Matthew is Mad at us/world/life?

and we're not sure why. He has been a complete monster since we moved and it's starting to take toll on Brad and I. For that matter, Sam is also feeling the effects. We've come to the understanding that Matthew is screaming/crying for about 80% of the day. The other 20% of the day he is okay, not happy and full of smiles like he used to be, but we'll say he is tolerable.

We could blame this on teething, as we do everything else, but I'm just not convinced that is what it is. We've tried everything. EVERYTHING. And poor Sam is being neglected due to Matthews continuous demanding needs. And because we're putting Sam second, not by choice but by fact, he is starting to rebel as well. Our house is falling apart.

As we've learned being parents the first time, you have to pick your battles. Some things in this house are going to have to wait as we need to concentrate on Matthew and his hard dislike of life. He also has gone from okay to HORRIBLE at riding in the car again. Just screams until he pukes. He makes a 10 minute car ride feel like forever and then we're ending up heading home because it's just not possible for us to go in public. As you can see, we're about ready to throw our hands up here. Just when it seems to be okay, it gets worse.

We want to explore Jacksonville to the fullest and it's just not happening yet. But when will it get better? Do we have to put everything we do on hold until our child can learn that driving in the car is fun and learning to sleep will only make him feel better? I don't think that the word sleep falls into the "Matthew" category. He just doesn't want to do it. Yesterday he screamed his entire nap for 2.5 hours and NEVER went to sleep. We all know what our day is like when our children do not nap. It was a hard one.

So I'm writing this in anticipation that this too will pass and this is only a phase. I'm not sure how much more tylenol and benadryl I can offer my child before it scrapes out the inside of his liver. Patience is our word around here, but it's wearing very very thin!