<b>Emily</b>
Emily is 2 years 5 months old but going on 3 years 4 months. Other than normal 2 year old monster-like behavior, she is doing great. We have her fully off the diapers and so far so good. We started potty training her when she was about 18 months and after initially being into it, she lost interest. Since she was not that old, we kind of let it slide. But after Ethan came along in August, we said enough with two kids in diapers. For a while we had her wear only underwear during the day and a diaper at night, but then we realized she was waking up with a dry diaper. So last week we started with underwear at night as well. It is not totally without our involvement since we need to help her out and stuff, but it really does beat changing diapers all the time. She likes the fact that she can wear underwear and so far the daytime accidents are very rare. There are times at night when she wakes us up to go, but that is a good thing for now.
When we knew we were having another kid, we were wondering how she would react to a little baby around. So far it is far better than what we expected. She is very sweet to Ethan and the only fault is in the fact that she wants to kiss him, hug him, hold him, pat is back, etc. all the time. She still gets plenty of our attention, especially with me since I ?own? Emily most of the time while I am home, so I think the attention seeking thing was less impactful then we anticipated.
The rest of Emily?s development is about where a normal 3 or 4 year old would be. She is pretty tall and looks much older than her true age so it is not surprising. Her language skills are good, motor skills, athleticism, all good. She loves being active outside so the winter should be interesting, but hopefully as she matures a little she will get used to sitting and playing for long stretches.
She is not without fault since she is pretty bratty and acts like a little monster. It can be frustrating but we keep telling ourselves that if we stick to our true beliefs, try to instill our principles and morals in her, she will grow out of it. Or we could beat her. Or lock her in a closet. Or beat her and then the closet. But for now we use the penalty of losing privileges (no TV, no books read to her before bed, etc).
Overall, she is doing great. She is bratty at times, a lot of times, but is also very sweet and considerate. She loves being around other people and other kids and likes laughing so hopefully will grow up with that same attitude.
<b>Ethan</b>
Ethan was born on August 5 so he is about 6 weeks old. He makes this kind of grunting sound a lot unless he is in a deep sleep so sometimes it is hard to figure out if he is fussing or not. But he seems to be growing out of that and is much easier to handle then Emily when she was an infant. It might be the fact that we know what to expect and are more relaxed, or he might just be a calmer baby, but it really is much easier the second time around.
He sleeps for about 3 or 4 hours at a time and one night last week slept from 12:30 to 6, so we think he is getting close to sleeping through the night. It takes a while for a new born to adjust to regular hours and Emily slept through the night at 7 weeks, so hopefully it will be the same. Patti is getting up with him now because he is not really into bottles yet.
He is about 14 pounds and is starting to lose that ugly newborn look. His complexion is clearing up, his face is starting to form a normal shape, his head is starting to form a more round shape and he is starting to interact a little. He smiles every now and then for Patti or if Emily is singing to him, but not yet for me. Understandable.
Overall, things are going well. He is of course a newborn so needs constant attention, eats, sleeps, cries and poops with very little fun for me or Patti, but this time is a necessary step. When he is asleep on my chest while lying on the couch, not sure if there is really a better feeling.
That is it for an update on both kids. It is challenging at times and can be very frustrating, but alcohol and hope get us through those times. Overall is it very rewarding and I look forward more good times.
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