Family
My sweet natured son constantly amazes me. Of course there are many toddler tantrums, when he flings himself to the ground with his crocodile tears streaming down his full cheeks. But what has surprised me the most about his growth and development is his goodness, his sweetness, and how he radiates love, especially the love he shows his baby sister.
My kids aren’t in school yet, but my toddler son already loves snacks. He especially loves those animal-shaped crackery snacks. Even the the whole grain organic versions I buy are still more processed than I’d like and his snack selection is seriously lacking at this point. He will eat most fruits, an occasional string cheese, dry cereal, and yogurt. Most of the time, the crackers win the snack selection battle.
After five years away, we are making our new home in Phoenix (again). I recently realized it is also the only city, (besides my hometown of Green Bay, WI), that feels like home.
Rocco is at an age where he is constantly trying to assert his independence. Jade and I nurture his independence through free-play and letting him explore as much as we can. Despite our best attempts, there is at least one daily battle, usually more, because we won’t let him get his way.
Last weekend, our local Orange County Wisconsin Alumni Chapter hosted a day at Zoomar’s petting zoo in San Juan Capistrano. Jade and I haven’t attended any alumni events since Rocco was born. We also haven’t ventured out of the house with both kids, other than a quick trip to the farmer’s market or a walk around the park. Now that Gigi is over her colic, we figured we should try taking both kids out for the day.
Colic is Satan incarnate. “She won’t stop crying. I seriously can’t take this anymore. Will this ever stop? Is something wrong with her? Is she ever going to be a normal baby?” I repeated to myself, tears rolling down my cheeks, every day for two months straight. This is life with a baby who has infant colic.
This Fourth of July weekend, I’ll be chasing this little guy around, spending some time at the pool with friends, grilling out, and playing with sparklers. I hope you have a safe and happy holiday weekend. Happy 4th of July!
I’m so excited! SheKnows recently accepted me as an Experts Among Us contributor. Published this past Friday, my very first article talks about how we decided when was the best time to have a second baby.
When Willie Nelson wrote “On the Road Again”, I doubt he did a road trip with toddlers. I’m almost certain it wasn’t in a four-door sedan, with excited children asking, “Are we at the beach? How long until we get to the beach?” every two minutes.
