The Teen Years

Logan is now sixteen. 16 months old, that is. But, he might as well be sixteen with the way his personality and attitude has changed this last month. Which means, I get flashes of what it's going to be like reining in a teenager.

My little teenager is an extremely picky and slow eater, and I hear that he gets this from his mom. He takes forever to eat a couple measly bites of mac n' cheese, inspecting and dissecting every possible noodle. If there is a speck of some other food mixed in, forget it. He knows when I'm trying to sneak in a green veggie (the horror!) and won't have any of it.

Most of the time Logan is an extremely happy kid and for that, we are eternally grateful. But make sure you don't rub him the wrong way. Always temperamental, as if he were already dealing with raging hormones, he can get impatient at the blink of an eye and throw the biggest tantrum of them all.

Just the other night, he was upset that poor Mommy dearest couldn't pick him up and put him to bed for the night. It tore me up inside to see my extremely tired heartbroken child looking up at me, imploring me with those big doe eyes and arms outstretched. Tired of his dad, all he wanted was a little cuddle and warm embrace from mom, and because I'm on a strict "nothing over 5 lbs" lifting rule, I had to meanly deflect his requests to Jon instead. Which of course, brought out the most severe back-arching tears-streaming tantrum I've seen in some time. Poor guy. :(

And, as I've mentioned in a few past posts, he continues to be extremely active and physical. He's a curious brute, and is often times testing the boundaries with his physicality. He's prone to hit, push, bite, and throw. And is slowly learning what he can and cannot get away with. His attitude definitely tests our patience, especially because he's so strong willed and independent.

Within the last month, Logan's sleep schedule has (finally) normalized. He still wakes up in the middle of the night on occasion, but I'd say the majority of the time we actually get a full night's rest. FINALLY. It's taken a long time to get to this stage but OHMYGOD how wonderful it is to finally get some much needed sleep. I'm guessing this is why many siblings are about 2 yrs apart - since parents naively think the coast is clear, easily forgetting how hard those sleepless nights were, and start trying for another. HA.

Sesame Street has become our best friend, our savior. We LOVE Sesame Street. We ADORE Sesame Street. We KISS the ground that Sesame Street walks on. Why? Because our hyper-active antsy little boy actually pays attention and watches the show for more than 2 seconds, allowing Mommy to steal away and pee in private. He is captivated by the songs, the sounds, the pictures, the characters, and of course, ELMO. He gets amped up anytime "Elmo's World" starts; jumping up and down, screaming, pointing to the TV, as if I don't hear the high-pitched whine of that red furry beast with my own two ears.

Yes Logan. It's Elmo. I see!

Just recently, Logan picked up his favorite new word/phrase - "UH-OH" - which he repeats about 15,834,927 times a day. It's pretty damn cute and gives me good warning anytime he's dropped thrown his sippy cup down on the floorboard of the car.

He still isn't much of a talker, choosing to sign or babble in his own sweet language instead. I know it's only a matter of time though. Before we know it, the flood gates will open and loud unstoppable chattery will flow from his mouth. Just like his father.

UH-OH indeedy.