Luke, the 22 month update

Where to begin with Luke? He can be so adorable. He is more cuddly than Joshua ever was. He loves his rock-a-bye's and soft tickles. There is nothing more precious than the time spent putting this kid to bed. We rock, we cuddle, we sing, we talk about the parts of our face. He gives me soft tickles on my face. We say prayers, and give kisses until he giggles. In these moments there doesn't exist a more precious child. There are also times, usually in the morning, when Luke is just happy happy, and energetic. He runs around the house, tries to slip and fall, pounces on pillows, plays with toys, pounces on daddy, and giggles through it all.

Then there is Luke, the most head strong kid I know. He is the complete opposite from Joshua in this way. Joshua could see a plate full of desserts sitting in front of him - and if I said he couldn't have any - he'd accept it. He's been this way from day one. Luke does not accept me telling him he can't do or can't have something that he wants. He is determined and stubborn, and often I have to give in because we are in public.

Today, I was supposed to have some kids from church come over to go over a musical number at 3:15, but I had to call and cancel because "Luke's in a bad mood". Who cancels because their baby is in a bad mood?! Does my 22 month old control this house? He does when he wakes up cranky from a nap. And today he woke up cranky. When this happens, the goal is to make him forget that he's cranky - we read books, play toys, watch TV, even resort to treats (that's probably why he's obsessed with treats!). Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. Today he wasn't having any of it. I had to go to the bathroom, I told him where I was going, I left him on the couch and went to the bathroom and shut the door. I shut the door because I knew he would follow me and I needed that minute to pee. He was crying so hard at the door, that he started doing that can't catch your breath thing. I was in there for no more than 2 minutes. Finally, I decided the only way to calm him down was to leave the house. The plan was to go to Costco, if he wasn't calm by the time we got there, I was going to switch the plan and head down to find aunt Robin. He was fine within 3 minutes of entering the car. He was a happy, energetic, bouncing, taster-tasting kid the entire time there, and completely pleasant the rest of the night.

I have to give one more example of his irrational stubbornness. Sunday, we decide to take a walk at the beach. Fun, right? Well Luke doesn't want to be in his stroller, and refuses to walk. He instead chooses to lay down on the boardwalk in rebellion. When he thinks we're trying to get him to walk, he gets up, runs the other way, then throws himself back down on the cement. He stays there until we pick him up. And then he gets what he wants - to be held. He'll do the same thing at home. If he wants you to hold him and you walk away, he'll just lay there balling until you come back to get him. This is even if you're 10 feet away saying "come on Luke, let's go play toys."

I'm hoping that these are what people refer to as the terrible two's (though this has been going on since last June - by 'this' I mean being strong willed and stubborn). I'm hoping that as he ages he'll get easier. I don't want to be a mom that lets her kids rule her life, but it seems like with Luke right now, it's the only way. I'm all for letting the kid have their tantrum and ignoring them - but Luke's a crazy boy who won't stop.

So once again I say... Thank goodness for the kid I put to bed every night, and the kid I wake up to in the morning. That's the kid you see in the picture above, and that's the kid that keeps me from going insane!!