Struggles of Raising a Red Head

Life's been busy lately over here  and we are loving every minute of it. Ryder is loving school, we are busy planning our first family vacation and are elbow deep in yard work. We have had amazing weather and we are soaking it up as much as we can.The morning and evenings are cool and the afternoons are warm enough for shorts and a tee, but not hot enough that the boys can't play outside. And if you ask them, they think it's no clothes type of weather. 

Ryder has school two days a week which gives me much needed alone time with Gage. We've been really struggling with parenting him lately and it's taking a toll on all of us. He is so opposite of Ryder and I'm still adjusting to handling two different personalities. Gage is my little shadow. He follows me everywhere, wants to be held all the time and has been very needy. He is also a walking tornado and destroys everything in his path, no chores are done while he's awake. None. He is that wild baby you see in restaurants and you feel bad for their parents. Give him his plate of food, he'll toss it on the floor just because. "Oh you want milk Gage? Here's your sippy." As he rips the lid off and hulk smashes it across the room. He'll sneak behind your back and throw every thing he can find in the toilet. Tell him not to eat the dirt he is playing in, he'll look you straight in your eyes and shove a handful right in his mouth without even caring. Ryder gives him a hug and kiss while Gage pulls his hair and bites his face. These are things we never experienced with Ryder. Sure, he has his moments of tantrums and an attitude. But Ryder is sensitive, shy and for the most part pretty mellow. He cries during sad commercials or whenever he gets in trouble, worries about little things and takes care of everyone. Gage is my wild one. He challenges me daily and even though some days I feel like I just can't handle him, I absolutely love it. He makes me think out of the box, he's made me learn patience and tenderness, and has made me realize I can do hard things. God definitely knew what he was doing when he gave us Gage. I need him and he needs me. I love this little red headed spit fire. And if you ask me, I blame is red hair 100%