26 months

The biggest event this month, was going to the eye doctor. Last year, he started wearing glasses for the first time with a +5 prescription. Ideally, babies his age were about +3 (kids don't really have 20/20 until about age 3) but Ethan scored at a +7...which means he was double bad haha. So, he got glasses with a lesser prescription to see if his eyes could adjust without going cross eyed. He wore the same prescription for a year, and this month we got to go back for a check up. The doctor was so impressed at his progression. He said it was super rare for a kid to get so much better in so little time....probably because he stretched a ton and finally grew into his eyes. This time around he was only +5, and the new glasses are +4. I don't know if he will ever NOT wear glasses, but I'm happy with how gradually better his eyes are getting. Let's hope they keep getting better. Dominic keeps telling Ethan how much he loves his new glasses.....and has asked to wear the old ones...haha...but he only lasts like 10 min in them. 

waiting for the exam. The doctor put in a movie for him, but he could not have
cared less.

                       New glasses

Ethan has been putting two words together for about three weeks now. It's so impressive. Maybe it's normal for his age, but since I only compare him to Dom (who had nothing but "car" and "mama" at this point), it's amazing! It's fascinating to watch him figure out the language. He'll say things like.. "mama...find....blanket" or " ethan....naked....pants (I need pants)" . I hear him tell Dom " NO...stop...mine!" all the time. It's cute to watch him, he's so smart. He can also count from 1-20. He only watches educational videos on youtube and it seems to be helping. He loves nursery rhymes- especially the 5 monkeys in the bed, and the finger family song (mama finger, mama finger, where are you?). He walks around with things in his fingers all the time.  He can tell you what a heart, oval, circle, square, and triangle are....although triangle  and square are very hard to say. He can try to say three syllable words, but it's hard to understand. But he's really good at two syllable words....most people understand him. I think he'll have fun in school this fall. 

at chuck e cheese. He loved checking out the bathrooms for some reason. 

He loves Dom. He follows him anywhere. Dom will say "Ethan lets go jump on the bed" and he'll be there in like two seconds. They jump, somebody gets hurt (usually Ethan) and then they find something else to do together. Right now, he's fascinated by legos. He figured out how to click them together, but he gets frustrated easily. So, I'll try to give him the mega blocks, but he wants to do...what Dom is doing....and then he destroys all of our creations. I already warned them if I find or step on a lego in the living room....they are ALL going in the trash. I don't mess around with that.

Dom loves to share with him (for the most part)...Ethan not so much. He's in that terrible two phase where everything is Ethan's. Dom keeps asking me when Ethan will be a big boy so he can play better....aw.  They do love to hug though. Dominic loves group hugs...and Ethan loves the attention. 

He's trying to say "cheese" 

He sleeps like a charm. So much different from Dom. By now, Dom had given up naps and he was a terror. Ethan can sleep up to 3 hours in a nap and still go to bed by 8:30pm. he will ask me for milk, grab his blanket, and head to the room. He usually goes to bed first and will usually fall asleep. He has his off days where he keeps coming out of the room and I'll lock him in. I know...I'm a mean mother. Spencer had the bright idea to switch the lock on the door to face the outside (into the hallway) so I can lock and unlock the door from the outside (and not inside the room). We actually stated looking into it, because Dom was getting himself locked in all the time haha. This way, it actually worked out better for us.

Valentine's day hug

He has gotten worse over the last week...super clingy. I don't know if it's the terrible twos or what. But nursery is a nightmare. I keep leaving him there until snack time, then he has a bad tantrum and they come find me. Obviously, it has become a pattern. He figured out if he does it long enough, he'll be brought to me. Last Sunday, I took him to Sunday school with me, and he kept begging me to take him to nursery (not so fun is it?!?) and I told him..."Ethan in the nursery, mama goes to her class"  and he said okay. Well, I just pushed him in and all I heard was hysterics haha. I waited about 5 minutes outside the door, and Sister S peeked through the little window in the door and said "I think he needs you" and I spent the last hour with him in nursery. I really don't like nursery. I come to church to sit down in RS, not nursery. Argh...I don't know what we're going to do. He's recently ditched Spencer too. He'll try to go look at him at night if he's crying (and I don't hear him) and he'll scream "NO...mama...mama"....it's annoying at best. Seriously...can I have a job where I clock out at 9pm at the latest? And it doesn't help that Spencer is not here for bedtimes for long periods of time. It's almost like the kids have to get used to him all over again.

Also, the past week or so, I have been sleeping on the floor of the kids room because they keep getting up. Instead of having two more bodies on my bed, it's a lot easier for me to just grab a pillow and blanket and sleep on the floor of their room. Dom wakes up around 5am and sneaks into my bed. Sometimes, Ethan will wake up with him and turn the light on in my room! That's where I draw the line! I would never wake up at 5am....EVER. So, I turn it back off, and guide them back to their room. I sleep on the floor, and we stay in the room until 8am...problem solved. I know what you're thinking...aren't the children already up? Oddly enough, since it's still dark enough, they will get back in bed and stay there and eventually fall asleep again.  If I woke up at 5am, I would have to go to bed at 7pm.....and we all now, that's never the case. Kids always find a way to sneak in a nap...but not us. And I hate it. This house is about equal treatment...if I don't sleep...neither do you. I don't feel like keeping someone company until midnight when I woke up at 6am. NO WAY.

Following big bro ANYWHERE

But I do love my children dearly. I know I sound so mean, but I really do. I just dont like being taken advantage of. My husband always says my children play me like a fiddle. They always find a way to sneak things like snacks without eating, or eating something else entirely because they didn't like dinner....and the whole sleep issue. He says I gotta be tougher. But in reality...I only have two.....and I know a day will come (probably sooner than later) when they won't want their mom anymore. So, I feel bad not being there for them 100%. Besides...I don't work outside the house...what I am suppose to do with my time?  So, yes, there are some days where I just feel like I just don't anybody to scream at me...and some days I feel like I can handle any tantrum.....but being a mommy is hard. Props to mommies to have more than two! I think I'm done haha.