This is how it happened, Cooper went to bed one night, and it was normal, it was nice. We laid down and read his San Francisco Giants book as I quizzed him on the different pieces of baseball attire (cleats, batting gloves, hat, jersey, etc. (starting shortstop in 2032 for the Giants)) we said his night time prayer and put him down with his ever growing collection of stuffed animals that are in his crib. Everything was good, everything was normal.
The next morning he slept in until after I left for work. At about 10:30 I got a phone call from my wife who sounded worn down, on the other end of the phone was a crying baby and a screaming almost 2 year old. Sarah went on to tell me that Cooper wasn't acting like himself, demanding things saying "no" on a whim when normally he is one of the most obedient children in the world. This wasn't the precious little innocent boy I have enjoyed for the previous 21 months, this kid was a monster (but a really cute monster, think Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc.)
It isn't that coop wants to be defiant, he isn't plotting in his crib with Lots-o-Huggin' bear and his stuffed monkey that is wearing a Giants jersey. Coop is just trying to figure out how to be independent, he is testing his boundaries and with that Mom and Dad's patience. So last week the Big TO was enlisted for the first time, and no we didn't call in overhyped and underperformed Terrel Owens to discipline our kid, Coop got his first real big kid time out. He hated it, but not at first.
I asked him I said, "Cooper, if you keep fussing you are going to have to get a timeout," his response was, "Timeout? Okay Daddy!" Hmmm, in hindsight maybe I didn't make it sound scary enough, like instead I should have called it the "Dragons Pen" or "Mannequin Alley." Either way it didn't strike much fear into The Coop, until he had to sit there.
I had to hold my son still in timeout for a whole minute because he refused to eat one more bite of his sandwich before he got to have some jell-o. it took all of my ability not to laugh as my son was melting down because he had to have a bite of his favorite food.
Parenting gets rough, it isn't fun implementing timeout or disciplining your kid at all for that matter, but our oldest is at an age where he knows what is right and wrong and we have to make sure that he is raised in such a way that when he is 35 he isn't collapsing on the floor in a screaming fit because a Barista put whipped cream on his caramel macciato.
Did your kids ever enter into the terrible twos? How did you deal with it, because i am kind of scared I broke Cooper somehow.
2 comments:
How about this... Cooper Edwin starting Opening Day SS for the Giants in 2032, while Micah, the freshly drafted 2B prospect, starts in Fresno. Until then, just continue to fend off the T2's, one TO at a time.
From now and forever Cooper is part of the club that we are all in... pushing the boundaries of our existence until something else pushes back... Good luck Pete!
I think you are right on with the idea about how the here and now directly effects age 35 and beyond. And just like Ryan said, one Terrel... (lol!) I mean, one time out at a time, all with a heart to restore his soul just as God does for us daily as he sanctifies using TOs in our own lives.
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