I get the looks in the grocery store and I know people are thinking, "bless her heart!" Translated from Southern to everyday, "Is she flipping nuts to have two that close together?"
But really, having two only 19 months apart hasn't been that bad. Part of it is because we have spectacular children. But I think a lot of it is that we choose to proactively parent them. Before Will was born, we worked with CJ on things like:
- "parking lot rules" - This means that when we are on a road or in a parking lot, it is nonnegotiable for CJ not to hold one of our hands. He even says "par lot rul mommy" or "par lot rul daddy" to let us know whose hand he wants to hold. He gets quite concerned going into school because there are so many kiddos not doing parking lot rules! Why we did it... Do you think I really wanted to chase CJ across a parking lot while holding Will? Nu-uh. No go. So he knows the rule, and we enforce it every. single. time.
- "two hands on the car" When CJ gets out, he either crawls under Will's seat or walks around with me. He knows when he gets out of the car and I am getting Will, he has to have two hands on the car. It works like a charm. He stays right there, and I can unbuckle a wiggly little man. Why we did it... See the answer to #1
- CJ can eat in his booster chair or his chair in the living room. only. no exceptions. Why we did it... I didn't want food strewn about the house for Will to choke on.
- CJ puts his cup on a table. Why we did it... Little boys get too excited playing and knock over cups, and little boys have too much fun to remember where they left said cup unless it is in a designated spot. I have two little ones y'all, do you think I have time to play hide-and-seek 95 times a day with CJ's juice?
Those are just a few of the things we tried to do BEFORE Will was born so our life, and CJ's life, and Will's life would be easier after he was born. It seem(ed)(s) silly to some people, but to us, on this side of two small men in our house, it was a great decision.
All that being said, it was easy to manage both of them. Really, I'm not joking. Going to the grocery store isn't that bad. The only time I leave them at home is when I need to get so much that there isn't room for all the groceries and them in the cart! Going out to dinner/lunch with them isn't bad. They are well-mannered because we have worked hard to teach them to be. At home, CJ loves to be with me. Given the choice of playing in the bathroom while I take a shower and get ready or watching Finding Nemo, CJ 100% of the time chooses me. And then will usually say, "Pay in bafroom firs, den watch fis mov." Translated, "Play in the bathroom first, then watch fish movie." And Will just stayed where you left him.
That was until about a month ago when I went to get him after a nap and I saw this for the first time. I knew our days were about to get a lot more active!
And then ON THE SAME DAY, he did this while I was changing CJ's diaper. I put him in baby jail because he has developed a love for the bathroom. He could scoot out of their room and around the corner to the bathroom faster than I could get CJ's diaper off. And there is just something about a baby crawling around on a bathroom floor that makes me want to vomit in my mouth a little bit.
The next day, Scott called me to see what Will was doing. He started over by Scott and cruised his way over to CJ's table.
Here's a view from Will's angle. Can you figure out what he wanted to get a better view of?
This man is determined to get what he wants. He loves the baseball bat on this toy and constantly pulls it off the shelf...
So no more just putting Will down and knowing he was going to stay there. He is still great in public. He is a great shopper... mostly because he likes to flirt with little old ladies. He is great at restaurants... because he gets to E.A.T. And at home, he is wonderful, but never still for more than a moment. He has a destination in mind, and he goes for it...
So when I saw him sitting up looking at me so cutely that first day, I knew we were in store for the explorer stage. I knew I was going to be moving hands away from light sockets. I knew he was going to pull up on the only semi-surviving plant in my house. I knew he was going to pull at CJ's art that is all over our lower kitchen cabinets. And inside, I'll admit, I wasn't ready for it.
But here's what I didn't expect. Now that he is semi-mobile and no longer just a lump sitting in his bouncy seat, he and CJ have a lot of fun playing together! It's worth it all when we get moments like these...
It's just a little glimpse into all the fun I know these two are going to have in the years to come. So yeah, life changed. But it is for the better. :)
