Two Year Old Madness

Josh is a good kiddo. He's generally sweet and already has a pretty good sense of humor. He's been extremely patient with Cole and all the changes he's brought to our family. (He's only hit him twice!) He likes to eat, play on the computer, and loves loves loves to play outside. I can hardly get a picture of him, he's always on the move.

We love Josh.

But sometimes... sometimes...

Well, sometimes Josh is two. And by two I mean determined. And by determined I mean stubborn.

And by stubborn I mean STUBBORN.

This stubbornness, coupled with being tired and/or hungry can lead to what I call Crazy Mad Josh.

Crazy Mad Josh doesn't visit all too often. (Thank goodness!) Crazy Mad Josh makes no sense at all. Crazy Mad Josh generally wants something he most certainly cannot have. Crazy Mad Josh is loud. Crazy Mad Josh cries. Crazy Mad Josh freaks out. Crazy Mad Josh is unreasonable. Seriously, insanely unreasonable.

Crazy Mad Josh often ends up in time out on his bed.

For example:

-A few weeks ago the boys were playing in the back yard with the hose on. All was fine for about an hour, when Spencer decided it would be fun to spray Josh until he cried. I had to step in and referee, decreeing that Spencer was done playing for a while. Josh said he wanted to go inside as well, so I turned off the hose. We got inside. He decided he wanted to play outside with the hose. So I turned it back on. Then he decided he wanted to come in again. So I turned the hose off. Then he wanted back out, hose on. Then he came inside again, but freaked out when I went to turn the hose off. He had decided that he was going to play inside but that the hose Had. To. Be. On. No matter what. Crazy Mad Josh soon entered the scene. Crying, screaming, body flinging, etc. soon ensued. I explained to him that the hose could not be on if no one was playing with it; it wasted water and I didn't need the lawn to flood. No matter to him; the tantrum continued. For a good 20 minutes. At full blast.

At which point I decided Crazy Mad Josh needed to go into time out on his bed.

-I was nursing Cole in his room earlier this week when Josh came in and sat on the guest bed. He started studying the pictures of the Wild Things on the wall. I asked him if he liked them, and he said yes. He studied them some more. The following conversation ensued:

Josh: Why are they black?
Me: The pictures aren't black. Oh - you mean the frames? Why are the picture frames black?
Josh: Yes. Why are they black?

It was early in the morning. Josh had been up late the night before. I could sense Crazy Mad Josh coming on, so I tried to frame my answer so that he wouldn't make an appearance.
Me: That's just the color I bought.

And then I made a fatal mistake. I don't know why I said this, but I did.
Me: Black is the color I wanted.

Never never NEVER tell Crazy Mad Josh what you want. Because it's all about what Crazy Mad Josh wants.
Josh: NO!! NO!! I don't want black! I don't want it! Baaahhh!!!

I thought about reasoning with him, but quite frankly, reasoning with Crazy Mad Josh is like trying to reason with an insane person. Because Crazy Mad Josh is an insane person. Figuring the damage was already done, I decided to poke Crazy Mad Josh with the proverbial stick and asked:
Me: Why? What color do you want?
Josh: Red! I wanted red pictures. Red red RED!!!!!!! Bahhhhhhh!!!

A glorious tantrum followed, complete with weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. For a good 20 minutes. (Which is apparently my threshold for tantrums.)

At which point I decided Crazy Mad Josh needed to go into time out on his bed.

Oh Crazy Mad Josh, how you entertain me.

Little Tease

Remember my exciting (to me) news? Well, after that post Cole slept through the night two more times. That means four nights in a row. I thought for sure this was now a habit, earning him the title of World's Best Baby.

It was all an act.

A ruse.

A farce.

A tease.

For the past two nights he has woken me up around 4:30am, demanding to be fed and not in the least bit interested in going back to bed. (Fortunately, I can put him back into his crib and he won't fuss. But I can hear him grunting and snorting and whatnot for another hour or so.)

Guess he'll have to earn that title some other way.

Tiny

Trying to Get A Smile

Cole is starting to smile - but only when he feels like it. Cheeks that hurt from the effort and ninety shots later, and this was the closest I could get.


You win this time, Cole, but I'll get that smile eventually!

Good Baby

Tuesday night Cole slept from 11:00pm to 5:45am.

Last night he slept from 10:30pm to 6:30am.

He'll be six weeks old tomorrow.

Whoa. I totally love this little dude.

Totally.

Each morning, after feeding the little ravenous beastie, I have tickled his tummy and told him what a wonderfully good baby he is. "Goooood baby! Yes you are! You're a good baby, letting Mommy sleep!" (Because it's all about the positive reinforcement.) In response he has spit up on me. Each time. Profusely.

No matter. Right now he's still my favorite son.

Quick Grandpa Trip

Grandpa ElRay had a meeting in Indie yesterday, which meant we got to enjoy a quick visit.

You may or may not know, but when you come to stay at Chateau Madsen you have to work for your room and board. (So I guess it's more like the Madsen Hostel. Or Kibbutz Madsen. Whatever.) So we quickly put Grandpa to work.

First, he was on baby holding duty.


Then he had to be the human bubble machine. Spencer was determined to pop 100 bubbles. (Thanks for sending the bubble wands, Grandma Susie!)


Next, he had to labor with us out in the steamy blueberry fields. We probably picked around 20 pounds, but we only came home with 13 since Josh and Spencer kept stealing and blueberries right out of the buckets. (Pesky boys!)


That night Grandpa was on dinner duty, which he fulfilled wonderfully by taking us to Buffalo Wild Wings. (Loud - which is good when you have three little boys!)

Grandpa also worked hard at playing with the boys, reading them stories, playing Wii, and giving them cute Hawaiian shirts.

Thanks for being such a hard worker, Grandpa - you certainly earned your keep!

Self-portrait Tuesday: Why Do I Have Long Hair...

... if I always just wear it pulled back?

I haven't braided my hair since... well, I'm not quite sure. High school maybe? Whatever. I am in desperate need of practice. Then again, this isn't all that bad considering I did it with a baby on my lap while sitting on the couch.

I need some cute pulled-back hairstyles. Any suggestions?