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It makes me sad that I have not been more vigilant in posting updates on the kids, especially Christian. Kate got a lot of updates as she was growing, and I've been way more lax about it with Christian. Christian is so so sweet. Even when he is throwing a tantrum, I just can't get over how much I love this boy! He can do no wrong in my eyes (which is probably very, very bad).
He loves his family, and he has such a tender heart. If Kate is crying or carrying on, he always asks what's wrong with her (he asks in a nice way not the WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? variety). She usually screams at him to leave her alone, but instead of listening to her he always wraps his arms around her in the sweetest hug you've ever seen. Even if she won't hug him back, he presses his cheek against her tummy and holds on and pats her back.
He generally only has tantrums himself when he has not taken a nap (he rarely takes one these days), and by dinner time he has had it with life. If I ask him why he's crying, he'll say, "Cause I'm sad." But lately he's been making an effort to get over it faster, and sometimes minutes later will say, while wiping his eyes "I'm a happy boy now!"
He loves cars, trains, airplanes, helicopters, bikes, scooters, well you get the idea -- anything with wheels or wings. He doesn't like big noises of any kind or anything that might be slightly scary.
He loves to give hugs and kisses. He loves playing games on the computer and on Daddy's ipad. He's learning a ton, probably thanks in big part to Kate who loves to try to teach him things. He's learning his letters, knows his colors, and has a great vocabulary.
I love his sweet little voice and should probably spend more time recording it than I do.
He loves to say prayers, even though he says the same thing every time (unless someone helps him), "Dear Heavenly Father, please bless the food. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
He sleeps with his cars, trains, or balls every night. He is obsessed with Thomas the Train and every week will ask me (usually in a hopeful whisper), "Is it Christmas time yet?" because we have a Thomas train set that we only get out at Christmas.
I am with him in nursery, and it is so fun to watch him interact with the other kids. Sometimes smaller kids will climb on him or steal the toy he's playing with, but he usually just looks up at me with a slightly worried expression. He doesn't ever hit back or yell at the kids (like other kids do). He is very patient and helpful with younger kids (like when his 18 mo old twin cousins come to visit). He will make a great big brother if we ever make that happen for him.
He is kind, calm, loving, and obedient. I feel overwhelmed that I get to be his mother. He has a maturity beyond his years, that's for sure. He's two, for heaven's sake, but I have loved him at this age so much and often wish I could freeze him at this spot forever. He brings so much joy into my life.
Our parenting style is loosely based on Love & Logic. I don't follow through well enough to say I follow it, but there are sometimes when Christian needs an "uh oh" or a timeout. At first, I just held him and sang the uh oh song in the bathroom. He would calm down right away, and sometimes later when he did something he wasn't supposed to he would say, "I need an uh oh." I realized this was probably not as effective as I hoped. I asked my sister about it, and she told me that ideally they should be alone in their room and should go there on their own. So I started trying that, and told him to go to his room for the uh oh. He would say, "Ok, mommy." Then go to his room. I would go in a minute later, and he would be standing perfectly still, facing the door, not crying or anything.
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