Our first trip back to OKC and Taming the Little Man!

I don't know what they are looking at... maybe admiring each other's shoes?

We drove up to OKC last weekend to visit our family. I must say I was extremely anxious about Little Man's reaction to being strapped down in a car seat for seven hours. We woke up, packed the car, and headed out that morning with prayer and the beloved DVD player. Both worked because Camden slept until Dallas, and then watched Toy Story and Blues Clues until we hit OKC. No tears, no screaming, no back arching... it was more than we could ask for. During the trip Aaron said, "I told you that you were anxious for nothing!" But folks rewind back to a year ago... thus my anxiety when it comes to Camden and confined spaces. The mere thought of taking Camden on a plane makes my heart race.

During our trip, we visited with friends and family. We were sad to not see some of our family because of the flu/bronchitis/strep throat/stomach bug plagues that have hit Oklahoma this winter. Thankfully we will be coming up for Easter, so we can make another round of visits. We were so excited to go to Stillwater and meet Baby Lilly. At one month, she is still smaller than Camden was at birth! so tiny! so precious! We had fun hanging out with the new parents and the Gregorys'. Unfortunately, Cam and Sam did not get to play together because we left Camden in OKC that day. He had a slight fever, and we didn't want to risk it with Baby Lilly. He ended up being fine though, of course. Hopefully, they will all three hang out together soon. The McD family would also like to give a big welcome to Baby Ben! Jason and Emily began a blog during pregnancy and new pics are up of Ben. Jason and Aaron were roomies and buddies in college, and now they are both Daddies... which is a little crazy and makes me feel very old. He is a total cutie, and we are excited to meet him and hang out with his sleep-deprived parents in a few weeks when we are back up for Easter!

It's getting much more difficult to get a still picture from this kid...

by the time I take the pic he's already taken off again.

"When are you planning on having another one?"
With so many new babies around, I've been getting the question a lot lately. Maybe it's because Camden is going on 17 months? (although to me Camden is still a baby and will remain so until I am emotionally prepared to say otherwise.) Maybe it's because people think I get that "oh I want a baby!" feeling after I hold someone else's sweet baby? Unfortunately for those who are eager for another McD baby, I am no where NEAR having baby fever. There's a reason I waited until Camden was two months old to start a blog... it would not have been a pleasant read. The pregnancy and newborn part was not pretty, and I was not the most positive person through most of it. It's going to take a lot for me to intentionally walk down that road again, and I'm just not there yet. Aaron and I are really enjoying Camden right now and are content to being a family of three for awhile. If there is a surprise, then fabulous because I love surprises (just not as much as I love planning and waiting a few years).

In other news, my Little Man is now at the blessed age of desiring independence and informing me of this by dramatically tossing himself on the floor and crying when he doesn't get his way. It's official... Camden has officially begun testing boundaries with us, and to this I say "Let the games begin!" This is where I get to test out all the fun discipline tactics everyone recommends, so that hopefully by the time Camden hits college, I will have figured out which one works best.

Pardon the blurriness, but this is a prime example of Camden's head-tilting, back-arching "I'm not getting what I want" fit. I've been told it's minor compared to other toddlers but entertaining, nonetheless.

I had been noticing a trend lately in blogger moms seeking the 'perfect' discipline regime in the book Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood. I was an educator in my past life and a fan of the Love and Logic technique for adolescents. I had been trying the same techniques with Camden without even realizing it, but it obviously did not work the same. When I would say...

"Now Camden, you have a choice. You can either choose to continue throwing your dinner on the ground, which will result in you leaving the table without finishing your meal... OR you can finish eating your meal like a good boy and be rewarded with a walk around the neighborhood. What option would you like to choose?"

...all I would get is a confused look from Little Man and violent tail wags from Gracie as she excitedly lapped up the extra food on the ground. Dealing with toddlers is obviously quite different than dealing with adolescents, so I definitely needed to re-think my game plan. Around Christmas time, Aaron ordered the book for me at an online used bookstore, and I've read through it a couple of times. It does not have to be said that I am a beginner at this whole parenting thing, but I'm liking the techniques. At this point in the game, I am using the techniques for my benefit, not Camden's. He can obviously not grasp everything I say to him, but if I practice now, it will be easier for me to implement the techniques later. Will this work? Who knows! I am not naive enough to believe this will resolve all discipline issues and shelter me from embarrassing breakdowns (his AND mine), but at least I may get a head start in creating boundaries for the Little Man. We'll see how it goes...