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I'm a little emotional today.

Not going to hide it.
 
These milestones are so exciting, but they are so much harder when it is the last one.  I may or may not have a tear sliding down my cheek right now.

Nevertheless, it is still exciting to celebrate these milestones with my sweet little man.  I'm biased, but I just love this bluebonnet picture of him.  It makes me want to reach into my computer and squeeze those precious cheeks!  So, what's happening Bubs?

Little big man, you are now 27 3/4 inches tall (>3rd percentile) and 18 lbs, 12 oz (>3rd percentile).  Your head circumference is 47 cm (64th percentile). You are still my cute little pumpkin head.  It is a little jarring to see you with the 'older kids' at church.   Because you are so incredibly mobile, you've already graduated to the older class.  I saw you looking for me at the gate when I was coming to pick you up.  At first, I thought you were kneeling down.  Nope!  Turns out you were standing straight and tall next to the much taller kiddos.  Maybe there's a big growth spurt in your future!

Despite your stature, you are a social butterfly.  I am truly amazed at your innate charisma.  You charmed the entire waiting room while Sissy was at speech.  This included an older gentleman sitting on his walker whom you convinced to pick you up and give you a horsey ride.

And that is not to mention the entire crew of older gentlemen who play racquetball on Wednesdays while your sisters are in dance classes.  It is a constant chorus of "Hey, Jackson!" and "How's it going, Buddy?"  You have even convinced several of them to let you borrow their racquets which you promptly bang as hard as you can against the floor while they chuckle adoringly.  It was not entirely surprising that one of them presented you with your very own racquetball yesterday.  Clearly, you know how to work a room.

As far as eating goes, you love anything that I'm eating.  You could have the same thing on your plate, but you want mine.  So, needless to say, you remain enthusiastic about food.  One of your more unusual favorites as of late is tomato basil lentil snaps.  I can thank the sample tray at Sprouts for this unusual snack.  Strangely enough, though, you did not enjoy the cupcakes I baked for your birthday.  You enjoyed smashing it up, but you did not like eating it.  You may be the only kid in history that doesn't really love cake.
You are (finally) sleeping through the night.  It turns out my limit for night wakings is 11 months, 4 days.  We sleep trained the next night.  You were actually quite easy to sleep train.  And, now you sleep like a champ.  You go down between 7:30 and 8 and wake up between 7:30 and 8.  You take one long midday nap.

You have become quite an affectionate little thing.  You will walk up and give our legs sweet hugs.  Sometimes, you will cuddle your head right in the crook of my neck.  You will lay there for a minute before you're ready to go play again.  It touches my heart every time.

You are growing into a special young man.  We are so thankful for our sweet little Bubsy!

Carys' Kidisms: Competitive Much? Edition

At some point in the past six years, I somehow got my children signed up to participate in research studies at the language lab of the local state university.  Cora has participated numerous times, and true to character, she enjoys being the center of attention while she is there.  Carys, on the other hand, is a bit of a wild card.  She can be outgoing and loud and silly.  Or, she can be shy and reserved combined with stubborn which makes her lips tighter than Fort Knox.  And, as true to her character, you never can predict which personality will shine through.  So, it was with a bit of trepidation that I attempted to prepare her for her first visit to the lab.  She assured me that she was going to happily participate in the process.  But, you never know...  Fortunately, the toys and the computers and the games won her over.  Today, she decided to be her fun and silly self.

Parents are not allowed in the testing area, but I was able to listen from the ante room while Sister and Bubsy played.  It was hilarious to hear some of her responses.  My favorite response today by far, was when the proctors were using pictures to attempt to get her to identify degrees of adjectives - you know, like hard, harder, hardest.  It sounded a little something like this:
Proctor:  This girl is fast; this girl is ?
Carys:  Faster!
Proctor:  Right, and this girl is ?
Carys:  The winner!!
I was giggling when I heard her say that.  She wasn't exactly wrong in her estimation.  I just love her thought process and the triumph in her voice when she said it.  She is definitely one of a kind!

Eleven

31 days...

Only 31 days until I no longer have a baby at home.

31 days until you are officially classified as a toddler.  Although, with your speed and mobility, I fear I can't classify you as a baby right now anyway. My, my, my!

So, Jackson, what's new?

