her with a series of grunts and made up signs). Yes, these innumerable edible things do make up for the screaming and kicking diaper changes and even the mouthfuls of dog food that she sneaks from Max's bowl and then comes and spits out in your hand before you even know she has it. The fun has just really begun.
Now Ian, my little lovey, can be like Jeckle and Hyde, as I believe most three year olds can. One minute he's handing out hugs and saying things like "Mommy, you look beautiful", and the next he's telling me "I don't like your attitude, Mommy!", or rolling his eyes saying "oh, come on!". One day I can help him get dressed, the next it's only Daddy. I have to say, though, that I *think* he saves the best of these mood swings for us. His teacher told us that he was so sweet, showing the new boy around at school and befriending him immediately. He has even managed to become friends with the boy at school who gets in to the most fights and has had the hardest time adjusting. He can bake a sand cake with his little girlfriend (her mother already told me it would be so nice if they got married) and he can get wild with the wildest boys. That's my well-rounded little guy. Somewhere along the way I've actually become more comfortable when he is alone in the next room with Maggie than if she were by herself... I used to worry that he was taking the opportunity to test out her flexibility or her tolerance for something obnoxious or downright dangerous, but now he is usually keeping her out of trouble. He's already the protective big brother, and if we're playing with other kids on a playdate or at the park, he is most definitely making sure that no one else is antagonizing her (that role reserved for him, of course). I never thought far beyond the first year of having two little ones, mostly because it was survival mode for a while, but now I can see that they are going to be close, and it warms my heart.
