Miscellaneous

A bad day. A very, very bad day. No naps for Asher from 11:45 to 6:15pm. I am losing my mind trying to get him to go to sleep! Letting him cry, not letting him cry, nothing is working. When I finally get him down, he's up in 10 minutes. This can't be normal. It's not very motivating to do the hard work of getting him to sleep when that's the payoff. Owen during all of this tries very hard to be patient, but he's 2. So he ends up acting out, I end up getting frustrated and losing my temper, and the vicious cycle of misbehavior on both of our parts begins. We had a great snuggle before bedtime--after the string of bath, dressing, book-reading, etc. tantrums--where I did some apologizing and we talked and prayed about having a better day tomorrow. These are the days when it becomes clear just how much both of us need grace from each other and from God...feel that sinful nature rear it's ugly head.

I will write all the cute things I can think off to shake off this day!

-Owen is obsessed with trying to notice when trees are changing color (after I told him about autumn and how that all works). 'Look mommy! Dat tree is turning colors! Is red!'
-When on walks in the neighborhood (which has many patches of 'wild' forest along the road) Owen said recently, 'Look dat plant. It has little bit of tomatoes on it! Look dat one. It has little bit of cherries on it!' ...in reference to two bushes that had tiny berries on them.
-Owen is finally social enough to look forward to meeting with friends and wanting to go see them. He's very huggy/hand-holdy with his little friends, and shares incredibly well. He is also very tolerant if other kids bully or steal from him. What a surprise!
-'Asher is awake! Asher is awake! He's getting bigger! He will be able to play with you soon!'
-'Mommy, you want MUCH jelly on your samwich! You want MANY jelly!'
-Owen loves watching his 'Go Potty Go' video, but consistently runs to the DVD player and shuts it off as soon as it gets to the last few minutes. The content of those minutes? 'Are YOU ready to throw away your diapers? Are YOU ready to wear big kid underwear? I know you are! You're a big kid! It's time to use the potty!' He does not enjoy the direct challenge.
-That reminds me, Owen can change a DVD on his own now, quite well.