Kitchen table talk....

“Just wait, pretty soon it will be hand to hand combat”, this is what Kyle’s boss said one time either to a FB post or in person or maybe both when we were talking about how well Brodie and Keaton seem to be getting along. Keaton is just now getting to the age where he and Brodie can play together a little, this mostly consists of either parallel play (that side by side play where they are each playing and interact  just a bit) or wrestling both of which end up with one of the two crying, normally Keaton because the playing turned rough.   It is more often now that I will hear the two of them in Brodie’s room playing with the thousands of trucks, cars, hammers, screwdrivers etc., I normally realize after about 2min of quite that they must be content and try to leave them be so that they can learn to play with each other and so I can enjoy the bit of quite.   The quite normally only lasts at the most 5min, normally Keaton finds it necessary to bring me some toy that he is playing with

I have been dealing with the fact that we are quickly approaching the age at which we will need to begin the process of taking the bottle away from Keaton…. This entire process seems to bother me much more than it ever did with Brodie. I think that with our first child I was so caught up in doing everything by the book rather than doing what I felt was right for the child, and that makes me a bit sad.  As I write this post I wonder, do many first time parents do things “by the book” to later realize after having another child or two that the books and the so-called professionals that write them are not always correct.  I mean seriously how can someone whom has never met myself or my child possibly be able to tell me what the best course of action is for my child? I wish I would have realized this with our first child much sooner and wish I wouldn't have been as concerned with how the professionals say to handle situations, or when the next big milestone (taking the bott