You are walking everywhere now.  Very rarely do you crawl.  We have even seen you attempt to run.  Like your sisters, you love to be chased.  You will go as fast as your little legs will carry you and then squeal with joy when we catch you.  You also love to climb.  You will climb stairs when you are around them.  We have also had to peel you off of the second rung of the ladder to the loft bed.  It seems that you are all boy!

Since you are walking non-stop, you've slimmed down a bit.  You've definitely grown taller.  You're finally in your 9 month jammies, but it appears to me that you've lost a little bit of your baby pudge.  Your tummy seems slimmer; your thighs seem slimmer. I'm curious to see your measurements when we go to your one year well check.

Even though you seem to be slimming down, you love to eat and continue to be very adventurous.  Tonight you enjoyed chicken broccoli rice casserole.  You also enjoy chili, pizza, bananas, yogurt, black beans, and of course, crackers.  You prefer to eat standing next to my chair.  We prefer you to sit in your high chair, but you have decided that high chairs are not for you.  You demonstrated this by wriggling out of the straps and climbing onto the tray.  You are quite the little Houdini!

Now that you're in your own room, you seem to enjoy being in your own space.  You love to play with your toys.  After you nurse, you will just roll off my lap and head for your toys.  You love the trucks.  In fact, when you decided it was play time last night at 4 am, I finally ended up just putting a truck in your crib with you.  After you played for a bit, you went right back to sleep.  I think the truck may need to live in your crib from now on.

Oddly enough, you seem to have strawberry blonde hair. You are definitely a blondie, but often when I look at your hair, it really seems to have a red tint to it.  If you didn't look almost exactly like your P-pa as a baby, I might begin to question your parentage.  You have a lovely and infectious smile.  And, generally, you have a sweet disposition.  For the most part, you are only irritable when tired or hungry.

We love you very much, little man!  We are so thankful you are part of our family!

Ten

It's official.
I'm in denial.
Ten.
This cannot be possible!

In other impossible news, you're WALKING.  Even though I knew this was inevitable, I still watch in disbelief every time you toddle across the floor.  It seems you're a pretty determined little fellow.  You still walk as if you've been riding a horse all day, but you've already figured out how to walk about while swinging my broom around - which by the way, you procured by sticking your teeny arms as far as you could between the fridge and the wall.  This is why we must keep most doors in the house closed.

You love to eat.  You have the benefit of having had two siblings come before you.  I was telling someone the other day that with Cora, we went pretty much by the book.  One food at a time; wait three days before starting anything new; temperature sensitive spoons; the whole nine yards!  With you, however, those rules have gone out the window.  In fact, the other day, I found myself feeding you baked potato off of my own fork.  Yesterday, you tried your first lo mein with an eggroll, and you loved it.  It's so much fun to watch you try and enjoy all these new things.

Your 8th tooth finally broke through.  Bless your heart!  You've been working on that tooth for months now.  Hopefully, you are done with teething for a few months at least.  But, I won't hold my breath.  You're in a hurry to do everything except sleep through the night.  Speaking of sleeping through the night, Mama would love it if that would be your next milestone.  I know sleep training is always an option, but I am so hesitant to quit those night time feedings when you are still so small for your age.  Talk to me next month, and I may sing a different tune.  The thought of getting 8 uninterrupted hours sounds positively euphoric.

Speaking of nursing, you have developed the funniest habit during the day.  You will get your fill, and then randomly unlatch, give a little thank you grunt, and simply roll off of my lap.  It cracks me up every single time.  The girls would cuddle a little or at least wait until I put them down.  But, you, little man, you apparently have important things on your agenda.  No time to wait for Mama when you can just roll on down to the floor!

You are increasingly vocal.  Your newest and favorite sound is a very deep grunt.  You will happily chatter with anyone should they grunt back at you.  You haven't really said your first word yet, though you have babbled what sounds like "Dada" a couple of times.  Needless to say, I've been working over time trying to get you to say "Mama."  You love to listen to Daddy sing.  You will watch him and try your level best to add some harmony.  I'm looking forward to when all four of my dearest loves will be able to sing together.

Bubs, you bring so much joy to our family!  I can't wait to see what this month brings!

