Toddler

Mikey has now moved from the crib to a toddler bed. I know Phillip thought I was nuts for even thinking about trying to transition him out of his crib yet. I kind of thought I was nuts too but much to our surprise, it's working out great. We just gate him in his room and tell him to go to sleep. After about 30 seconds or so of crying at the gate and then another 15-20 minutes of goofing off in his room, he gets in his bed and goes to sleep. Not too bad. This kid has always slept and ate really well.

Mikey now signs "I love you" when he feels like it. Like everything that he does, he must be in the mood and it must be on his terms. He has mood swings like you would not believe. One minute he can be throwing a huge fit and 10 seconds later he can be laughing and playing. Phillip mentioned that he had a really moody co-worker one time who took some herb to help stabilize his mood. Now I forgot what it was. Maybe I need to get some of whatever it is for Mikey and myself. We're both quite moody.

Just in case you didn't know this by now, Mikey is one of those so called "strong-willed children." My friend, Erin gave me three books to maybe help me have a little insight into how to handle him. I told Jackson that these books might help me learn how to be a better mommy to Mikey. I also tried to explain to Jackson what it means to be strong-willed. Jackson has asked me several times if I have figured anything out yet. All I have figured out so far is that the people who wrote these books are describing Mikey to a T. Yesterday Jackson called Mikey "Strong-willed Mikey." So the challenge will be to form his will without breaking his spirit or something like that. Honestly, sometimes I would settle for breaking his spirit if I could. I hope whatever teachers he's going to have in his life are going to ready for him. It's so funny that I thought Jackson was so obedient because of my wonderful parenting skills. That's just his nature. You could say that Mikey's nature is quite different.

Phillip and I are amazed at the extremes that are in Mikey. He is one of the most beautiful children we have ever seen. And that is balanced out with being one of the most challenging children we have ever encountered. As a photographer, I love having this beautiful little "subject" always around for me to photograph. But taking a good picture of Mikey is like taking a good picture of Big Foot.