Younger Boy is now 4 years old. For most of you who have followed me from the beginning you know that Younger Boy and I have come a long way together from being the ripe age of 2-years-old-in-diapers to the 4-year-old-potty-trained-letter-loving kid he is now. One thing that I’ve always found frustrating is his behavior when he’s with me, or FH and the boys, or when he’s coming home from being with Jane. It drives me absolutely batty.
Face One – Me and Him
When it’s just me and him he’s this active, happy, calm, fun-loving kiddo. He listens, he has amazing manners, and he’s adventurous and enjoys trying something new – or at least is willing to try something new.
Face Two – When Dad and the Brothers Come Home
He kind of turns into a big mean butt-head. He finds the need to defend himself against Middle Boy, whether or not Middle Boy is antagonizing him. He starts doing things he known he’s not supposed to do (probably because Older Boy seems to think that if he’s doing something with Younger Boy it will be OK even though it never seems to be.) He gets cranky and rude more often. He may or may not be willing to try something new.
Face Three – Coming Home from being with Jane and Jolie
He’s a baby. He can’t do anything himself. He has no manners whatsoever. He doesn’t want to do anything. He gets whiney and starts sniffling and crying at everything.
I bring this up because I really really hoped that as he got closer to being 5-years-old and wanting to start Kindergarten he would perhaps leave some of this negative behavior behind. However, I’m now seeing the light of day. As long as Jane and Jolie baby him and treat him like a baby instead of a big boy he’s going to revert back to the behaviors of his 2-year-old days.
I guess this is me hoping that eventually as he gets even older he’ll at least start to realize that bringing that behavior back home with him isn’t going to fly. Middle Boy learned that last year. He was in the middle of saying something rather not OK and he looked at the look on my face (the raised eyebrow) and realized who he was talking to. This was followed by the “Oh shit that’s not going to work on Crys” look on his face and from then on he left that version of himself at Jane’s. One can always hope, right? All I know is that consistency in my behavior works. So I’m not giving up all hope.
Baby Update: Today I’m at 17 weeks. My mom took me out shopping for some maternity clothes because my clothes just weren’t fitting anymore. The problem is that we bought some of them a size bigger than I needed in anticipation of how big I will grow. But, it’s nice to at least be able to fit inside of a pair of pants, even if I’m tugging on them now and then compared to not being able to squeeze into them.
4 comments:
I thought it was just my one that seems to be a completely different child depending on her audience.
Your consistency obviously paid off with Middle Boy, I think if you hang in there it will pay off with Younger Boy, too. Although, it probably will take longer with him, since he's younger, and Jane seems to be holding onto the little boy in him. But don't give up.
Congrats on getting new clothes! Doesn't it make a huge difference? I found that my maternity clothes fit up until I was about 8 months- even the ones I bought that were bigger so they would fit longer. Now, however, I'm just uncomfortable in anything. I think I'll end up buying at least one pair of pants and a couple of tops, even though I'm this far, simply because it's a squeeze to get into anything else. But, I also know I'll be wearing maternity for a little while after the baby is born, so I don't feel like it's a complete waste. Hope you enjoy your new clothes, and that they feel wonderful for you.
You have an amazing way of knowing exactly what triggers all of those behaviors.
And on a side note- congrats on the maternity clothes! I just loved the day I was finally able to justify wearing maternity clothes. I can't wait to hear about your pink or blue appointment!
It sounds to me like he knows that you're the only one that he can't get away with stuff with. And it also sounds like he enjoys that.
You're doing a kick butt job.
Just stay consistant.
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