Dear Satan,

What have you done with my beautiful, well-mannered, loving, boy?! If the way Brady has been acting lately is any indication that he, like you, has fallen from grace, then I need an exorcist and STAT!

Looks innocent enough, right?!

Over the course of the last week, you have somehow enticed Brady to use my own tennis shoe as a weapon against me, as well as slap me across the face, kick me repeatedly in the leg, and punch me in the jaw. He has done some of the aforementioned in front of other people so my first instinct, to freak out, has had to be squelched as to not appear like a psycho, completely out of control parent...even though that's exactly how I feel.

Well-meaning friends and family have offered explanations for his behavior: "He's jealous of Ella;" "He wants your undivided attention;" "He's acting out his frustrations," but I blame YOU. The worst part is that you've managed to trick me into believing Brady wants to make amends, when, in reality, he has other intentions: The other night, Ella was asleep, Zach was at practice, and it was just me and Brady. Right before bed, he was giving me Eskimo kisses and we were laughing while he practiced his winking (it really is adorable!). All was well until he balled up his fist and literally punched me right in the face. There was nothing I could to prevent--or predict--it. And that's the thing: if I can figure out what sets him off, I'm pretty good at diverting his attention elsewhere. My go-to discipline tool is distraction and until now, it's worked pretty well. This, however, is uncharted territory. Territory from which I fear Brady (and my face...) may not return unscathed. And again, I blame YOU.

Is that remorse I see on his face??

Only the devil himself could send my loving toddler into such a horrendous downward spiral that it puts me in tears. I actually had to call in reinforcements and ask my parents to keep him over night on Monday. That gave me a bit of reprieve, a chance to come back to center, but the second I saw the kid on Tuesday, he started all over again. I have been dreading baseball season because I always miss Zach and it's obviously easier to raise 2 kids with 2 parents, but now, the impending season is my nemesis for a whole different reason: I fear for my sanity.

He is super cute, though...

When we were growing up and my brother acted like a monster, my dad would say, "I love you because you're my son, but I don't like you right now." I remember thinking, "DAD! How could you say something like that?!! You'll scar him for life!" But now I get it. I sooooooo get it.  Granted, my brother was a teenager when he was the recipient of those words, which tells me I'm in for a long road of wine and therapy, but if nothing else, I'm learning that I am clearly not the first--and I'm surely not the last--who has endured a rough patch as a parent. Despite this bumpy road we're currently traveling down, I know that I will eventually get my sweet boy back. So, Lucifer, you can keep trying to lure him to the dark side, but I know in my heart of hearts that this, too, shall pass. And in the meantime, I foresee many more sleepovers with Gram and Pap. Praise the Lord for grandparents who live 2 miles away. Amen!

Happy 9-Months, Ella Faith!

Our gal is 9-months-old. NINE MONTHS! I'll spare you the where-does-the-time-go bit and get right into the stats: she's tall, thin, and feisty as ever. I believe the first two traits come from the Jankowski side, but when it comes to personality, this child is ALL MINE.

She refused to sit still for the monthly photo shoot

Since her last well-baby exam in November, Ella has gained about 2 pounds (she now weighs 16#) and she's grown a little over 2 inches (she's now 29'') which actually puts her in the 10th percentile for weight and the 80th for height. At 9-months, Brady was 20 pounds and 29 inches long. A hearty SO THERE goes out to Zach who constantly calls her chubby :-) Although, the mommy in me is a little paranoid that she's not gaining enough and I secretly blame breast feeding, but the pediatrician didn't seem concerned, so I guess I shouldn't be either. You would think this child, who eats everything (except cottage cheese--that did not go well) would have gained more than 2 pounds in 4 months, but she's healthy so I shouldn't complain.

Brother and sister fun

We celebrated her vaccine-less check-up with a trip to Eat N Park where, miraculously, both kids behaved. That is, until, the waiter announced he had cookies to give them. Idiot. Brady refused to eat any more of his dinner and then shared his latest talent with the rest of the diners as revenge for not receiving a cookie on demand: he screamed like a howler monkey and would not stop until Zach forcibly removed him from the table and took him to the bathroom where, from what I'm told, the boy got a "stern talking-to." I lean toward wanting to beat his little ass when he does stuff like that, so it's probably best that Dad handled this one. Ella sat in a highchair at the restaurant and amused herself by eating chunks of pasta and throwing everything else to the floor. And yes, all of that is considered "well behaved." 

Talking to Pap

For the past few months, Ella has shown signs of increased mobility. She rolled over, sat up, and learned how to go from lying down to sitting up much earlier than her big brother. As a result, we've been on high alert, especially since she's taken to the eating the dogs' bones. Anyway, while she's perfectly capable of crawling, mostly backwards, she opts to scoot on her butt or roll wherever she wants to go. And really, she would much prefer to stand and walk than anything else. She already requires us to hold her hands while she toddles around, and when on her own, she's constantly trying to pull up on toys and furniture. The other day when I went into her room, this is what I found:

Mid pull-up

I fear she will be in a big girl bed before her brother is ever out of his crib. She does not stay still, ever, and when she wants something, she lets it be known immediately. She freaks if anyone gets in the way while Mickey is on TV, she literally pulls her own hair out when she's angry, and she's been known to grab toys away from her brother. On the flip side of her stubborn streak, she snuggles with the best of'em, is ridiculously adorable, and is constantly smiling. Her hair is a bit out of control at the moment as her bald spot is beginning to grow in, and her bangs have grown into her eyes. I don't know whether to cut them or let them grow out. Such decisions with a girl! :-)

Baseball season is right around the corner, so we're trying to cross things off of our home-to-do list as much as we can. We finally replaced the living room couch with a more modern sectional that has doubled seating in the living room. Good thing, too, because I still have a yearning for that third child. Tee hee. We also turned the front room, which had basically been a dumping ground for toys and dogs, into a legitimate playroom. I have to clean it up before I photograph it, but suffice it to say, it's a much more functional space now and that makes me happy. Come spring, Zach will be gone for 14 hours each day, and that doesn't include game days. I used to love the sport, but baseball is slowly becoming my nemesis.

Brady modeling his "comfy pants" on part of the new couch

Ella doesn't go back to the doctor until after her first birthday (FIRST BIRTHDAY!) on May 11th. At that point, baseball will be winding down, Brady will be on his way to his THIRD birthday, and I'll be finishing my third to last grad class. So easy to write all that, but very different to actually make it happen. Here's hoping I don't have to sell a kid on eBay to save my sanity or earn the extra money our family will need when I put the kibosh on Zach's coaching career :-)

Happy 9-months!