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When the kids conflict, I will ask Charlie to work on his puzzles or building on the dinner table. Olive can't get up there too easily yet, and so she usually wanders off and does something else.

@Honeybee: Olive is crazy independent! She's mostly drawn to Charlie when he builds things with blocks and she wants to knock them down... she's less into knocking things down now, so they are having less conflict lately.

When they do conflict, I've had a lot of luck with having them both sit in my lap and reading to them. Or I will hold them both in my arms and dance with them to music (they cab get heavy though!).

I find that if we all do things together, then that seems to satiate her desire to be near him for a while. If all else fails, I distract her with a video of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star that she loves!

I'd just love to figure out how to get WT to stop being so rough with CC. He loves her. But he just has SO MUCH ENERGY. Luckily she's not breakable but he is all boy which means often throwing, kicking, jumping etc. In close proximity to her. Ahhh. Soon she'll be able to defend herself better

As for conflict...she's clueless right now that she's causing it but if she gets something he doens't want her to have... I TRY to have him get her one of her toys and offer it in exchange. Similar to when he has friends over... he HAS to share some toys... but doesn't need to share them ALL.

He's not only rough with her.... he's been know to make older kids (like 4 times his age) cry as well by hitting them with toys.

I always tell my mom... he's really sweet and cute... except for when he's NOT!

We've been really lucky with things like tantrums. He doesn't really have them (knock on wood!). He has meltdowns when he doesn't get something he wants... but not really tantrums. And he's pretty easily redirected.

Now getting him to listen when I want him to, or not drive me insane by touching everything he should not touch while I'm making dinner, or getting into his pajamas when I'm at the end of my rope at bedtime.... I haven't mastered these situations. I probably should finish that positive discipline book and spend some more time on that... but who has time. I'm a little scared about the 3's for sure!

He's a boy.. and he's ALL boy.. as in he'll hit (really just swinging and touching not 'punching') random people as we walk through a restaurant.... he needs to KICK EVERY whatever as we walk down the street... he doesn't walk or run... he JUMPS everywhere. But it's not defiant behavior... the energy spews from him. A common phase is - "thank god he's cute".

As they get older... many things get easier... but then you get NEW difficult things

Honestly - I predict CC will be our stubborn head-butting difficult child... so WT feels like a breeze as I brace myself for 18 years with her haha!

This picture really puts into perspective how fast they grow. It's a photo of WT the past 3 years at our town Easter egg hunt. Baby... Baby... Pre-Teen!!

CC just figured out forward movement this morning! Ah! It's part army crawl, part scootch, part flop, part crawling on all 4's. The moral is she can quickly get to whatever of her brother's toys she wants!! Ruh Roh. WT did well this morning but I see MANY MANY battles in the coming weeks.