Hello Again

I feel like I have not posted in a very long time. It's actually only been a couple of weeks; but at the rate I was going the last couple of months, I guess that is a long time between posts. We've just been doing so much lately that I fell behind and then the thought of catching up on everything that has been going on seemed so overwhelming. So, I started avoiding my blog. But I'm back now... only I decided rather than write about everything we've been doing, I'd rather write more about nothing. I'd prefer just to say that everything has been going great!

I think that we are over a huge hump with Owen. The "terrible twos" for Owen were more like the terrible 2.6-3.25. But we have really been working on modifying some of his not so desirable behaviors and it has helped a lot! And I really recommend the book Childwise. Its principles are based on teaching the morality behind behaving so that the child has the tools to think out why they should behave certain ways. Some of the suggestions I thought would be really hard to implement were actually really easy. I would sit down and explain to Owen what was going to change, for instance that I was going to start choosing what he ate for breakfast and if he had a choice about it I would ask him. And it worked! Breakfast is no longer a battle! This one was really easy. Some changes took a little longer, but almost every difficulty has improved. He now actually listens to what I ask of him (most of the time) and is getting better at communicating what he wants and how he feels (i.e. less tantrums). Another tip that has really helped was getting him to say "Yes, Mommy" when I call his name or tell him he needs to do something. At first I thought this sounded pretty Mommy Dearest and maybe a little creepy, but it has really helped to get him to listen and to acknowledge that he heard. We started it out as a game, and he loved it. He asks to "practice saying yes" all the time! When we introduced this "game" we also told him that whenever he said one of our names that we would also answer with a "Yes, Owen" to show the same respect to him. It has helped him to be able to tell us more of what he wants and how he feels. He also is getting used to then not always getting what he wants. This has been a harder lesson, but is definitely getting better. Even Colin's Mom, who of course thought Owen was perfect even in the middle of a world-class tantrum, commented that Owen must have been abducted by aliens because she didn't recognize him the last time she was here. This remark was also brought on by the fact that Owen now eats vegetables!!! It's crazy; it's like every thing fell into place all at once. So it's kind of a case of the chicken and the egg... who really knows which came first. But his improved behavior, better diet, and becoming "regular" (the bathroom kind) all have definitely been reinforcing the rest of these key changes and we are much happier for it!!! One thing we are still working on is being nice to the kids that he is around the most. He is the sweetest boy in the world to kids in his class and strangers at the park. I can't tell you how many times I've seen him spontaneously hand over a train to a child at the bookstore with a smiley "Here you go. You can play with this one." Yet, he is sometimes so mean to cousin Kierstyn and 2nd cousin Brandon. So, these are the next battles we are going to conquer.

Anyway, we've been keeping busy with trips to the park, visits to the Easter Bunny, and visiting friends. I also fit a job interview in there, but haven't heard anything back. :( Last night we got to go meet Ryan and Jill's new baby girl Erin Ashley Clark who was born on the 11th. She is adorable! So happy we got to go see. Jill looks like she is doing great and Brandon is really excited for his baby sister. Although, Jill says that he did already ask if she could go back in mommy's tummy. I guess that probably sums up how every big brother or sister feels at first. But, he will get used to the new wonderful person in their family.

So, I haven't talked at all about Sutton. I figured I would wait until his 6 month half-birthday next week and do an all Sutton post. But, I will leave you with a few pictures of the adorable little guy (who is unofficially sitting up)!!!

Can you see Owen hiding behind him? He's getting ready for a "peek a boo".

"Give me some food crazy woman!!"

The end.

I figured some of you have not seen the back of this crazy head. He has a permanent mini mohawk and this picture does not even do justice to the perfectly defined white, hairless stripe on the back of his head and the red tail right below it!