This little boy has been a challenge for us recently. It seems he is a very determined (meaning stubborn) boy. He only wants to do what he wants to do, and sometimes no amount of coercing will get him to do what needs to do.It is a huge contrast between Eliza and Andrew. Eliza is a "rule-follower" no matter what. She gets it from me. Jon and Kate are more alike in that they will change the rules if it helps to get something done easier or faster. Andrew just throws the rules out the window. And, it can be really scary.
Example: Today I was thoroughly engrossed in fixing a problem I created (don't ask, I won't tell) and I overheard Adam ask Andrew where Maryanne was going. Now, I had last placed Maryanne in her swing and I could still hear the motor going; so, I just figured they were role-playing or something. When I turned around, the tray on the swing was up and the swing was stopped (even though I could still hear the motor running), and Maryanne was gone. So were the boys. I heard them upstairs, so I ran up the stairs and into the boys' room. And, there they were: all three of them. Adam was standing by the ladder of the bunk bed, and Andrew was ineffectively doing CPR on Maryanne (at least it looked like that's what he was doing) to make her bounce on his bed = the top bunk bed.
Andrew had carried Maryanne up the stairs (a full flight of 14) and then climbed up the ladder to his bed (the ladder is flush against the end of the bunk bed) while he was holding our little almost-five-month-old.
Okay, I admit it ... I should have been paying better attention. So, this example shows just how much Andrew does not follow the rules (the rule: Do Not Carry Your Little Sister), and I guess it's also an example of what kind of mother I am (the kind: distracted easily, and inattentive to my children). One good thing that's happened from this is that I've learned to never let Andrew out of my sight.
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