Getting Bigger and Smarter...and Pushier

AJ is growing up so quickly, everyday brings something new. As I've recently grown to accept, he is a SPUNGE. Luckily for me, my Aunti Meani watches him while we are at work. She plays the closest role as a 'teacher' he can have right now. She reads to him, enforces right from wrong, and gives him the TLC he needs while we are away.

Thanks to the intelligent people AJ is surrounded by...he is already far ahead of what is expected of an 18-month-old little boy. He doesn't just use a few simple words of communication...he is now developing phrases of communication. His first phrase was 'I DONT WANT TO', (anyone who disagrees about this being my KARMA, is CRAZY) and 'I don't know'. He can already associate people with places or things. He sees a red truck and says 'Papa truck', he goes to the salon his Aunti Brookie works at and says 'Brookie, Sally, Anna' (I credit his being at the salon since Day 3 for that), he knows that Nikki is Grammie's dog....it AMAZES me.

Along with all these wonderful words of communication comes his ability to be defiant. Refer back to previous statement --- 'I DONT WANT TO'. Not only does he verbally protest, somewhere along the lines he has learned to PHYSICALLY protest. How he acquired this is so far beyond me, I'm BAFFLED. We don't spank, smack, hit or even flick him. We are very cautious to teach him manners. His form of punishment started with THE CORNER and will REMAIN the corner. So where he picked this up is so far beyond me, I spend hours trying to figure it out. He pushes, he punches and he smacks in protest of not getting his way. This is a learned behavior. I am on the hunt for the 'SOURCE' so I can correct the problem.

In the meantime, I get tougher and he gets a lot of one-on-one time with 'THE CORNER' (this too, MY KARMA)...