There’s nothing terrible about the terrible two’s. Ivan the Terrible was MAGNIFICANT!

Just the title, “The Terrible Two’s” had me considering motherhood at a time … I guess it’s the word, TERRIBLE that I’m taking issue with (this coming from the mother of an Ivan, wink!). 

A lil’history lesson for you … Ivan the Terrible, Tsar of All the Russias, was known (in Russian) as Ivan Grozny.  Vladimir Dal (one of the greatest Russian language lexicographers) defines grozny as an adjective for tsars: "courageous, magnificent, magisterial, and keeping enemies in fear, but people in obedience"

V. Dal’s translation of TERRIBLE I can agree with in describing my sweet 2 year old.  COURAGEOUS: Yes!  A two year old will try just about anything!  MAGNIFICENT: Yes!  Ivan might be the most “impressively beautiful” creature I’ve ever laid eyes on.  MAGISTERIAL: Certainly!  His authority reigns the roost.  Re: FEARFUL ENEMIES/OBEDIENT FOLLOWERS (I’ll consider myself one in his kingdom): Defiantly!  Ringing ears is the most common punishment of not interpreting the cave-man language.    

The hardest part about being two (and dealing with a 2 year old) is communication!  They are just learning words and know exactly what they want and how they want it, it just doesn't come out of their mouths that way.  The challenge (and at times the frustration) is understanding the language I call, Cave-Man.   

An amazing & loving mother I know refers to her two-year old daughter as being in her TERRIFIC TWO’S #TerrificTwos ...  I just love that! 

 Terrific, Magnificent and Perfect in every way … And only 365 days to enjoy!

Hakuna Matata, C'est la vie!

I’ve heard other Mother’s explain this feeling exactly the same way (and have been slightly annoyed at how cliché it sounds) … “each phase my child enters - every stage and age - just gets better and better”. 

How can that be!? 

I look at elementary school aged kids and think, my 22 month old is so much more fun than you are!  Not long ago, I looked at my 6 month old and thought he was at such a better stage than that two year old across the room that was scaling the walls and screaming!

Or maybe it’s that every phase has its challenges so we welcome the next one with open arms!  Change IS good!  I’m so happy that the phase we are in, is the BEST one there is.  It means there are sunnier days ahead, ALWAYS.  And most importantly, LIFE IS GOOD.

Anything that goes "Brummm BRUMM" is of interest to Mr. Ivan!  This is the Jeep just past the giraffe exhibit in Africa at the Columbus Zoo

Bye Bye Bottles

At Ivan's 12 month well check our Nurse Practitioner (who is not a mother) said, "OK, no more bottles, he can drink milk now"

Well, doesn't that sound EASY!  I opted for unsweetened vanilla almond milk in place of dairy milk (we make a special effort to make sure Ivan is getting good fats by cooking with Olive Oil and feeding him avocados, etc).  The first few days he seemed slightly bothered he didn't have a bottle, however, I kept his night time routine (which included a bottle) on schedule.  The first few weeks he LOVED his "Ba-ba" and looked forward to it, but shortly after he only drank half and was more occupied with reading a few books rather than rocking with his bottle.  

It took about 8 weeks in total (from his 1 year birthday) to the day I packed up the bottles ... As a new parent I often hear how every child will develop on his/her own time and not to get too caught up in milestones ... this was just a prime example of that in practice for us!  I'm trying my hardest to nurture his development, while allowing him to be a baby just as long as possible!!

Feeding Ivan his vitamins for optimal baby & toddler development

Feeding any child can be tricky!  I've got a system in the way in which I present food to my 14 month old son that includes protein first, vegetables second, carbs next to last and fruit for desert!  This was learned, like most new Mommy things, by trial and error!  This order works best for my son, based on his preferences ... he loves his pasta and always has room for strawberries & blueberries!

The human brain increases approximately 3.5 times in mass between birth - 5 years old.  This is why I have made such an effort to make sure I was taking a DHA supplement while pregnant and breastfeeding.  Now that Ivan is on his own with regards to diet, it's my job to make sure he gets what he needs ... and sometimes that takes being more creative than not!

Our daily vitamin routine starts at breakfast ... I mix his multi-vitamin with Nordic Naturals Baby's DHA and either Bolthouse Strawberry-Banana Smoothy or Naked Juice's Green Machine. 

Next, I thicken with brown rice or oatmeal infant cereal, which I love for the Iron (I could not find a multi-vitamin for babies that contained iron).

Poof, that nasty tasting multi-vitamin is disguised and down it goes!  If he doesn't finish it at breakfast, I put it in the refrigerator so he can finish a few bites later in the day.  He also enjoys a spoonful of Gaia's Black Elderberry Syrup to help support his bodies immune system since I cannot keep him from putting EVERYTHING from everyone's playroom in his mouth!

Thank goodness for white vinegar!

There was a day not long ago when I was precise about removing the clothes from the dryer as soon as the cycle finished.  Prior to folding, I would immediately shake out all shirts and lay them flat so everything would stay wrinkle free.  Each item would be neatly folded and carefully placed - usually in color coded sequence - in the closet.  Ahhh how those days are long over ... Enter IVAN (motherhood).  Laundry these days usually sits for 12-24 hours in the basket after leaving the dryer.  It is still neatly folded, however, once it hits the drawers it is usually re-arranged by a busy 13 month old.  Bras end up in the sock drawer, socks behind the mirror, my husbands neatly color coded underwear and sock drawer look like the dryer spit them straight into his drawer.

Motherhood changes oh so many things ... it's the things like the impact on a simple load of laundry that surprise me most!  I often joke that I didn't read the fine print on this mommy thing!  Quite an extraordinary adventure we are on, Mother & Son.  Everything appears to be the same, BUT it is not!  The degree of difficulty to do the smallest chores, like a load of laundry, have created another set of challenges.  At my baby shower, guests were asked to write advice for a new mother (me) on a note card ... I think back to the advice written and the advice I can now share.  Close to the top of the list I hope to pass along: white vinegar added to the wash cycle will remove the moldy smell created by towels that have been damp too long, or that load of laundry you washed and forgot about!

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