I have the time to actually write for you because I am laying on Kate's floor and will likely be here for at least fifteen minutes. We figured out that the reason it was taking her two hours to fall asleep wasn't because she napped or didn't nap or anything like that. It was because she is in a bad-dream and scared of the dark stage.
Let me tell you how glad I am about what my daughter is scared of. Bears, wolves and sharks. This is in contrast to the many kids coming through my role at work who are anxious and frankly obsessed over fears of "bad guys" and zombies and monsters. I am so glad to have a three year old who doesn't have to worry about that stuff and hope she won't for a long long time. Kids need to have kid worries, and when she asks us to explain something she heard we will often just tell her that isn't something she needs to know about. Period.
So, fifteen minutes on the floor allows her to feel comfortable and safe enough to sleep and that is that.
Jacob is freaking amazing. This kid can full on run, is trying his hardest to jump (or "dance"), and has suddenly realized what signing is for. He has made up two of his own signs, one for "kate" and one for "pouch" (aka the tasty baby food in a baby friendly dispenser). He kills me and delights me all the time.
Kate teaches him so much. He is at such a huge advantage as a younger brother. He loves to cuddle and kiss and this is largely due to his sister. He will tackle her in a full on hug and open mouth slobber on her. On the other end of the spectrum he also now hits when frustrated. Take the good, take the bad...take them both and there you have...
Her tantrums are better though. As a therapist's daughter she is now remarkably good at voicing "i am so frustrated" and even suggesting what would make her feel better. I'm not a Dan of the ignore-the-tantrum take because I believe in most cases the kid doesn't actually know what to do to calm down. I think ignoring works only for those "fake" fits that really are for attention. But from my experience working with kids those are actually fairly rare. After airlift so much on how to calm herself down she has started coming up with her own ideas. Usually it involves holding notary but yesterday she asked for me to rub her back to help her calm down and today she suggested petting the dog.
One remarkably loud screaming fit the other day led me to take her outside so she wouldn't wake Jacob. I warned her what would happen if she yelled, and then I was forced to follow through on carrying a kicking, screaming child outside. I sat near her until she was ready to accept my ideas for calming down. Finally she stopped screaming, said "i am getting hot out here. Let's go inside.". Bet the neighbors were glad of that.
All in all having two is going well, although I will admit that if you had asked me two months ago that might not have been my answer... As soon as I weaned Jacob slept through the night and I know have access to my brain again...
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