Life with Tyler

We thought we had this parenting thing all figured out. Our first, Noah, was the kid that knew the rules before someone told them to him. Our second, Tyler, well, he's a little more normal than that. As my dad said when he was on the way, "You're going to have to throw out the book you used for Noah because each kid is different." Yeah, right, Dad. Oh wait, he IS right. :) Here's two stories from the past week that give you a little picture into life with our sweet, crazy, funny boy Tyler.

1.) Tyler and Rachel (2 1/2 and 9 months) are in the living room together. I'm in the kitchen. I hear laughter from both of them. As I'm in the middle of washing dishes, I decide to finish them up and then go see what all the fun is about. So, 2 minutes later, as they're still laughing, I go in the living room to find Rachel covered in Puffs. (For those of you w/out kids, Puffs are nasty little bite sized cereal-looking things that REEK of the zinc that they are fortified with. As my brother says, "If you can smell the vitamins, you shouldn't be eating it.") Anyway, Tyler has taken a whole bottle of them and poured them over her head. He is taking handfuls of them and throwing them at her, chuckling his delightful little belly laugh as he does it. Rachel, who by the way is the BIGGEST of all three kids, (I'm so proud), is LOVING every minute of it. Not only is she getting undivided attention, but she has snacks all around her. Tyler got a time out, but I had to hide my smile and laughter from him.

2.) Now, you'd think that I'd learn that a 2 1/2 year old laughing loudly would be a clue that something's going on that shouldn't be happening. Well, my brain is slowly expanding back to it's pre-pregnancy size, so there are still a few connections that have yet to meet again. So, Tyler and Rachel are alone again in the living room and I hear laughter. Again. I decide to wait only one minute this time. Tyler is the first one I see. He has a marker in his hand. Rachel, who I had stripped down to her birthday suit a few minutes prior because of a diaper blow out, is sitting naked in the middle of the floor, with some decorative marker strokes on her face, cheek, arms, and belly. My favorite is the one near her eye, which, in the medium shade of pink, makes her look like she's about to join an 80's punk band. Again, she is laughing, because 'hey, the other person is laughing, and again, I'm getting attention!' :) Thankfully it wasn't a Sharpie. Thankfully it wasn't a black marker.

Ahhhh, life with a two year old. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I apologize that there aren't pictures to accompany these stories. I didn't get the camera out quick enough, and I didn't want to have too many repeat episodes if I took the camera out. :)