Parenting Little Boys, article that hit close to my heart.

Parenting Toddlers:It's all about Action and Independence!

What is it about parenting toddlers? If you thought your baby boy kept you busy, then you ain't seen nothing yet!
Toddlers can be challenging for sure! Just listen to moms talking about their toddlers to get a glimpse of the challenges ahead: "He never stops! He is Mr Independent! He keeps me on my toes with his antics!" and so on and so forth. Some go as far as talking about their "little devils". Parenting toddlers is sometimes described as a nightmare. And I'm sure you've heard the "terrible twos" expression...
As soon as your little boy can walk with confidence and run, he is all movement! You have to keep your eyes on him all the time. Who said parenting toddlers was easy?!
What you need to understand is that boys this age have their own agenda. They are focused only on their own needs. And the agenda is action and independence.
I have mentioned the so-called terrible twos earlier. The term is a little bit misleading because that phase actually usually starts around 2 1/2. It's a time of opposition, aggression and anger that appears to be deliberate and willful. Between 18 months and 2 1/2 toddler boys still appear mostly loving and affectionate. They are also very active and searching autonomy but it is usually better perceived by parents than the later phase.
Yes, parenting toddlers is challenging some days, but the way you react to your boy's search for autonomy and high level of activity is very important!

Research has shown that boys are more active than girls and are usually behind in terms of language development. They also tend to get frustrated more easily than girls, probably because of their less developed language abilities. They don't seem to be as interested in the reactions of the adults around them. All this leads to stronger reactions from parents in response. They are parenting toddler boys differently from the way they are parenting toddler girls.
In babies, gender doesn't seem to be important for the level of activity. Individual temperament seems to be more important. The differences by gender start to appear around 10 months. Boys become less compliant than girls. This difference between genders will increase between 1 and 2 and keep doing so until school age. At that stage, the majority of boys are more active than girls, regardless of their temperament. Because of this main difference, parents need to manage their boys' activity levels.
One important thing you need to keep in mind when parenting toddler boys: they do not understand the link between cause and effect. Because of this and his activity level, your toddler can turn into a tornado! You need to anticipate and keep an eye for "problem situations". This is important to protect your house from destruction and to keep your boy safe. ;)
Toddlers cannot control their impulses. If your toddler boy kicks or punches just after you told him explicitly not to and looks at you straight in the eyes while doing so, it does not mean he does it to provoke you. He is just acting in an age appropriate way and you should not tell him he is a bad boy. It is better to tell him "No", "Stop", "We do not do that", etc.
Don't get me wrong, they DO need discipline, but NOT retaliation such as corporal punishment. It is always important to keep age appropriate behaviors in mind when parenting toddler boys. By the time your toddler is 3, he should start to be in better control of his impulses. After reading all this, you are probably wondering what has become of the close bond that once existed between mother/father and baby boy. Well, the bond is still here, it's just different! In this time of action, it's more of an "on and off" thing. What is important for your toddler is to know that you are here "in case".
This is where boys differ from girls. Research has shown that boys don't check their moms so much when playing. Little girls tend to make eye contact with them often and search their approval. Boys still need their mom as much as girls do, it's just less obvious.
The challenge in parenting toddler boys is finding the right balance between allowing them to assert their independence and being present to support them emotionally. It's a fine line and nobody gets it right 100% of the time! Trust me, there is no specialist at parenting toddlers, they make sure to keep us on our toes! ;)
Let's look at the development of your toddler now, because knowledge of age appropriate behaviors is a useful tool when parenting toddlers.

Second Year Molars

After two weeks of horrible poo episodes, Thadeus has finally cut two molars. Yep. We have sure had a time with this teething episode. This has been the worst experience of all the teething so far. Now, we only have two more teeth (top molars) to go! Yay. Thad's little booty is so raw right now. We've been lubing that little butt up on a regular basis to keep it from getting too bad.
We took Thad to Bass Pro Shops this past Saturday. He loved looking at the boats and trying on the baby sunglasses. He was so cute. I love my little cutie pie.

Six Month Checkup

Well, I'm on my last week of my sixth month! Next week will be the beginning of my last trimester! Where did the time go? I'm growing by leaps and bounds. Gained six lbs since my last appointment. I've been putting on the stretch cream like crazy. Haven't taken out the navel ring yet...so you can imagine how humorous that must be!
The baby boy was moving all over in my tummy so she had a hard time finding the heartbeat initially but finally did! Next month, I get to do the glucose test...yuck...but at least I get to do it in the Dr. Office instead of the lab, like last time.
We moved Thadeus into his new room and he loves it. He rarely goes into his old room. We are ready to paint the trim in the new baby's room, still have to order baby furniture...and what else? I seem to be pretty calm about this so far....I will probably freak out a little closer to July.
Thadeus pee-peed in the potty at school yesterday once. I was so happy for him. No dice today though. I'm amazed at how much he can eat.
Yesterday we were all playing on the floor. Thad hit his daddy and his daddy made him go to time out. He kept crying and crying and finally I asked him, "Thadeus, are you really crying?" and he responded honestly, "no." Oh my gosh...we died laughing. He is a smart little booger.