KK (The Free Spirit) 2.5 Year Old Update

I did a 2.5-year-old update for KJ, so I wanted to do one for KK, too! This is likely the last half-year update I’ll do for him. I will go to yearly after this! Feel free to skip if you don’t love the family updates and are only here for the recipes. However, many of you have told me how your family has been growing along with mine and how much you love the little updates on the kiddos, so I’ll continue them!

Look at our little blondey.  Still blonde hair and blue eyes, still looks nothing like his siblings or his parents really. He got every ounce of my Irish genes (which 23 and me says is 99% Irish) and about zero percent of the middle eastern genes. He’s fair skinned, but doesn’t burn easily like your typical fair skinned child, so that’s good (maybe we have the Chaldean genes to thank for that?).  People often ask me if they are cousins when I’m out with both boys.  Some people ask me if the boys are fraternal twins too though so who knows ha ha. 

KK – The Free Spirit

 KK is a ball of energy. Inevitably, I’m always chasing him somewhere and have thought about leashing the kid on more than one occasion. He’s fast, but he’s also huge for a two-year-old. He’s in the 90th percentile for height and weight, weighing only 3 pounds less than his five-year-old brother. Most of KJ’s hammy downs go directly from KJ’s drawer to KK’s. He can wear 4T shirts and some pants/shorts. In the last few months, though, he has started to morph from a taby (toddler/baby) to more of an almost preschooler. Not only is he losing some of his baby “chunk,” but he’s also easier to take to public places. He may run but often listens when I tell him to come back or wait. That’s a considerable improvement to just chasing his butt everywhere.  

He’s always been an amiable baby/toddler, but as his “kid” personality emerges, I can see he is joyful and easy to get along with. Although, he does require some redirection from time to time. Like he’s not afraid to take toys from other kids or tell them to “get out of his way.” But after I’ve gently redirected him, he makes friends easily and loves playing with many kids at any time. While my oldest had no problem yelling louder back at me if I raised my voice to him (strong-willed to the max), KK gets very quiet and sometimes says, “Don’t scream at me,” even if I’ve barely raised my voice. He’s very articulate and can, to a certain degree, express his feelings well and be reasoned with. We’ve always felt like (other than the constant running and toddler lack of awareness) he acts lightyears beyond his age. And therefore, he requires a much more gentler approach to parenting. (In general, I try to be a gentle parent, be consistent in what I say, and give consistent consequences without raising my voice, etc, but I’m nowhere near perfect.)

I think his natural personality is amicable, and he loves to “joke,” but he also copies and looks up to his big brother a lot, which also comes through for better and worse. More about that is below.  

KK – Now the Middle Child 

KK was a week shy of two when his baby sister was born. He reacted very differently to a sibling than I could have ever anticipated. He decided not to acknowledge my or the baby’s existence for at least a few days. (All I can think is that teenage years will be brutal if his natural inclination is to shut down and ignore.) But KK’s love of KJ runs deep, and he wants to do everything his big brother does, including being a real big brother. So, as the months have gone on, he’s done more copying of KJ’s behavior toward the baby. Luckily for us, KJ’s behavior toward the baby is extremely helpful and loving, so KK tries to be extremely helpful and loving. But, overall, he seems mostly indifferent when it comes to the baby. Except when he realizes it might be time for her to sleep, and he says, “You put the baby down, I watch Letter Factory????” Overall, though, I know that his behavior around the baby is very typical for a two-year-old and not all that different from how his brother initially acted toward him. In fact, indifference is nice. KJ was downright jealous when KK started walking and taking his toys.  

I always said I didn’t want a middle child, but I’m not interested in giving birth to another child, so I don’t have a middle child. Because every other facet of my being feels done having children. So, now I find myself in this interesting position. KK has an easygoing, spirited personality. He’s mostly okay waiting, and he isn’t as strong-willed as his brother. His temperament allows him to sit and figure something out without getting frustrated, to be confident, slow to anger, and to learn quickly. I’m more likely to find him sneaking off to do something he’s not supposed to, then have him argue with me about it. His brother is and still will be more likely to argue. As the middle child, he has plenty of opportunities to sneak off amid the chaos and capitalize on them. Most often, this involves him grabbing a tub of Play-Doh and eating in the family room until he’s caught. We’ve since moved the Play-Doh where he can’t reach it, of course, but that’s an example of many.  

