GadgetDad: Of cats and kids

Cats are very interesting in many ways. They can be loyal or defiant, cuddly or independent but they always want attention and love you unconditionally. Even though I've always had cats throughout my life they are still mostly a mystery. Kids are very much the same way. At least as far as attention goes and the unconditional love thing, until they are teenagers from what I understand. Okay so I haven't always had a kid in my life and they are very much still a mystery. The second you think you have kids figured out, they go and change the way they were doing things or learn something new. I know it probably sounds a little harsh comparing my kids to cats but it's true. My son Logan is currently 2 years and almost 10 months old and he is a big brother. This puts him in a very difficult position. He is getting ready to finish up the terrible 2's and tackle the horrible 3's (disclaimer: I have never had a 3 year old, but most of the parents I've talked to tell me the 3's are way worse than the 2's). He is no longer the sole center of our universe, he must share our attention with his little sister. This is where the similarity to cats comes in. Our cat Tux will do whatever it takes to get your attention, whether that attention comes in the form of a gentle pet or a forceful shove. He just wants your attention and usually food. He has a real knack for getting his claws stuck in my thigh while I'm typing (like right now), I push him away and keep going. So he claws me again and again and again until I finally pet him, shove him away or give him more food. He figures out what is most effective in getting your attention and sometimes negative behavior gets it quicker than positive behavior.
Logan is really starting to talk more and more everyday, this is my preferred form of communication. I'm glad he is talking and it's a huge help most of the time. We have had an issue with him saying yes to absolutely everything. This includes when trying to determine if he hit his little sister behind my back or knocked her over (she is determined to walk at 9 months). The conversation goes something like this: Me- "Logan, did Nyah fall down" Logan- "Yes" Me-"She is crying a lot, did you push her down?" Logan-"Yes (with a coy smile)" Me-"Did she fall over on her own?" Logan- "Ya" Me-"Logan did you hit her?" Logan-"Ya-huh" It goes on like this for a little bit without a different result. Asking what he wants for dinner is the same thing, yes to everything regardless of what is asked. I know that was a little far from my comparison of cats and kids but I thought it was an interesting phenomena. Maybe this is normal, but I'm only on one kid talking so far, I'll see if Nyah is similar.
So back to the grabbing attention part, Logan has figured out the quickest away to get my undivided attention. Unfortunately this usually involves finding something to chuck at his sisters head or to push her over. Even if we are all playing together, if he wants attention on just him, he will try it. I'm not sure if this is just a thing with little boys or if little girls do the same thing. I'm sure I'll find out in the future once Nyah is big enough to defend herself. So far it doesn't seem like girls are as destructive as boys, but Nyah is only 9 months old right now and she has a good teacher in Logan. I love both of my kids more than I ever thought possible, but there are those times when I wonder what I got myself into. Logan is a good little guy for the most part, but on occasion he does stuff that just baffles my mind. The interaction between the two has been fun to watch and I'm looking forward to the future of our play sessions while trying not to miss the present moments we have. Take this morning for instance, Logan was in his high chair eating breakfast, Nyah was scaling the back of his chair. Logan turned around and said "I'm so happy to see you Nyah". So cute! I was so proud of them, then Logan decided to spit bacon on top of her head, laughing the whole time. I'm afraid to know his thought processes.

I think it's time I introduce the cast of characters so you can all have a visual to associate with my stories and ramblings.

First up is Tux the super cat, he is our last surviving pet and goes by many names. He spends most of his time running away and hiding from Logan.

Next up is Nyah, our 9 month old cutie also known as "little miss squiggles" since she is constantly in motion and has been since in the womb.

Then we have Logan, currently 2 years and 10 months. He is all boy and at least two handfuls of trouble.

My wife Philly and I are very uninteresting but I threw in a picture for reference : ) The photo is from a few years ago but probably one of our best.