Toddlerhood

 He is a climber, folks.  Exhibit A:

Exhibit B: 

 Exhibit C:

 Oh, and he likes to get into things that we don't want him to:

 But he sure is cute.  

He reminds me a lot of Liam at this age.  Liam liked to climb onto the table and anything else he could figure out how to scale.  It. was. exhausting.  There are many similarities to our situation in the fall of 2007: challenging toddler, just moved away from our families.  I suppose there are just as many differences, too.  George is a considerably better sleeper than Liam was (not good, but Liam was just an exceptionally bad sleeper), I have older children willing to entertain him so I can make dinner or use the bathroom.  Joe is around a lot more here and we have had a much easier time becoming part of the community.

But still, I find toddlerhood to be a particularly difficult phase of mothering.  Some toddlers being a little trickier than others.  He haaaates for me to change his diaper or get him dressed.  Really hates and fights me the whole time.  For some reason, he really likes to hit.  He laughs.  No amount of  "be soft" and "gentle touches" along with the demonstration of what being soft means has deterred him yet.

But he is also really starting to develop his little personality.  He likes to give kisses and says, "muah" when he does it.  He like to row his boat and dance and spin in circles.  He gets excited when Daddy gets home. So adorable.  And when I nurse him to sleep and transfer him to his bed, he rests his little head on my shoulder and his curls, the last piece of his babyhood, brush on my cheek.  Precious.

Motherhood. So conflicting sometimes.