Terrible twos much?

I wish there were hidden cameras in our house because I witnessed the devil take form in my daughter tonight.

It all started when Bryan started her bedtime routine. Potty, wash hands, brush teeth, diaper, PJS and then I take over and put her to bed. He got as far as potty...she put one little rabbit turd in the toilet and wanted 2 peanut M&M's for it. Bryan has been having to go into work and because it took so long for her to work that little pellet out of her body, it was time for him to leave. So he gave her her 2 "m's" and she sat on the couch watching Wubbzy to eat them.

As soon as she was finished (and trust me, she ate them reeeeeallllly slow) I told her it was time to wash her hands and brush her teeth. I turned off TV and we walked very calmly into the bathroom. Normally she is whining the whole way so I knew this was a calm before the storm...little did I know how bad this was really going to be.

I got her step stool ready for her to wash her and and she whines "I haffa potty". I was an EXPERT staller as a kid so I knew this was just a way for her to buy time. I told her she had 1 minute on the potty and plopped her down. She just sat there and stared at me like "I wonder how much I can get away with tonight?".

After a minute I tried to pick her up and she started screaming at the top of her lungs "I HAFFA POOOOOOOOOP EASTER BUNNY BOOOOOOOK". The easter bunny book is her go to poop book, she can't go without it. I told her no, that it was time for bed and that she didn't have to poop. I think picked her up and at first, her body went totally limp...I knew I was in for it.

As soon as her feet hit the bathmat she started flailing around like a raging bull. She was screaming so loud and her voice was so gruff that I had to hold back a laugh because I've never seen her so ticked off in her life. She looked at me like she's never looked at me, I think my child realized what hate is tonight.

I then decided that she was going to get hurt if I tried to put her diaper on in the bathroom so I picked her up to carry her into her bedroom. She decided to throw her arms up so I couldn't get a grip so I literally carried her down the hall by her ribs and knees (trying to kick me the entire time). We get into her room and I lay her down only for her to roll from side to side...from her dresser to her window all while I'm trying to get a diaper on her. I can now confidently say that I could EASILY wrestle an alligator, with 1 arm.

Now, up until that point I am secretly laughing in my head. I can't help it...she was so ticked and she didn't know what to do with herself...it was funny. Now I am ticked, and no one is here to help. So what do we do? Time out.

I take her to time out with NO pants/diaper/underwear on and sit her on the bench. She immediately jumps up and runs around the dining room like the Tasmanian devil. I couldn't see my daughter...just streaks of a pink shirt and a naked butt. But I could hear her...OH could I hear her...SHRILL screaming.

What do I do? Call Bryan crying telling him to get home because we are both about to lose it. He tells me he can't and so I tell him I'm making him listen to all this on speaker. He hangs up after a minute and I throw my phone in the hallway and put my face in my hands. What. do. I. DO?!

So, I grab Layla (not gently) and tell her to sit in her room until she calms down. She sits in the middle of her room trying to catch her breath. Her face turns from bright red/purple to a shade of pink...that's when I decided to go back in.

I make her lay down as I tell her how HORRIBLE she's being. She starts sobbing again but I honestly don't care. I'm hungry, tired and I've had enough. I then make her sit on her bed, grab her toothbrush from the bathroom and brush her teeth on her bed as she's screaming through a WIDE OPEN mouth. Her teeth have never been so clean.

I tell her to lay down (again, not nicely), cover her up, and turn off the lights. Normally she gets a book...I decided she didn't deserve one tonight and then I get teary again and start feeling like a terrible Mother. I get a flash back of the hatred in her eyes when she looked at me in the bathroom and I suddenly don't care, she already hates me anyway.

So I sit on her bed until she calms down, lean over to look her in the eye and say "You were not nice to Mommy tonight". And all by herself she says "I sorry" and cries. My heart literally melted...and all I could say was "me too".

So we said our prayers. I pray for her and when I get to "I'm thankful for..." I let her finish. She choked a "Mommy and Daddy, Oscar and Moose, Baby Button and Easter Bunny Book" out and I'm obviously bawling like a stupid little baby right with her. We finish up, say our "I love yous" and I left to go sit on the couch and cry until Bryan got home.

Being a Mom is the HARDEST thing I have ever done. This was probably the worst night I've ever had to deal with and I know this is just the beginning of the "I hate yous" and the screaming and kicking. But hearing her say "I sorry" and still telling God she was thankful for me even after ALL this was the sweetest and most powerful confirmation that there is nothing like the love between a parent and child.

Now it is time for a turkey, cheese, mayo, mustand and Lays chip sandwich...because I deserve it after this. I do not get paid enough for this kind of harassment. :)

The Many Faces Of Layla

I know I say this ALL the time but Layla has the best personality. Her facial expressions are hilarious...what you see is how she's feeling. See below for exactly what I mean:

;o) I'm sure a lot of you have seen this coming after my miscarriage post on Nap Time Tales. We are still a little bit in shock and denial that this is really happening. It isn't that we aren't excited, it's just that we are very nervous! I think this time around it is going to be hard to get head over heels excited until baby is safe on the outside.

