the tortured soul virus

the boys have been sick...again. i knew this would happen, starting school and all. and i don't want to complain, because as far as them being sick, it could be much much worse. up until now, it's been minor colds that haven't slowed them down a bit. friday night abel came down with a fever. he was fussy, understandably so. the weekend went from bad to worse as abel demonstrated a new strain of virus i call, "tortured soul." nothing could satisfy him. he said "no" to EVERY THING. at one point he thrashed around my lap for a solid 15 minutes. it was, quite honestly, pathetic. i just had to keep reminding myself that he was clearly uncomfortable and couldn't cope. i couldn't put him down for a second without top of the lungs screaming/crying. all the while, ozzy and daddy joyfully watched elmo in the living room (but if i dared bring him into the living room, "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"). the whining, oh the whining!

ozzy got the fever exactly 48 hours after abel. but he's fairing a lot better. a lot less drama, indecision and general torment. thank god abel was feeling significantly better today. i honestly don't think i could take another day of it. he could function once again, and my faith that he is a mentally stable toddler (whatever that means) has been restored. the virus has now evolved from tortured soul to evil twin. i've never seen a day where abel was so mean to his brother. mean like grabbing his blanket at nap-time and chucking it in the hallway and slamming the door. mean like pushing him down and then whacking him on the head with a foogo cup. jordan and i were appalled and no amount of reasoning (ha!), time-outs or "you do that again and i take away the crayons/blanket/binkie," would stop him. it was a total discipline conundrum. and one that i continue to worry about as the boys' physical aggression towards each other escalates. i'm torn between holding a firm line and trying to understand the frustrations of two-year old twins who are in eachother's face constantly and trying to navigate through jealousy, territory and general frustrations. fun stuff!

i'm hoping for better days, and i know they are around the corner as they always are. this is just a particularly unpleasant period. on the flip side, abel mastered a forward roll today which, in my book as a former gymnast, is perhaps the most impressive milestone! a silver lining, indeed. as was this, an early morning finger painting session: