Jack-Jack

My sweet little Jackson is deep into the terrible twos. He has discovered how to take off his clothes and does so often. The other day I was teaching piano and as my piano student walked in she asked me if I knew that Jackson was running around with his diaper hanging off his bum. Sure enough, he had taken off his shirt, his pants were around his ankles and he had pulled his diaper down far enough that his little bum was hanging out (luckily it was a clean diaper!). Within the last few days he has also discovered an interest in finding out what is down there in his diaper. Yes, he is a boy, but I am talking about the back of his diaper not the front. He will reach down and pull out fingers covered with poo. DISGUSTING!!! So far, I have caught him before he has decided to wipe it on something else. I don't remember any of my other kids doing this!

And the thing that is probably the most frustrating to me is that he is a screamer. He screams at anything and everything. If you get to close to him, he will scream. If he drops his toy on the ground, he will scream. If I just don't get him what he wants fast enough, he screams. I think I am going to go crazy from all the screaming. We try time outs, I try to calmly remind him to use his words, I had even tried yelling back (that doesn't work, by the way) nothing seems to work. I am hoping it is just a phase and he will grow out of it eventually.

There are days when I get so frustrated I want to put him in his room and leave him there all day but then he will climb up in my lap and give me a kiss and I forget about everything else except how much I love this little guy of mine. He is incredibly tender hearted and whenever anyone is hurt or sad, Jackson will run up to them and hug and kiss them to make them feel better. He loves to help me unload the dishwasher and anytime he thinks he as hurt me (accidently, of course) he pats me on the head and says, "sorry, mom!" The other day I was getting dressed and pulled a shirt out of my closet to wear and Jackson said, "I like shirt, mom." It melted my heart. When I tell him it is time to clean up, he starts singing the "clean up" song and puts the toys away. He has a smile that makes me forget all my frustrations and dissolves my anger. I love that when I ask him what his name is, he says "Jack-Jack."

So, dispite the terrible twos that are in full swing, I adore my sweet little two year old.