I find myself trying to remember things I’ve heard about middle children and doing my best to parent with those things in mind. I try to spend one-on-one time with him at least once a week. When his easygoing personality lets his brother win an argument or a toy battle, I try to step in and encourage him to stick up for himself (when appropriate). I honor his requests for “Mama love” whenever I can and make sure I’m there when he asks, “Mama put me down.” He’s still only 2.5, but I just never want him to feel “forgotten.”

If any of you middle children out there have tips, I’d love to hear your thoughts on how to support your middle child! Leave a comment!

KK – Potty Training 

Potty training has gone pretty damn well. I did an update on this Friday’s Favorites post. Overall, he’s potty trained. The three-day method with KK went much smoother than it did with his brother. It helped he had a big brother cheering him on as well! He regularly uses the potty at home and out. He tells us when he needs to go and rarely has accidents. He doesn’t LOVE using the big potty, though, which can present problems when we are out. We’ve tried having him stand on the toilet seat when out, but sometimes, he is still too scared to go. However, he often makes it home without an accident. So, the two things we need to work on with him are using the big potty (anything kid-sized is fine) and nap training. If he stays all day at school next year (I can not do two pick-ups and work; there is just no way), he will have to be nap-trained, and currently, he isn’t (he wears a pull-up). And we also need to wean off the M&Ms we are still using. I don’t think he really can understand the concept of “go all day, and you get X,” However, I’ll use that tactic to wean him off the M&M rewards once he can. I don’t mind the M&Ms because, unlike his brother (sir dribbles all day), the kid has the bladder of a tank and only uses the bathroom 3-4 times a day, so he isn’t getting that many per day. And sometimes, if we’re out or upstairs or he “goes potty outside” (in the backyard), he doesn’t get them. So I don’t mind a couple of times a day. He gets them to keep the positive reinforcement until I can wean him off them.  

Food

My FIL loves to call the boys “meat and potatoes” since KJ loves almost any protein in front of him, and KK likes all carbs. He likes fruit, yogurt, and all typical kid food, especially mac and cheese. I have the same rules with him as with KJ; he doesn’t have to eat anything on his plate, but I will not remove foods from his plate. In general (the last couple weeks of COVID, the Flu, or whatever hell this has been excluded), the boys eat what we eat. KK will often eat the bread on the plate or carb source, drink milk, and be done. He was better than his brother, who drank milk for dinner for a year and a half before finally deciding he liked some other foods besides cheese toast and burgers. Luckily, KK still loves smoothiebox smoothies, so at least he gets one serving of veggies in whenever he has one. I am slightly concerned by his lack of iron intake and will ask the doctor to run a hemoglobin screen on him, but I’m sure it’s okay! It’s very common for kids to be picky and not like protein sources at this age. 

Likes:

• Monster trucks/cars/ anything with wheels 
• Destroying things, he loves to crash things into each other. 
• Going on walks
• Magnatiles
• Pretending he is the roadrunner 
• Playing hide and seek
• Balance bike – he’s getting pretty good at his balance bike!
• Plasma car – he LOVES his plasma car
• Watching Super Wings, Paw Patrol, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, or Letter Factory, he will also watch Octanauts with KJ a bit now (he watches TV when I put the baby down and I’m here by myself or at night when I make dinner.) 
• Watching videos of himself 
• “Go” ing anywhere. 
• Feeding Nala 
• Giving Nala treats
• Helping with laundry 
• He loves to be chased. 
• He LOVES to wrestle with Daddy and his brother. 
• Chasing our poor 13-year-old kitty 

Dislikes:

• Sharing toys – we’re working on it
• Nala – she tore up some of his toys/books recently, and he’s holding it against her
• Paw Patrol nightlight – he has not enjoyed his brother’s nightlight in their newly combined room at night.