Cora and Carys's Kidisms: Knife in My Heart Edition

I can't think of any mom I know who wouldn't agree that her kids are the lights of her life.  But, y'all, let's just be honest; sometimes (maybe more often than not), my kids' bedtime is one of the best times of my day.  Not that I don't adore spending time with my children.  I absolutely love being a stay at home mom.  It's just that bedtime is the time of the day that I can do whatever I want without fear of having to abandon my task to wipe someone's something.  As John has not been tasked with wiping various body parts throughout the day, he is not nearly as anxious to turn out the light and close the door on the kids.  Somehow, the girls have conned him into laying down with them at night when they are trying to get to sleep.  So as a special treat, John will lay down with them for a few minutes on the nights when he doesn't have to work the next day.  The girls really look forward to those nights.  Sadly, this past week, John was not feeling well and wasn't sure if he was contagious or not.  Cora, especially, was really disappointed that Daddy couldn't lay down with her.  And, because apparently, I am easily swayed by the disappointment of my kiddos, I told them I would lie with them for a while.  Cue the excited squeals.

What they didn't know is that Mama is not fun like Daddy.  My plan was for them to lie quietly and to drift off to sleep.  Their plan was to talk and sing and play ponies on me while I lay next to them.  After telling them both a couple of times to lie down and be quiet, sweet baby Carys finally piped up with her opinion about the situation:

Carys:  "Mommy?"
Me:  "Yes, baby?"
Carys: (in her sweet little voice) "I don't think I want you here."

(Cue Mama's quivering lip and wounded heart.)

Me: (feigning heartbreak)  "You don't want me?"
Carys: (smiling) "Nope."

I couldn't help but giggle a bit.  Gotta love a 3 year old's honesty!  The nail in the coffin of my dignity came from Cora:

Cora:  (perking up as I started to get out of bed) "You're leaving?"
Me: "Yup."
Cora:  "Yaaaaayyyyyy!!"

I guess I'm going to leave the bed time ritual to Daddy!

The Verdict is In

My little pickle had her speech evaluation last Wednesday.  We took her to a local rehab place where she had the full and utter attention of not only the speech pathologist, but also two interns.  I'm sure she was loving all that undivided attention!  I didn't get to actually observe the process because I had my entire entourage in tow.  The speech path wisely reasoned that Carys would hardly be able to get a word in edgewise with her 'helpful' big sister about.  After a small moment of hesitation, Carys agreed to stay with the therapist while we waited in the waiting room.  When all was said and done, Carys tested at about 2 years, 4 months with her speech.  Fortunately, she has an articulation/speech disorder, not a language disorder - meaning she doesn't have a problem coming up with what to say; she simply needs help saying it properly.  We start speech next Friday.  I think Carys is going to enjoy having an activity of her own away from Sister.  In fact, one of the suggestions that the therapist made was that we find an activity for Carys to participate on her own.  Coincidentally, our family policy is to begin sports type activities at age 3.  I'm thinking the little pixie will enjoy a fun dance class.  Meanwhile, I'll be over here coming to grips with the fact that she won't be saying 'fwyer' (flower) and 'tootie' (cookie) for much longer.  I keep reminding myself that it won't be cute when she's 12, but there's a huge part of me that will miss the baby talk.  I have a feeling I will incessantly record her talking all week.  Letting go can be so bittersweet!

Nine

You're NINE whopping months old, little mister.  75% of the way to your first birthday...have mercy!

What's up, little buddy?

At long last, you are in your own room.  You  love it.  You go down for naps so easily in your crib.  You've gotten yourself into a nice little routine with a mid-morning nap, a late afternoon nap, and an 8 o'clock bedtime.  You are still not sleeping through the night, but you wake up predictably between 12:30 and 1:30 and then between 4:30 and 5:30.  You are up for the day between 8 and 8:30.  Like Sissy, you've found a lovey.  You selected your brightly colored minky blanket.  You love cuddling up with it when you're tired.  I often find you wrapped up in your blanket while you sleep.

Thanks to the grandparents and to the fact that you have two siblings, your room is well stocked with toys.

Your favorite seems to be the push popper, though it seems to be a love-hate relationship.  You alternate between fascination and frustration as you swing that puppy around.  It's very entertaining to watch. Speaking of puppies, you adore Penny.  You will make a beeline for her when you see her come in the door. Fortunately for you, Penny is a very patient puppy.  She tolerates your grabby hands with a resigned patience.  It may be mostly because she gets amply rewarded for her good behavior around you.  Plus, she knows she can escape to Auntie Linda's when she grows tired of your chubby little hands.  Either way, you both get some joy out of the relationship.  

