2 Years, 1 Month, 4 Weeks and 1 Day Old

I haven't been doing updates on Aaron here lately because it feels like it's all I can do to keep my head above water where this kid is concerned. Parenting is hard. I don't know how else to say it. Here are a few things we can't do now because Aaron can't handle it (in bullet form, of course):

• Go out to eat (and I'm not talking fancy, shmancy dinners, either. He won't sit through MCDONALD'S).


• Go to Mass.


• Go shopping.

• Ride on an airplane without 2-3 major meltdowns and many, many disparaging looks from strangers.


• On bad days, walk from the front door to the car without aforementioned major meltdown.

I have been told everything from "He's only two, it will get better" to "Start the beatings now!" to "He's a strong-willed child and you need to turn his disposition into an opportunity." I like that third one the best. I'm reading many books including 1-2-3 Magic by Thomas W. Phelan, Ph.D., Parenting the Strong-Willed Child by Rex Forehand, Ph.D. and Nicholas Long, Ph.D. and Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka.

Aaron is also now in speech therapy. At his two year checkup, the doctor was extremely concerned that I could only think of about ten words that he used on a regular basis. The speech therapy with Ms. Gerry is going well, I think, as long as he takes a good nap beforehand (his appointments are normally in the late afternoon). The appointments are an hour long so I'm actually impressed Ms. Gerry can keep him occupied for that long. We are working on sounds right now like "b", "p", and "oooo". Ms. Gerry is concerned about his apparent inability to make his mouth physically do what it needs to do to make sounds, as in the part of his brain that controls the mouth might not be fully developed or may even be damaged. She is also concerned with his lack of eye contact when he's around other people as well as his short attention span (Really!?!). All of these things are terrifying me but I feel better that we're doing what we need to do now to hopefully help him. I really think once he starts talking, our mutual frustration with each other should slowly decrease. Some words that he is starting to use are "daddy", "doggie", "hi", "tower", "two", and "three". Still no "mommy", though. He does well with "t", "s", "h" and "d" sounds but not so well with "wh" and "m" sounds. We'll see how it goes.

Aaron doesn't eat very well; mostly because he doesn't have the attention span to sit and eat until he's full. We rotate between chicken nuggets, grilled cheese sandwiches, p.b.&j.'s and fish sticks. He won't touch anything else. I mean, you can't even put it on his plate. We are working on the snacking thing; he has become a world-class grazer. So three meals a day with two small snacks in between is the plan right now.

Luckily, we are involved with several things through the base and TPS so that we are able to keep busy. Aaron goes to the CDC three mornings a week, which is working out really well. We still have tears when Mommy leaves, but I think that will diminish as he gets used to going on a regular basis again. I've had to pull him out several times this summer due to our travels. Tuesday and Thursday we usually find someone to play with in the morning, either at the playground or the Jungle Zone (the indoor playground on base).

So there it is. My life with a two-year-old. I love him, I really do. But this job is absolutely the hardest job I have ever had. I guess I'm going to have to rely on the hugs and kisses I get for my sanity until we start having some major breakthroughs.

**All of the pictures were taken by Lisa.