Our OGB and BPD are growing up together quite nicely though with some minor challenges.  No major bouts of jealousy from the OGB but I think he definitely tries to get our attention sometimes in not so quiet ways.  It seems the terrible two’s are turning out to be the terrible three’s instead.  (stay in control, stay in control, don’t react)

Since BPD is so cute and cuddly, he’s gotten used to being carried all the time.  We’re having a bit of a tricky time just laying him down to sleep.  Yes, it’s our fault.  Can’t put the blame on anyone else.  Maybe just me.  My wife warned me not to hold him so much to help him fall asleep. But when he was just tiny baby, he slept so much better while I cuddled with him.  We have a bassinet in our room that has just become a glorified hamper.

So what will the rest of the year bring in regards to parenthood? I have no idea but it’ll definitely be an adventure. Having the 2 kids defintely kicks our butt sometimes, actually, quite often these days.  We’re already getting asked when’s the next one coming? Yes I know, you just have to come to expect the question at some point and take it with a grain of salt.  Seems unfathomable to us at this point.  We say that we’re done. We get one each and we’re never outnumbered.  But as Justin Bieber sings, “Never Say Never”.  Maybe God has different plans or maybe he’ll have mercy on us and say “three’s a crowd”.

This week has relatively been a week of minor mishaps.

Earlier in the week, I shared about my OGB smashing his face on the arm of our couch and tearing his upper lip open. He’s fine now.

The second minor mishap was the X Factor USA episodes. It was the whole Stacey Francis song choice debacle with Nicole Scherzinger along with Astro’s bratty behaviour during the results show. Seriously Nicole? Couldn’t you think of any Tina Turner song for Stacey during Rock Week. Thank you LA Reid and Simon Cowell for putting him in his place. Though neither of you picked tock arrangements for your contestants.

The third minor mishap involved a very minor fender bender with a parked car No big deal. No injuries to involved parties. Very very minor scratched damage to the other car.

What’s do these three seemingly unrelated events have reminded me this week – Owning responsibility. It’s a hard but necessary pill to swallow sometimes.

My OGB is slowly but surely recognizing that he needs to listen to mommy and daddy. He didn’t listen to his mommy to stop jumping up and down the couch.

Throughout the X Factor season, Stacey Francis, being 42 years old, showed her emotions how badly she wanted to fulfill her dream of making it aa a recording artist. She wanted it too badly and let her emotions dictate her choices. She owned up to it when she got booted from the show.

Astro is an amazing talent. During the results show he refused to perform feeling that he didn’t deserve to be up for elimination. He didn’t want to perform for people that didn’t vote for him. He was hurt and showed that he was still just a kid with a lot to learn. Simon was right by saying he disrespected his parents, the show, and the audience. He begrudgingly apologized.

So finally, it was our fault that we hit a parked car. The bigger picture is that no one was hurt. Hopefully we’ll just fork out a few hundred dollars for the repair of the other car.

No other choice but to embrace responsibility.

He was jumping up and down on the couch, fell, and hit his face on the arm rest. My wife calls to tell me his mouth is bleeding and that something had torn open inside his mouth.

I asked, “Are all his teeth still in place?”

Yes.

With a bleeding toddler and a crying infant, my wife was clearly overwhelmed. She just kept saying “What do I do?” repeatedly. I was at work and was having a hard time assessing the gravity of my son’s condition.

I suggested to my wife to take him to the doctor. I figure the assurance from the doctor that our boy is ok would calm my wife’s nerves. In her daze, she wasn’t acknowledging my suggestion. After a stern suggestion, she agreed to take him.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to stay calm for your child when they are hurt.

I had a similar experience a few months back. Just a few moments before my brother’s wedding, our OGB trips and hits his cheek on the solid wood bench of the church pew. The ceremony was about to start and I really needed help badly. Luckily one of the church volunteers was able to get me some ice for his cheek. I was a mess inside for many reasons on top of everything else that was going on around that time. I needed a reassurance that he’ll be ok. After calming him down, he slept through the whole ceremony.

After the visit to the doctor, my wife calls me to let me know the doctor said our boy will be fine.

First aid training could come in handy when you have toddler boys.

She’s tried a number of macarons from very prominent bakeries and cafes. But these macarons by Chef Hawksworth are just so delicious. We first tasted them for dessert on our anniversary dinner at Hawksworth restaurant. I myself was very impressed by the pistachio macaron. I never liked any pistachio flavor macarons at other establishments.

For some reason, on this maternity leave, she’s made macaron hunting as somewhat of a quest. So here I am, after a long day at work, making a quick detour to pick her up a treat. She deserves it after a long day with both kids.

P.s. I used it as somewhat of a bribe to get her to pick me up from the train station. I figure a box of these delicious treats = a cab ride home.

My wife decides to show him shadow puppet videos from YouTube. Fair enough. Make the shadows seem fun and non-threatening. It worked for a little bit.

Somehow, somewhere the fear of shadows gets reinforced. He’s scared of shadows again. The imagination of a child is a funny thing. As an adult I’ve forgotten how things can seem scary.

Last night I tried the scientific approach. I tell my OGB a shadow is formed when a light source hits a solid object and the light cannot pass through. I’m pretty sure he understood it.

In the end, the ‘shadows’ is just his way of telling us, “I don’t want to sleep alone.”

After all co-sleeping doesn’t last forever.

My Curious George and mini Mickey Mouse along with one hard-working mama!

“Marriage and family life is an imperfect journey. But, it is in those imperfections that God shows us his purpose and way for us.”

These past two weeks was our first chance to get into a normal day-to-day routine.

Reality bites.

There was no additional hands to give BPD to.  Our Original Boy (OGB), is really growing up and his needs were changing almost daily.  Some days he likes mommy more.  Some days daddy is good enough for him.  And some days mommy and daddy just need a break but have limited baby sitting options at the moment.

Two kids is definitely more work than one kid.  I say this with no disrespect to OGB, but BPD is so much easier to take care of than OGB ever was three months into this two-child dynamic.  I say it all the time that this is probably because we’re also more relaxed as parents.  Maybe this has lent to a more relaxed infant??? Possible.

This past week especially has been a lesson in managing expectations.  Setting the bar too high leads to disappointment.  But setting the bar too low can lead to frustration.  We are relearning the lesson of communicate, communicate, communicate.

Happy parents = happy kids.

Here’s a snapshot of a quick 5 minute playtime in our friend’s garage.  None of the kids cared what they played with, where they were, who did what. Tthey were just all in the moment.

Sharing the experience of raising a young family with other friends with young families is really a godsend.  It allows us to share our experiences and ideas to help us get through the difficult moments and more importantly celebrate the victories.  It also gives our children a safe place to be themselves.

In the four years, since becoming parents, we’ve realized what matters the most are the quiet moments. When you’re in the middle of trying to grasp what to do with your crying baby or your toddler throwing a trantrum – everything seems like an eternity at that moment. In between these moments, is also series of quiet moments that are so precious and sublime that the value of it is not fully realized until it has passed.

For the most part, OGB does not appear to be jealous of the new member of the family.  It’s definitely a balancing act to make sure we give OGB enough attention. I just hope they grow up to be as close with each other as I am with my brothers and sister.

Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring – quite often the hard way.  ~Pamela Dugdale