You took your first step on New Year's Eve.  It bears repeating, have mercy!  You don't yet love walking.  I think it is mostly due to the fact that immediately after your very first step, you took a header into the tile floor.  You were quite miffed, to say the least.  But, you have taken a step or two here and there.  You will, however, walk for miles as long as you are holding onto someone or something.

You still have 7 teeth.  It seems like you have been trying to get that last tooth for-flippin'-ever!  I'm sure you're tired of it, too.  I was so sure that it was coming in this past week, but no dice.  You love to put those seven chompers to good use, though.  You have a healthy appetite and a healthy interest in food.  Some of your new favorites are Mema's vegetable beef soup, carrots, chicken, graham crackers and yogurt. You also love chocolate cake donuts thanks to Sissy who generously decided to share hers on the way to church last week.

It must be the donuts that are helping you maintain that robust tummy and thighs.  You weigh 18 pounds, 2 ounces which puts you in the 26th percentile.  Bless your sweet little heart, you are 26 1/4 inches tall which doesn't even put you on the chart for height even though you grew an inch and a half.  So, you've lost percentile points in weight and height, but, little man, you continue to gain in head circumference.  You are up to the 95th percentile for brains after growing another 3/4 of an inch!  No wonder it's so hard to get those onesies over your sweet little head.

I wish I had a dollar for every person who told me while I was pregnant how sweet on me you would be.  I think I finally understand how John feels about our girls - and how they feel about him.  You light up when you see me, and it melts my heart every time.  Little buddy, we are so thankful God put you in our family!

Stats

Little peanut had her three year check-up last week.  My little dynamo is up to a whopping 25 pounds and 35 inches.  This puts her at about the 2nd percentile for weight and the 8th percentile for height.  I'm always pleased and relieved to see that she has continued on her own little growth curve.    She did great in just about every aspect of her check-up, even patiently enduring a hearing test which she easily passed.  My only concern remains her speech.  We did receive a referral for a speech evaluation.  It is likely a simple tongue placement issue that is preventing her from forming her hard c's and g's correctly, and we will know after next week what, if anything, is the appropriate course of action.  I feel like it's a bit of a catch-22, though.  If, in fact, this is not something she will naturally grow out of, I certainly don't want it to fossilize in her little mind.  But, I sometimes feel like her precious childhood is zooming by.  Losing her quirky pronunciation would be just one more sign that she is growing up.  sigh  How I love this little pixie!

Three!

I put the exclamation mark for you, sweet pickle, because every time I asked you how old you are today, you would give me a thumbs-up!

It never fails that on this day, I especially recall your birth story.  What a grand entrance you made!  I still chuckle when I think about trying to get back into the locked Starbucks in Rivercenter Mall, so that I could tell Daddy that we had to go to the hospital.  What a special Christmas memory that made!

So, you're three, big girl!  You are definitely not a baby any more.  You're still diminutive in stature, but you have big personality!  What's new, little pickle?

One of the biggest changes is that you are finally forward facing in your car seat.  We waited quite a long time to turn you.  Maybe I'm being over-protective, but your petite stature made me want to protect you for as long as possible.  Not once did you ever complain about being rear-facing, but you sure did enjoy being able to see the sights at the Christmas lights trail from your new vantage point.

Over this past year, your personality has really started to bloom.  You have proven yourself to be quite the entertainer and comedienne.  I think the phrase I've heard most from you this year is "Mommy, watch me!"  Followed shortly thereafter by a triumphant "I did it!"  Like the rest of your family, you also love to sing.  You have a sweet little voice, and your accent and speech impediments make it all the more endearing.  I told Daddy tonight how sad I will be when "Twinkle, Twinkle" no longer has the cute little quirks that you add to it.

In addition to revealing to us new facets of your personality, you have also begun to reveal to us your broadening interests.  Your main interest as a three year old appears to be ponies.  You love horses of all kinds.  In fact, for Halloween, you dressed as a unicorn.  The costume is big and fluffy, and more often than not, you treat it as a big stuffed toy for imaginative play.  For your birthday today, you got two giant (quite literally as big as you are) stuffed My Little Ponies.  Your sweet face was priceless when you opened them up.

