"Odie no like that!"

  It has become clear that we are raising two very different little boys. Completely different beasts, actually. Caleb has always been a very agreeable, easy-going guy. Odin, on the other hand, is proving to be very stubborn, strong-willed and often unwilling to budge on even the smallest things. I'm sure much of this is typical for a two year old who is just learning to assert himself and have some control over the world around him, but wow...we are quickly learning to adjust our parenting styles to handle our second little fella.

  It started a few months ago when his sweet litte 'No thank yous' turned into 'No, Odie no like that'. At first, those words seemed quite innocent and kind of adorable, but now when I hear those words, I begin to brace myself for some serious negotiations - and the stakes are high! He usually states these dreaded words at meal time. Often before he even gets a peek of what is being served on coming on his plate - it could be a plate full of cake and candy for all he knows - he will let us know he does not like the supper option and will refuse to eat. To deal with this, we either have to send him to time out for a few minutes until he agrees to return and eat without any problems, or we somehow find ourselves playing an ever-evolving game of  'open your mouth for the airplane'. It turns out that he loves this game. So much so that it has expanded to Odin saying which vehicle it should be (no, not a plane - a backhoe!...a helicopter.... an excavator!) and the exact sound the vehicle needs to make (no, a race car says 'Zoooooom' not 'Brooooom').  

 His strong opinions have recently extended into clothing choices. Not once has Caleb ever given a second thought about what I've asked him to wear. Odin, on the other hand, has a lot to say about his wardrobe. He has a particular affection for his robot shirt, and often asks (or demands) to wear it. His fashion choices became a real  issue when I presented him his new winter coat one morning. We were rushing to get out the door to meet Caleb's bus when I tried to get him into his new red coat . Well, he absolutely refused. "No! Odie no like red coat. Odie like blue coat' (his now too small spring coat). I tried and tried, until I realized we were going to miss the bus. So I threw on the old blue coat and off we went. I began to understand how serious he was about this battle when he went up to the first adult he saw at the bus stop and proudly said 'Odie no like red coat. Odie like blue coat.'. The mom looked at me empathetically, and gave me a knowing nod. She knew the kind of morning we'd been having. We went back home and I once again was unsuccessful in getting him to wear his new  coat to day care. 

 That night I was telling my parents this story over Skype, and I showed them the red checkered 'mackinaw' print jacket. My dad immediately left for a minute, only to return wearing his fleece mackinaw jacket. Well, that changed everything. Suddenly, Odin's red jacket was not only acceptable, but completely cool. He now wears only that jacket, which I can totally deal with - at least until Spring time comes.

Although Odie keeps us on his toes, he also continually makes us laugh, makes us smile and certainly makes our world a much more interesting place!

Fierce wildcat cousins!

 'Excavator - hey dirt, see ya later!'