Spiderman is for your birthday; Batman is for Christmas

Duh. Who doesn't know this already? Apparently my son thinks everyone should; it's obviously common knowledge. That's just one of the things new to me in what's been a whirlwind holiday season. And now that the holidays are officially over (or, will be when I get the Christmas tree down), I thought I'd take some time to share some of the lessons I've learned recently:

Spiderman & Batman and Their Rightful Places
I'm not entirely sure why Spiderman is a superhero reserved just for birthdays, as Sam celebrated his with Disney's Cars theme, but we were all about Batman for Christmas. Sam had a couple of opportunities to chat with Santa and wanted to be sure he was aware of the parameters for our masked heroes. To ensure there was NO mistake, he even took along the Target sale ad to make sure Santa knew just what to get and, of course, where to get the best price. It was successful. Santa delivered a Batman figurine, a toothbrush holder and cup and one very cool Bat Cave.

Juggling Two
Despite this blog being on hiatus for quite some time, I'm sure all of you already know that Sam welcomed home Baby Meatball late last year. Born on Nov. 25th, it took us several days to decide on a name for Cooper and so even the hospital staff was calling him Baby Meatball, a name that Sam selected several months ago. Randomly. We thought that Peanut would survive as a nickname for Sam and it's slowly faded away. Not so with "Meatball," especially considering that all of Sam's friends think his name is actually Meatball. Sorry Cooper; blame your brother.

We're working on figuring out how to juggle two kids and their various needs and have our get-out-the-door routine down to 30 minutes. (We'll let you know if we're able to break that record.) It's a challenge, but is one that we're absolutely loving.

Leaving the Door Open
We've also been learning that, all of a sudden, we're able to leave our front door open when lugging groceries or kids to and from the car. Sadly, we lost our best pal Louie in November, just two days before bringing Cooper home to meet him. He was 11 and showing some signs of age, but his passing took us all by surprise. We're still in the habit of closing the door and think of him all the time.

Act Your Age
Another important lesson at our house. And it's not one we've been teaching our 3-year-old. It's one I've had to learn again and one that has me repeating...I'm the adult, I'm the adult, I'm the adult. Sam's been, shall we say, testing the waters lately and knows precisely how to push my buttons. "I don't wanna put my shoes on. I don't wanna go to bed. I don't wanna wake up. I don't wanna!" It's a lesson that I knew I needed after realizing that I stuck my tongue out AT MY PRESCHOOLER (behind his back, but still) during one of our discussions. It's going slow, but I'm making progress.

Brothers are Pretty Cool
Even though Sam and Cooper are just two months into their brothership, it's obvious that there are some distinct advantages. Sam is able to translate Cooper's cries and explain to us what he needs - be it a diaper change, a bottle or his specially-made teddy bear, Stewie. Cooper, on the other hand, is enjoying learning how Transformers fly and that a toy held 3-6 inches from your face should cure crying.

I'm sure there will be additional lessons for me and Adrian...we'll keep you updated!