You have proven to be pretty determined in feats of physical daring.  Mama's trying hard to remember to let you explore without a smothering safety net, but sometimes it can be really hard for me - especially when you've triumphantly climbed up a stack of chairs at least 4 feet tall at Sister's swim lessons.  You can frequently be found climbing on and jumping off of various pieces of furniture or riding your scooter and trike.  The other day, out of the blue, you showed me that you can do a forward roll already.  I'm excited to see how you manage the basketball and basketball goal that I hear Santa may be bringing.

Of course, you have grown intellectually as well.  You are quite the talker, though sometimes you have to repeat yourself to be understood.  I love having conversations with you because you have proven time and time again how clever you are.  Just today, I called you 'crazy pants.'  You responded promptly, "I'm not crazy pants."  I asked, "Silly pants?"  To which you replied, "No! I'm not wearing pants!"  Touche, little one.

One of the things that touches my heart the most is your sweet love for your Sister.  I pray that this never changes because your relationship is so very precious.  I love that nine times out of ten you choose to call her Sister.  You like to do what Cora does; you like to be where Cora is.  I pray that you both always cherish this special relationship.

We sure do love our sweet, silly, sassy, smart, spunky little girl!

Eight

I blinked and you turned 8 months.  This cannot be possible!

So, what's new little man?

You remain my cuddly little snuggler.  You love to nuzzle your head right on my neck and shoulder.  I love it.  Especially at night, you love to rock and cuddle with me.  Other times during the day, you are simply too busy to be bothered.  Though you are not quite walking, you are certainly fearless in your mobility.  We have resorted in keeping all doors in the house closed as you favorite 'toys' seem to be Sissy's training potty and any of the seemingly millions of small toys/choking hazards in your sisters' room.

Speaking of mobility, you are getting very near to being able to walk.  You can nearly always be found standing, and you have on occasion stood up with no support.  Most recently, you figured out how to use certain toys as walkers.  I feel like it will not be too many more weeks before you're walking or, dare I say it, running!

Unfortunately for you, teething has been quite the ordeal.  You are up to 7 possibly 8 teeth, but boy have they been bothersome.  In fact, we had to pick you up early from Parent's Night Out last night because you were just so uncomfortable.  I hope this means you are almost finished with teething for a while.  How many more teeth does an eight month old even need?!

You love your voice.  You love to talk and to sing.  During Daddy's and Sister's choir concert last weekend, you felt that there needed to be some vocals during the orchestra's numbers.  I'm sure we will not have to remind you to project your voice.  You made sure to sing loud and proud!

At 8 months, you are finally beginning to enjoy solid foods.  You love to feed yourself and are now becoming more proficient at it.  You especially love yogurt melts and cheerios.  We are fairly certain you are not allergic to peanuts since Sissy decided to be helpful and feed you some of her peanut butter cheerios this morning.  You were quite happy about that.  (And, sweet Sissy was so proud of herself for 'helping'!)

I hate to admit this, but you love BabyTV.  I'm sure you get to watch way more of it than you probably should, but sometimes Mama needs to cook or clean or fold clothes or go to the bathroom!  There are certain sketches that make you squeal with delight.  Ironically, your sisters like to watch, too.  Win-win for Mama!

We certainly do adore our sweet, little man!

Seven

Little Big Man, you're seven months old.  You seem to be in an enormous hurry to grow up, big guy!

I was not mistaken when I surmised last month that you would be crawling soon.  About two days after I posted your six month post, you figured it out.  There's no stopping you now.  You are anywhere and everywhere.  You especially love to be in your sisters' room.  This is probably because it is the forbidden fruit.  With so many small toys and miscellaneous choking hazards, you don't get to be in there very often.

And, as if crawling around wasn't enough of a milestone, you also decided that it was time to start standing up.  Now, you pull up on everything: tables, couches, people, toys, dogs...  Penny is learning to keep her distance.  One of your favorite things to do is to crawl over to the windows by the front door and peer out at our neighborhood.  You're nosy like your mama.

