Bruiser...cruiser...and the abusive kid..

Yeah I know I am a dork but that is really what I have been calling Little G the last couple weeks. He looks like my little abused child with not one, not two not even three but five bruises across his tiny forehead. He is not very graceful with his newly learned pulling up technique and most of the time when he lets go he just slams down on his booty usually making contact with his forehead on whatever he pulled up on. I am hoping he learns soon enough how to slowly lower himself down without banging his poor head on everything because too much more of this and he could become brain damaged. One of the dumbest things I ever saw in the One Step Ahead catalog was a helmet to protect babies from the many falls they will encounter before they accomplish walking but I am seriously now thinking that it may be one of the greatest inventions of time up there with the wheel. No really...its sad to see your baby with bruises all over his face. Man, that is one huge difference between my gal and guy. Obviously boys are way more tough.

Little G and Miss G have finally started playing together. Miss G likes to play peek a boo with him where his is in one room and she will run out of the room and then run back in and scream it really loud and Little G erupts into laughter. I have never ever made him laugh the way she can. She also jumps off things, spits things out of her mouth and pretends to hurt herself all for his pleasure and he loves it and she does to. Its nice to have her distract him from crawling all over me all day long. Right now she is sliding off the bed over him and he is all giggles. She even rolls around all over him and he still laughs even though his little body is getting all smashed under her. Thank God she is only 25lbs still!

But I will also say I have never seen anyone make Little G cry like she can. I have also never seen Miss G be so mean to anyone else like she can to her brother. Its funny because when we are out with the moms group they are all ohhhh's and ahhh's over how cute she is with him and they way she comes up and hugs him and tells him she loves him over and over while she is playing. But then at home half of the day I am constantly saying Miss G QUIT! Miss G leave him alone! Miss G get in the naughty chair, etc. Yes, my lovely Miss G is physically abusive to her little brother and likes to take advantage of times when I leave the room so she can give him a swift kick to the stomach, head, etc. Two days ago she was going to use the potty and didn't want him to come in the bathroom so she smashed his entire hand isn't the door and I about died. I wanted to beat her ass...yes really...even though I never had but by the time I opened the door she was plopping a big one in the potty and well that just wouldn't be a pretty scene. Thankfully, he recovered and nothing was broken. I keep trying to tell her that all she is doing is teaching him that its OK for him to hit her as soon as he is able which he has already punched her a few times in the nose and pulled out most of her hair. She will be bald soon. But she still keeps doing it. Yesterday was the boiling point though. I was in the bedroom and heard Little G crying and snuck around the corner and caught Miss G in the act. He was standing at his little leapfrog table and there she was one hand smashing his fingers and with her other hand she was smacking him in the top of the head as hard as she could over and over and over and then she saw me and it was over. She about melted into the carpet in fear. Poor little guy was just standing there taking it and didn't know what to do. I grabbed her and almost threw her in the naughty chair I was so mad and yes...so evil but I finally hit her for the first time in her life...well I smacked her hand pretty hard and I do feel bad about it. But what I don't get is how everyone swears your kids learn how to hit from being hit but here she is hitting and before yesterday I had NEVER hit her in her life. But I reached a boiling point and she is lucky I didn't just beat her in the top and the head over and over just to prove my point. I don't think I have ever showed her anger like that before and I hope I can control myself better next time. What is her problem?? What in the hell would posses her to hit her innocent baby brother like that? Oh and the naughty chair is a supernanny myth and she can suck it because it does not work. Miss G laughs at the naughty chair and when I say OK you have three mins for whatever action she responds back with "No, I want ten!".

So, I have been beating myself up lately because I haven't been taking enough pics of my kids. I just feel like the last couple of months I have really slacked on Little G's pics and don't have enough to show how much he has grown and yada yada. But then I was making a new file today and when he was born I started a folder and it was LittleG1 and then every time I took a new series it became a new folder and well today I am at LittleG42 and that is 42 folders of pics of him and doesn't include holidays and each folder has well over 50 pics and some have about 500. I have so much editing to do its scary and I haven't gotten one single pic of him printed yet they are all on my hard drive. I have a ton of work to do and did I mention we are moving soon? I don't even want to think about that. Sigh. So, here are so pics!

Yeah, she may be cute but she isn't exactly as sweet as I once thought. You can tell she is just thinking about hitting her brother. OK actually she is excited about eating my moms bday cake. Mom turned 57 last weekend!

And everyone has a butt so I have to post this totally cute pic of Little G. He will kill me one day but look at those sweet cheeks!

Summer bathing baby! She loves her pool. Me not so much since I have to sit out in the hot sun with a squirmy baby unless we all get in which is not so fun for clean up later.

Yep, finally moved into the pack n play and out of my bed. Nap times are way easier now. He does not like to play in it though.

Ok he is screaming because I have him confined so I could finally post this so I got to run! Later gaters!

Comments

[Jennifer]

I've met lots of kids whose parents never ever swatted or spanked them, and some of them are the most physical kids I've ever met. I don't get it. You'd think if they were never touched they wouldn't hit themselves. Sounds good, right? My girls are 20 months apart and at 5 and 7 NEVER hit. All of our friends with siblings in the same age range fight and beat the crap out of each other. We did swats to the fanny and had a zero tolerance for hitting, smacking, each other. It could just be our kids' personalities though. I put my girls on the steps to the basement when they were your daughter's age and actually stood there holding the door shut at times (and have given a swat for them trying to beat the door down). Good luck-sometimes you just have to find what works. It's so exhausting though!

[Nicola]

Im not saying this in a proud way but I hit my child.. well no, I don't hit them, when they are very naughty, I give them either an opened handed smack on their hand. I don't do it so it hurts them, I do it so they can feel it and it gives them a fright. My son is a just a little younger than your daughter (June 2004) and I rarely have to do that to him now, I give him a warning though, if he still continues then I threaten, if he still continues that's when I grab his hand and tap. My sister has 6 children!! and she uses the 1, 2, 3 technique (slowly gives the count to 3 before taking action). It sounds like you do a great job with your kids. You love them and treasure them dearly so the way you discipline your children should not be judged by others. Good luck and be strong, don't let her super cuteness get the better of you :)