Terrible Twos

How could this sweet boy have such Jekyll and Hyde mood swings? He seems so loving and cute, and playful and fun. Well he is all of those things, but can also be mean and nasty! His favorite word to use these days is STUPID. As in, "Stupid Mommy" or "Stupid Daddy". He routinely calls his brother and sister this as well. And when he is disciplined for using this word, he gets angry and then says "Bad Mommy". He also loves to hit everybody in sight! Couldn't we just go back to when he was about 9 months old??

Another favorite phrase of Caleb's, used to especially annoy his parents, is a variation on the song, 'Shake Your Booty". It was quite cute when he sang it that way. But now that he has learned certain lessons from his older brother, we are hearing "Shake Your {insert male body part here}". He especially loves to sing this while running around naked (getting a diaper changed, preparing for the bathtub, you name it). Sometimes it's quite funny and we try not to laugh. Other times it's really annoying, and I dread the day he starts singing this in church.

I have to tell myself that he will grow out of this. I sure hope he grows out of wanting to dump fistfuls of sand in his hair in the sandbox too. Or coloring on everything EXCEPT paper with markers. Or covering his body with sunscreen that he hijacked from the diaper bag. Or throwing a tantrum any time he does not get his way.

But I hope he never grows out of saying, "I wuv you, Mom". Or telling knock-knock jokes. Or smiling his sweet smile. Or even his independent spirit. As a friend once told me, she prays for her strong-willed daughter to be as stubborn about her faith as she is about everything else. When I think that my kids might grow to be strong Christian leaders in their churches, schools, homes and communities, I can be thankful God has given them determined spirits. And I can pray that this is how they will turn out!