Last week, I was folding clothes on the living room floor.  You crawled up to me and pulled yourself to a stand.  Suddenly, I didn't feel your little hands on my back anymore.  When I looked around, you were standing in the middle of the floor all by yourself.  The exact words from my mouth were "What are you doing?!"  Mamacita was caught quite off guard.  Although you love to stand, your balance isn't great just yet (hallelujah!).  I don't anticipate you walking soon, but you seem to enjoy proving me wrong.

You have developed a bit of a love-hate relationship with foods.  You like the idea of it, but not necessarily the actual food.  You've tried bananas, oatmeal, strawberries, apples, yogurt, and a bbq beef sandwich.  Yep, you're a real Texan now.  Miss Laura didn't know how grabby you are when she was holding you at our church fall festival.  I'm told you were quite upset with her when she wrestled her sandwich out of your tiny fist.   Despite your enthusiasm, you still have a bit of a sensitive tummy, and you don't seem to really enjoy the actual process of eating.  We thought we had struck gold when Daddy made you some fancified oatmeal.  You gobbled up the first few bites until your lip started to swell up a bit.  Turns out, you have a sensitivity to cinnamon.  If the internet can be trusted, you will likely grow out of it.  But, for now, it's back to bland cereal, fruits and veggies.  Pity, since now you have six (SIX!) teeth with which to gobble all the yummy food.  I have a feeling, though, that in your teen years, I will wish we were back to the days where your nutritional needs were so inexpensive!

Your personality continues to unfold before us.  You remain a sweet and joyous little boy.  Just today, in fact, as we were checking out at the grocery store, you began to fuss from being confined in your car seat.  But, as soon as the cashier started talking to you, you smiled and cooed.  You never miss an opportunity to flirt with the ladies. You love to talk and sing.  Perhaps it is because you are a boy - I am told they come with non-stop sound effects - that you generally make some sort of noise at all times.  Even as you crawl about, you make this sweet little happy grunting sound.  If you are not using your voice to make noise, you tend to insist on having something at hand that makes noise.  Your favorite seems to be a set of plastic keys that makes a satisfying clacking noise.

Happy seven months, Jackson!  You are our special little man and just what our family needed!

Six

...and one day.

Little man is half way to his first birthday.  What's new?

You are by far the chunkiest of my babies.  Dr. Mitchell commented at your well check yesterday, "I'm so glad you brought both of your chins!"  We have worked hard to get you those sweet little rolls.  That being said, you're still a bit on the small side compared to the average kiddo.  You now weigh 16 lbs, 8 oz which puts you right around the 32nd percentile.  You are 24.75 inches tall which means that you've actually fallen off the bottom of the chart for height.  Apparently, you're a bit of a shorty right now.  The great irony in all of this growth is that you actually gained more in head circumference than you did in length.  You gained half an inch in length between your 4 and 6 months check ups.  You gained almost three quarters of an inch in head circumference!  Your daddy suggests that you may be slowly turning into a cartoon.

You have begun your foray into solid foods.  Technically, that began last month when you lunged for my breakfast treat.  You still have that tongue thrust reflex, and tend to gag a little when we spoon feed you.  Instead, you've been trying new foods in the mesh feeders.  You tend to prefer things you can do independently.  You're stubborn determined, like that! Your favorite by far is a nice frozen banana.  You were not too pleased with strawberries.  We will try blueberries and maybe some avocado next.

Not only are you my chunkiest baby, you are also my strongest.  Diapering you is like diapering an octopus.  It feels like I am constantly wrestling arms and legs to get you covered.  Trying to put a footed sleeper on you can be almost impossible, especially if it has snaps.   You are skillful at quickly turning from back to stomach and from stomach to a crouching/sitting position.  We had to take the bassinet out of the pack and play because you kept sitting up after nap time.  You quickly decided that sitting was not enough of a milestone, so you have also decided you will start to crawl.  You get up on all fours and rock back and forth.  You're able to move a bit, but you have trouble getting good traction on the wood floors.  I don't imagine that will hinder you for long.  You are bound and determined to crawl ASAP.  I will be surprised if you are not crawling in the next week or two.

You remain a little social animal.  You continue to charm the ladies wherever you go.  In fact, I've been told that some of the ladies in the church nursery quite literally fight over who gets to hold you.  One told me that she planned to arrive early during her next duty week, so that she could have dibs on you. Anytime someone even glances at you, you turn on the charm.  It's coos and grins and giggles all the way.  I can't get enough of your joyful personality!

