playful pain and sibling rivalry

No gain, no pain. Yes, this statement is more commonly stated in reverse, however I have recently come to learn that this phrase when reversed, suits our most recent parenting experiences. As our little ones grow and become stronger, they have also learned how to apply this strength in a manner of personal contact. That is to say, they are beating the crap out of us. Every day when Mike comes home from work, Ethan is elated at the sudden arrival of his father. So elated, that recently he has taken to, shall we say, performing the nutcracker. Michael is quite regretful that he failed to ask Santa for a cup this Christmas. Whenever Mike tries to protect himself with his hand, it just becomes a bullseye, which to a toddler means, "hit me here, hit me right here".

I wish I could say that my experience with Zachary has been better than Mike's experience with Ethan, but I can't. Zach has now entered that clawing and grabbing phase. Not that he didn't ever do that before, it's just that now he is bigger and stronger. I think he carries around superglue in his diaper because he will grab a handful of my hair and it's like ripping hair out of vacuum cleaner. I have to pull my hair very hard to remove it and inevitably not all of it comes back.

Another more recent (and sometimes painful) phase has been the beginning of Ethan and Zach's sibling rivalry. I knew it was only a matter of time, but I had hoped that perhaps it would be delayed for another year or two. Now that Zach is mobile, this is not the case. Every toy that Zach tries to play with is taken from him with the statement, "No baby Zach, that's mine" or "No baby Zach, that's Madi's". This is always said as he rips the toy out of his brother's hands.

We are doing our best to deal with these new phases accordingly. In time there will be new things to talk about, but for now we will keep you updated on the boys' new , very physical, goings-on.