Tales of a 4-year old

Have any of you other parents noticed an increase of tantrums or disrespectful behavior from your 4-year old? Goodness, sometimes I don't know what to do with Caleb. Part of me wants to give a break because he has to be good at school and church. How can I expect a 4-year old to be good ALL the time? I think part of the problem is that he has had so many recent changes in his life besides acquiring a new addition to the family.

The month of September has probably been a tougher on my little man. His first day of 4K was September 2nd and his last day of daycare (my last day of work) was September 3rd. Tim then changed his work shift from 8-4 to 7:30-3:30 to be at home earlier with the family. This is great, but we don't really see him in the mornings before he goes to work like we used to. Also, he used to have time in the car with the kids while he took them to and from daycare and then he'd have about an hour with them while I was on my way home from work. Not the best timing ever, but Mr. 4-year old decided to stop taking naps about two weeks into going to school so we've been trying a new bedtime out with him. On top of all that, Caleb has had a bit of a change of scenery at church as he was promoted to the next level for Sunday School (new teachers and classmates) and started AWANA Cubbies on Sunday evenings where he is learning more about the Bible and memorizing verses each week. Whew! I'm exhausted just thinking about all that. No wonder the kid has been acting up a little.

I just miss my sweet little angel boy. A day without any arguing, crying, yelling, slamming doors, snide comments, sticking out his tongue, or even the occasional "I hate you" would be nice. Then of course, he goes and makes up for it by saying "I love you," giving me a hug, or being super helpful and sweet. The joys of motherhood. :-) I wouldn't change it for the world.