You are still not an excellent sleeper.  I have seen glimmers of hope, though.  You had two nights in a row that you slept all the way through.  So, I have a feeling that it is coming soon.  Believe me, there will be much rejoicing when that time is here!  You will, however, sleep quite contentedly on someone for hours upon end.

Unfortunately for you, although I am a crunchy baby mama in some senses of the term, I am not a co-sleeper.  Mama is entirely too uptight for that.  Once you're good and unconscious, though, you will sleep pretty well in your crib.  You are certainly a very happy boy when you wake up.  I treasure you're early morning grins.

You are our sweet and joyful little man!  I can't wait to see what the next month brings!

Wordless Wednesday

Five

The little mister is five months today.  I say this every month, but I truly cannot believe how fast time flies...except during the middle of the night...when it's the third time I've been summoned...but, I digress.

Well, buddy, you're still not consistently sleeping through the night.  Although, there have been glimmers of hope this week.  Two nights in a row, you slept a seven hour stretch.  Last night, you slept for two five hour stretches.  Slowly, but surely, we're making progress.  It's hard to be upset by the lack of sleep when this is the face I get to wake up to in the morning.

I'm biased, but he's pretty handsome!

(Yes, that is an orange romper.  No it is not UT apparel.  Yes, my child is allowed to wear orange.  No, we are not switching allegiances - unless it is to Old Navy, the manufacturer of this cute and comfortable outfit.)

In other news, you now have two, yes two pearly whites.  I am shocked!  It is not abnormal to have teeth already, but it is a bit unusual.  So far, you have been kind to me.  But, every once and a while, you will remind me while you are nursing that they are definitely poking through.  Nothing like a little razor sharp wake-up call in the middle of the night!

At five months, you are also surprisingly mobile.  You are my little tummy sleeper, but sometimes I will find you oriented in the exact opposite position that I laid you down.  You can sit independently for a few seconds.  After that, you do the slow-motion topple.  You very quickly end up on your belly, but it doesn't seem to bother you.  Within a few seconds, you've untangled your legs from under yourself and rolled to your back.  

You have a pretty good grasp at this stage.  You love to explore your toys.  Your favorites thus far are an easily gripped football, and the clip to your pacifier.  Just this weekend, we gave you your very own dalmatian dog.  Cora has Pongo; Carys, Perdita; and now you have Lucky.  You seem to like him quite a bit, but you're pretty easy to please.  

Since you are now interested in and able to interact with toys, you've begun to enjoy being in the exersaucer.

Trust me, you are way more amused than you look in the picture.  You especially love the toys that rattle.  It has been a lot of fun for me to watch you learn and interact with things independently.

You are showing signs that you may be getting ready for solids.  The other day I was holding a snack that shall not be named, cough honey bun cough.  You very determinedly grabbed my hand and forced the food into your mouth.  Naturally, you were quite pleased with the result.  Who doesn't love a honey bun?! I blame John and his love of Green Mountain Coffee, not to mention the ice house that gives away a free honey bun with coffee purchase.  I tried to feed you some banana later that day, but either you were disappointed that it wasn't a honey bun, or you actually are not quite ready for solids because you ended up pushing most of it out of your mouth.  Let's hope it's the latter!

I suppose that is you in a nutshell.  You remain our lovely little mister!

The Days Are Long...

But, the years are so very short!

It's official.

I am the mother of a kindergartner.  I have a kid who is school-aged.  What?!  It's especially jarring because I don't feel a day over 22.  Too bad my driver's license begs to differ!

Tiny Greek Goddess ISD is officially in session as of last Monday.  Cora was so very excited for school that I really don't think I could have held her off any longer.  So, we jumped in.

When John and I were trying to first figure out this whole home school business, I got together with some friends from church who were part of a program called Classical Conversations.  I wasn't necessarily interested in the program at the time, but more so, just wanted to get some information about what homeschooling looks like.  However, after hearing my friend's 6 year old daughter tell me the history of the world from Creation to present day, I was sold on the program and the philosophy behind it.  It is a lot of memorization during the first few years, but it is carefully designed to give families the opportunity to learn and grow together.  I honestly think that I may learn as much or more than Cora.

