Lest you think

that Carter is always this happy, carefree, fun kid (which he is MOST of the time).....there is plenty of this going on in our house (and the grocery store, at omaw's house, in the car, basically wherever we go....)



The week before Theo got home, Carter was soooo good. Now, I'm not blaming Theo for this at all, but since Theo has gotten home, Carter has kicked up the defiance business quite a bit. He argues over the littlest things. Sometimes he will say he's sorry when he knows he is being ugly, othertimes, it's an all out war. I have put him in timeout everyday this week, which is unusual for him. He'll do good for a little while but then I say or do one thing he doesn't like and the temper tantrums come. He is throwing things, screaming at me, backtalking ALOT. I really am tired of it but have remained surprisingly calm. The calmer I am, the more in control I feel and the faster he settles down.

I really think that baby girl is going to come out and say "Who is this Carter kid that mom and dad keep yelling at? I don't know about him. And why is he screaming at them all the time too?" :) I really am trying to stay calm for her sake, Carter's sake, and my sake. It doesn't help the situation when I am out of control too. His favorite backtalking phrase is "I can't wanna do that!" with "that" ranging from eating lunch, putting his shoes on, getting dressed, getting in the car, picking up his toys, you name it. Last night when Theo got home, Carter said "I was mean at mommy and I had to go to timeout." Yep, he sure did go to timeout. Oh well, I know this is a stage and we are all doing the best we can. I just felt like keeping it real so that no one is thinking we have our acts all together all the time. The good Lord knows we don't. And I'm not even pretending to have it all together. I'm just being real. That's all I know how to be.

And in the spirit of keeping it real, let me tell you what my mischievious little man did this morning. He had just gotten out of the bathtub and I was getting ready for the day. It was a little too quiet in the house and he wasn't answering me when I called for him. So I walked into the kitchen and found him naked, on the counter, eating M&M's out of the jar that is reserved for "potty prizes". I couldn't do anything but laugh! He had gotten a little chair out of his room and climbed on the countertop that way. I was so thankful I didn't have anything cooking on the stove....or that he hadn't taken an interest in our knife collection!