Would you like cheese with that?

Gabe has started a new, very annoying habit - whining about anything and everything that he does not like or agree with or want to do. Even if doing what he is asked will get him something he wants. The entire time I was getting ready for work this morning, he had something to whine about.

"Please take your pajamas off and throw the pull-up away."

"I don't know how. I don't want to. You do it."

"Please put your socks on. Remember the writing goes on the bottom."

"I don't know how to put the writing on the bottom."

"You can't lie down on the bed, I need to make it."

"But it's already made, Mommy."

It was a very long morning. I love him dearly, but was quite happy to drop him off with my MIL and escape to work. An hour of that was more than enough, especially before I had my morning coffee.

Gabe is definitely becoming more defiant. He has had difficulty listening to requests to do or not do things for quite some time now, but he is adding to his repertoire. Everything from whining, to escalated tantrums, to no, to I don't want to are used in an attempt to change our minds or get his own way. It is not helped by an almost-one-year-old who wants to get into everything. Locking up the cabinets really wasn't something we had to do for Gabe. I mean we locked up the dangerous stuff just to be safe, but he really wasn't interested in emptying the contents of drawers and cabinets. Nick, on the other hand, most definitely is.

Our kitchen was a mess this weekend, thanks to Nick, with some help from Gabe, as Pigpen and I attempted to do homework and prepare lunches for the week while the boys played. All of our Tupperware got taken out and spread over the kitchen, add to that some pots and pans, large spoons and spatulas... and it was hard to walk without tripping over something. Still, they had a good time playing, and it allowed us to accomplish things with little interruptions. Unfortunately we never accomplish as much as we would like to on the weekends. Too much to do and too little time to do it in.

I am really enjoying watching the friendship blossom between Gabe and Nick as Nick shifts from baby to playmate. Gabe still has his moments where he wants to be left alone by Nick, but mostly he loves having him around. And Nick just adores Gabe, although he does get jealous when Gabe is getting affection and he isn't. Nick loves to be cuddled and to cuddle. He regularly "attacks" Gabe in an attempt to hug him. And every morning as soon as he hears that Gabe is awake, he will go crawling into Gabe's room to attention him. It's wonderful. Their relationship is what Pigpen and I had hopped for, and the biggest reason why we decided to have a second child. We wanted to ensure that Gabe had that relationship. It's also one of the reasons we are so torn on having a third.