Crazy Calvin

I think it goes without saying that I love this kid.  And just in case it doesn’t, I do.  He is the sweetest boy who is constantly making me laugh with his made up jokes, silly dance moves and funny faces. He gives the best squeezy hugs and I just love him to bits and pieces.

That being said, he is currently driving me crazy.

He’s always been a very active kid and such a typical boy, giving me daily heart attacks with all the almost accidents (and a few pretty bad ones involving lots of blood, smashed fingers and head bonks...not to mention one traumatizing trip to the ER to get stitches in his chin).  But ever since he turned three it’s like he got this fresh burst of energy that is NEVER ENDING.

He loves to play with Ethan but doesn’t quite realize that Ethan is still a baby and can’t rough house in the same way.  Ethan loves his brother and is his constant companion but he is also always getting hurt.  For the majority of my day I will find Calvin dragging Ethan across the floor by his feet, laying on top of him, putting a blanket over his face for an overzealous game of peekaboo, piling toys on top of him or grabbing him by the back of his pants and pulling him down to the ground.  For the most part Ethan thinks it’s funny but the laughing always turns to crying and no matter how many times I yell at remind Calvin to leave his brother alone or to play gentle, all it takes is for me to walk away or turn my back or blink and he’s right back at it.  Plus, Calvin is always taking toys away from him.  Ethan will be playing quietly, pushing a car around, and Calvin will come up and snatch it and then put it somewhere that Ethan can’t reach.

Then there is the constant running, jumping, climbing, spinning, dancing.  The thing I don’t understand is that I’ll send him out into the backyard to get all that energy out and he ends up doing this instead.

Super quiet and mellow, just putting rocks and stuff in his dump trucks and driving them around.  Then when he comes back in, he’s right back to all the crazy behavior that made me send him outside in the first place.  I don’t get it!!

And the questions!  We all know that kids ask a ton of questions but Calvin will repeat himself over and over, even after I’ve given him the answer.  And if he’s asking me for something and I’ve said no, he never accepts my response.  Lately it’s “I want one more piece of candy.” I say no.  “I just want one more piece” and this continues over and over until I just walk away.  Before I moved the candy to the top of the refrigerator, he would just climb up onto the counter and help himself.

Oh and then there are all the noises.  He loves to roar like a dinosaur or a “scary creature” but he also does this super obnoxious yell that I can’t quite describe.  It’s so throaty that it always makes him cough and he’s usually making this noise at the table when he’s supposed to be eating lunch so not only does it echo, he ends up coughing food everywhere.

He stomps around the house, kicking and throwing toys.  I have been hit more than once by a toy or his boot when instead of sitting down and taking his shoe off, he just kicks his foot really hard to make it fly off.

He is always hungry, except at mealtimes. 

We still cannot get him to stay in bed after we tuck him in and usually spend a good half hour taking him back to his room over and over again while fielding requests for water, candy or just one more hug and kiss. 

I spend most of my day telling him to do/not to do things over and over and over again.  I start out in a normal voice and try to talk to him calmly but after the 500th time of telling him to stop getting up from the table or to go use the potty or to leave his brother alone or to stop hitting his sister, I’m so frustrated that I can’t stop myself from yelling.  And I really do not enjoy yelling.  It doesn’t accomplish anything ever but since he doesn’t really listen to anything I say, neither does normal calm talking.

He is turning all my hair gray and we’re going through ibuprofen faster than we ever have in the past.  By the time he finally falls asleep I am exhausted and just want to go to bed myself.  I need to find some way to harness all that energy and get him focused on something other than destruction.  I know a sport or something would be good for him but I think he’s still a little young to do the whole team thing.  He never pays attention to me so I don’t think he would listen to a coach.  My only hope is that he starts mellowing out as he gets older.....but I highly doubt that is going to happen any time soon....