My "Sweet Guy"

It's hard not to love my little Soren-Boy. He's sweet, thoughtful, articulate, cuddly, and cute. I always wanted a brood of boys because I knew that boys always had a soft spot for their mothers. And what they say is true. 

So far, raising Soren has been a bit of a breeze. He has a very calm demeanor and his thought process is very intricate. From the time he spoke his first word, he has made a point to build his vocabulary with perfect pronunciation. I must say, he is well versed in the English language and speaks in full, grammatically correct sentences. For instance, when he burps and you tell him, "say excuse me" he'll say, "excuse you" like he's excusing me. And when Synnove burps and you say to her, "say excuse me" she'll say "excuse me" and then Soren pipes up all mad and says to Synnove, "NO, say excuse mommy!!" LOL! He has the ability to build on, and refer to prior knowledge; and make connections that some 5-year-olds have trouble with. I know I'm a bit biased, but I truly think that Soren is an exceptional little boy.

I remember being a first-time mother, trying to figure out what my child needed by verbal cues or my unfounded telepathic powers. This would drive me crazy, as I am a personality that likes to be in control of my environment by using practical knowledge and skill. Well, sometimes, being a mom is more "magical" than practical, and I'm no magician! Anyway, when Soren came along, I found that caring for him was so straightforward. Maybe it was because I had already done it once before, but I believe it's because boys are just so different. He began talking quite well at around 1, and the rest is history. I suppose, with Synnove, there's so much more drama. Because he's a no-drama kinda guy, Soren's verbal cues are much easier to read.

Recently, Soren has concluded that he hates a wet diaper. In the last few weeks, he makes it a point to announce..."I peed!"...or even "I pee!" and then whines until his diaper is changed. Obviously, this is a sign that Soren is nearing the potty training stage.

A big part of becoming potty trained is having the ability to make it to the toilet when needed. Therefore, I'm a big fan of the big-kid bed. That way it's their responsibility to make it to the toilet in the morning...not mine. So, a couple of weeks ago I finally broke down and bought him a mattress. And, because Adam was making a big order to Cabela's and got a free shipping deal, he went ahead and purchased his bedding. I had already had his bedding picked out a few months ago and was just waiting for some money to magically fall from the sky so I could buy it. It didn't fall from the sky, but came from deep, deep, DEEP down in my pocket. The bedding finally arrived on Monday, so I spent yesterday morning putting his new big-boy bed together. I could tell that Soren was very excited, but I left his crib up...just in case. He said..."I love my new bed mommy" and my heart turned to mush. When nap time came around, he happily hopped into his new bed without a fuss and fell asleep within 10 minutes. Synnove, for varying legitimate reasons, had very difficult time adjusting to her bed. So, when Soren went down for his nap without a hitch, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. However, I honestly didn't expect any different from my sweet little man.

When Adam came home, I had him deconstruct part of Soren's built-in desk to make room for a different furniture arrangement. In that time, I also wanted to take down the crib. Part of me knew that I should leave it up for a few nights...but I just wanted it out of the way. I asked Soren several times, and in several ways where he wanted to sleep that night...in his bed or in his crib. I wanted to make sure that he understood that when he said he wanted to sleep in his big bed that I was going to put his crib away. He agreed and even helped with the disassembly.

When bedtime came around, he got in his bed...but not so excited this time. We discussed how big he was and how it was so great, blah, blah, blah. He agreed and gave me lots of smiles. It wasn't until after saying our prayers that he quietly and sadly said..."I want to sweep in my crib." At that moment, I honestly considered putting that crib back together to turn his puppy-dog face into happiness. But instead, I assured him that it was going to be OK and that he had all his animals, a sippy cup of water, and that I would leave his door wide open. I left and came back 3 minutes later to find him slowly crawling out of bed. This was not him being defiant. Rather, he was afraid and trying not to be. I put him back to bed, reassured him, and stood quietly by his door away from view to make sure he stayed. He did, so I went upstairs, only to glue the baby monitor to my ear for the next 20 minutes. He mumbled a few whines and played with his animals until I eventually heard deep breathing. He slept all the way through, and, for the first time in his life, I didn't have to come get him out of bed in the morning. He did it! And we snuggled and dosed in my bed, just like we do every morning. He hugs my arm like a teddy bear, kisses my hand, and cuddles right next to my body. When he gets restless and begins climbing all over me, playing with my hair and tickling my lips I'll tell him kindly to stop, he says..."but I like you mommy!" Awe...he's so my little "Sweet Guy"...as I so fondly call him.

A pic from Synnove's 3rd picture spree. She's getting better, but I need to hide my camera from now on!

1st night in his big-boy bed.

Giving Charlie kisses.