Calum

As Calum gets older his unique personality is really stretching the limits of our parenting abilities. He's personable, outgoing and bright. He has a vivid imagination and a great eye for detail. He also hates to sit still, can't stand to be restrained in any way, can be very impulsive and is one of the most stubborn, headstrong people I have ever met.

This move has been very stressful for poor Calum. I really underestimated how hard this would be on him when I was telling some of you that he would roll with the punches and that Megan would have a hard time with everything. Now, I know that Megan is not enthused about our move but she has been pleasant, easygoing and helpful since before we even got here. But as soon as all the changes in routine, the travelling, and the living in strange places started, Calum started to freak out. He's been 300% more intense than usual this week and it is driving his poor mother bonkers. When we are in the apartment, he pesters Megan to death (there's no lock on her bedroom door so she can't get away from him!), bugs the cat and generally behaves like a nuisance. When I try to take him out he falls apart and has tantrums on a regular basis. It's especially challenging, as I mentioned in a previous post, that he refuses to have anyone either carry him or hold his hand if we try to go for a walk. We are living on a busy downtown street and there really isn't any wide open space around here that is safe for a three year old with no common sense to work out all of his energy. I think we will all be glad to go back to the suburbs where we can visit big grassy parks again.

I'm sure all of this is very confusing for Calum and I do feel for him but there have been times this week that I have wanted to scream and yell and throw myself on the ground alongside him. I'm going to try and bring some calm and order to his life and I am also going to look for a preschool or something so he can have some fun and be in a preschooler-friendly environment on a regular basis. He has had a fantastic time during our two visits to Megan's future school this week -- he especially loves what they call the "Big Muscle Room" where they have lots of cushions and mats and these big hollow blocks that you can put together to make forts, crawl inside of, and jump off onto a stack of cushions. I can see how important it will be to build in some social time for him as well as some "Big Muscle" play to help balance out the oodles of "Small Muscle" play that he finds so engaging at home - between his game boy, his leapster and the Xbox he has probably pressed more buttons at three than I did in the first 20 years of my life.

While I was typing this, he just fell asleep in my arms... awwwh. Time for bed.