2-year check-up!

Today the boys had their 2-year check-up. Here are the stats:

Cary

• Weight: 24 lbs., 8 oz.
• Height: 35 in.

That's 10th percentile for weight; 60th-65th for height.

Dean

• Weight: 28 lbs. 10 oz.
• Height: 36 in.

That's 50th percentile for weight; 75th for height.

Both boys are doing excellently in every area of their lives. Praise God!

They're good eaters, good sleepers, developmentally-appropriate physically and behaviorally and "well ahead of themselves," according to the pediatrician, in language development. They're off all bottles and ready for toilet-training. They're good big brothers to Clair and curious, verbal, hilarious, normal boys.

The doctor also praised us for being collected, patient and cooperative when it came to handling all three children during the visit, especially in a small exam room, with one child (Dean) not very happy about having to be there; another child (Cary) getting into everything, including fingering the doctor's scraggly, white beard, and one baby (Clair) crying for more milk and a paci.

It's wonderful when your pediatrician tells you how awesome your kids are. It takes it to a whole 'nother level when he tells you how awesome you are! SCORE!

We felt so good about ourselves, we decided to take the whole family out to a late breakfast/early lunch. So off to Bob Evans we went. I haven't been to Bob Evans in years, but we'll likely go back, as they were very kid-friendly, both in terms of price and accommodations.  We sat in a back area, near a pair of friendly older ladies who were chatting and eating. Just before we left, they stopped us to tell us how well-behaved Cary and Dean were, and how impressed they were by their manners and ability to sit and feed themselves quietly, and not behave like terrorists. (I'm paraphrasing.)
 "That speaks directly to your parenting," one said.

SCORE! SCORE!

Feeling really good about ourselves now, we headed on home to get them down for naps. Once in the door, we paid for all that complimenting. :-)
First Dean, then Cary started in with the serious, out-of-the-blue, no-good-reason-for-it melting down. Then Clair started wailing for her lunchtime bottle. Lester drew the long straw and got to feed Clair, while I dealt with the "well-behaved, well-parented" Cary and Dean. Tears were streaming down Dean's face for I'm not sure what. Cary didn't want his shoes off, then bawled because his shoes weren't off. Neither boy would climb the stairs to get to their bedroom, so I ended up having to hoist them both on either hip and carry them, hollering, up the stairs. (Please note the stats above to see that I was carrying more than 50 lbs. of tear-stained babies!) One wanted me to read a book; the other didn't. One wanted his blanket; the other didn't. By the time I got them both moderately calm enough to turn the lights out and leave, I was ready for a drink (and a nap)! (I got neither, btw.)

I write this down here not to complain about toddler tantrums, but to note that with children, it is rarely (if ever) all one thing or the other. They are marvelous and maddening, hilarious and hell-raisers. Just when you think, "Hey, I'm pretty good at this parenting thing!" they'll do something to make you think,"What am I doing wrong?" And vice-versa. If there's one more thing we've learned in the last two years, it's that it's helpful to keep this dichotomy in mind, particularly when they're being less-than-lovely.

Like rainstorms, the worst will be over eventually, and the sun will shine again.:-)

P.S. Clair is 3 months old today! She laughed out loud for the first time yesterday, and we're doing pretty well getting her to bed at 9 or 9:30 every night. So, just before I have to go back to work (Friday is my last day of maternity leave, waaaaaah!) things are inching, slowly, toward a sense of order. I'm not thrilled about having to leave my babies, but at the very least, there's that.

Bonus pic of Clair and her BFF Matthew, from my sister's visit to Baltimore yesterday:

Matthew is catching up!