Here are some stats so far:

- Due date: November 28th

- How I'm feeling: I had a few really rough and sick weeks...plus I'm exhausted but overall not much different than I felt with Layla. Other than the fact that I'm STARVING ALL. THE. TIME. I don't remember that with L until later in the pregnancy...so I'm expecting to gain at least 100 pounds.

- How Layla's feeling: This is where I get nervous. Layla has some serious issues with Mommy and Daddy holding other babies and really likes to boss little ones around. We are going to start including her in as much as we can with this baby (think nursery, ultrasounds etc...) and we talk about it often. We are trying to teach her that trying to push a baby off our laps is unacceptable, but Princess has other ideas. This is either going to be REALLY bad...or good for her. I'm freaking out.

- How Baby's feeling: Great! We went in for a ultrasound at 9 weeks and baby looks amazing. Here are some pictures:

And here is the highly anticipated belly shot. I'm doing things a little different for #2. First- we are just doing pictures every 4 weeks or so. Second- I have an orange shirt this time so the kids can have their very own shirts. Third- I'll write a little note to baby with every picture. We are still keeping a baby book, but I think this is more fun!

So our journey as a family of 4 is off to a better start than last time. We have high hopes that things will go great and that we will bring this bundle of joy home around Thanksgiving. You know, because we just LOVE to have babies around the holidays! ;o) So please keep us in our thoughts and prayers as little Turkey grows, Layla figures out the big sister thing and Mommy tries to keep her sanity through all these pregnancy hormones...and we won't even get into what poor Daddy has to go through with 2 crazy girls in the house.

"Late Night" Cookies with Daddy

We obviously deserve a "parents of the year" award. Instead of putting Layla down for bed at a decent time tonight...Bryan thought it would be a great idea to start making cookies with her at 8:30. She was SO excited that I couldn't put a stop to it. So I just decided to help and take pictures.

Layla helping Daddy stir the flour. She loves that she can help with this and likes to dip her finger in the flour and lick it. 

 As soon as the mixer is done she screams "I want to LICK IT"! It was bad enough when Bryan and I fought over the mixers, but now we have to share with Layla?! Someone should have warned me about this parenting thing...

But sharing the mixer is worth that silly smile. I have some memories of being super little and I always wonder if Layla will remember moments like these. I can't wait to talk to her when she's older and hear here say "remember the time Daddy let me stay up late and make cookies?!". 

A few more videos of Layla

I realize I need to take better video than what I get on my iPhone...but it is the easiest thing to use! So here is Layla saying her NEW favorite word: Octopus. Of all things her favorite word is octopus...

We have been really hard at work with all our landscaping projects. And by "we" I mean mostly Bryan. But Layla and I like to hang out and cheer him on so we do have a pretty significant contribution. Before going inside for the evening we decided we needed to water our newly planted plants. Watering plants with Layla around = mission impossible. Someone is getting soaked.

Do you love my concern about what our neighbors think?

Random videos of Layla

I feel like I haven't posted videos of L in awhile and I've been meaning to post these for a LOOOONG time. So since I have a minute, I'll just post them in one short blog.

This video was taken of our new video monitor. It has been 2 weeks (again) since L has taken a nap. This is what she normally does:

And this video was taken several weeks ago. Layla loves to be chased around the house and Bryan decided to start scaring her with her big stuffed monkey. This is hilarious...and just a typical "relaxing" evening at the Bartons:

Layla's special package

Layla and I got very special notes in the mail yesterday. I took a video to document the occasion:

How sweet are Nicole and Ben for asking Layla to be their flower girl?! And asking me to be her Matron of Honor?! We are SO excited to be a part of their wedding and hope we can live up to our titles. ;o)

I can't believe that L is even old enough to be a flower girl. The wedding isn't until next fall (L will be almost 4 WOW) but we are going to start practicing soon! I want her to be the greatest flower girl EVER.

Dinner with the Bartons

Due to Layla's past eating issues, we always try to have FUN when we eat. On today's menu- tater tot casserole with a side of class for Mommy and Daddy and plain Ramon noodles, Life cereal, yogurt covered raisins and a few Veggie Straws for Layla. What a nutritious bunch of nutters we are.

Layla was doing her typical "I don't want to eat" business so Bryan told that he would help her take 5 more bites of noodles and she could have a peanut M&M. Why my 2 year old will eat a peanut M&M but not a strawberry is beyond me but if it gets her to eat, I don't care if it is a chocolate covered cheeseburger.

What started out as a simple Daddy feeding baby Layla game quickly turned into Layla pretending that she is blind and trying to eat from a ferris wheel holding a spoon full of dangling noodles game. I took a video for your viewing pleasure:

She took her 5 bites and then it was M&M time! Since she didn't whine or scream about it...she got 2! Here she is thanking Daddy for her candy:

And here she is trying to wink at the camera. LOL

And here she is having a "Mommy moment". That is trying to wink at the camera and she fell off her chair.

So after she fell off her chair it was time to show off. First we decided to ask her what her name was...then we decided to ask her to sing her ABC's. She decides to combine the two and sing "Layla Barton" to the tune of ABC's at one point. I love this girl:

And just so everyone knows, we have a new routine in this house. Layla is back to sitting in her own chair (there for awhile ALL she wanted to do was sit on one of our laps UGH) but now we have to have the monkey sit with us.

And now it is bath time...and you don't even want to know what kind of wild things we do for bath! Haha!