We started our first day with a special breakfast.  I likened it to "Muffins with Mom."

Coincidentally, it was also "Meet the Teacher" and "School Supply Drop Off."  (Notice Carys' 'cheese' face! Silly little pickle!)

I decided to fashion our school day in a similar fashion to the schedule I read about in the Foundations guide for this program.  This means, that on an ideal day, we will have some devotional time, then periods of work followed by activity breaks.  During each work period, Cora will first work on her skills independently before we will work together on any new skills or activities for the day.  I love the idea that she should learn to not have to rely on me (or any other teacher) to begin learning.  In each subject area, she is able to begin the learning process on her own.  Fortunately for me, Cora has easily adapted to this format.  Though she sometimes resists the independent work, she knows that she works for the allotted time, but then gets a break.  On most days, we have finished our tasks by noon.

Today was our first day of Classical Conversations.

(Notice two 'cheese' faces! Crazy girls!)

In this program, we meet once a week in a group setting with a tutor.  On our CC day, we work on new memory work, present an informal presentation and also do a fine arts activity and science experiment. This is the basis for the memory work that Cora and I will practice for the next week.

Cora and Carys were both excited to wear new dresses - who doesn't feel special in a brand new 'first day of school' outfit - and to carry their backpacks.  It was a bit of a frenetic day for Cora who is accustomed to a more leisurely pace, but it was fun for her to learn the material and to socialize with some new friends.  I know her stamina will increase the more we participate in the program.  But, the nice thing is that if it doesn't, we can come home at 1 and take a nice long nap - a luxury that wouldn't be afforded to her at our neighborhood school.

The bottom line is that as of two weeks in, I am feeling more and more confident in our decision to home school.  I know not every week/day/hour of this adventure is going to be sunshine and butterflies, but it's nice to see Cora adjust well to this new educational process.  To be continued...

Stats

The little mister had his four month appointment last week.  All you mamas out there know what this means...shots!  And, because this is just the way the cookie crumbles, our pediatrician's office was out of the combo vaccines.  The little mister endured 4 rather than 2 shots, plus the oh-so delicious rotavirus concoction.  He was a bit peeved at me for about a second.  But, he refuses to stay mad at me for long.  This boy loves his mama! (She pretty much is head over heals for him, too!)

That being said, I was not surprised at all to find out that he weighs 15 lbs, 2 oz.  Let's review the girls at 4 months.  Carys weighed 13 lbs, 6 oz; Cora weighed a whopping 9 lbs, 9 oz.  My biceps definitely could testify that he is the biggest of my babies.  Surprisingly to me, this only placed him at the 40th percentile.   Ironically, being 24.25 inches tall, places him in the 12th percentile for height.  To make all this percentile talk even more funny, his head circumference is 17.05 inches or 88th percentile.  In other words, his head circumference is almost equal to 75% of his length! He definitely has his daddy's head.  Let's hope he has his daddy's brains, too!

In other news, I am continually being reminded that just because you have three kiddos doesn't mean you know everything about children.  The little mister has been drooling and gumming things for about a month now.  Everyone has been asking me if he's teething to which I responded, "Naw!" or something equally as eloquent.  Well, shut my mouth!  Guess who cut a tooth last week?  Yup! And, he's rewarding my incredulity by reminding me that there's a tiny little dagger in his mouth at every feeding.  Youch!  Makes me tempted to get little mister a steak to chomp on.  I'm fairly certain he would not refuse it.  Needless to say, we are thrilled with our strapping young man!

Four

I blinked, and you're four months old, little man!  What's happening with you now?

You are in an excellent and predictable day time schedule.  You wake up some time between 7 and 8.  You're up for a couple of hours, and then you go down for a 2 hour nap.  Then, you're up for another couple of hours before your 2 to 3 hour nap.  After that you're up for the evening.  You will usually go to bed around 8 pm.

Your nights, well, let's just say you're a bit unpredictable.  Sometimes you get a nice 6 hour stretch in.  You'll wake once to eat and then sleep through until day time.  But, sometimes, you prefer to seek my company more often at night.  Last night, I had the, ahem, pleasure of your company 4 times.  Perhaps this is your '4 month sleep regression' or perhaps you're just lonely.  Either way, we'll just ride it out; I have confidence that you will become an excellent sleeper like your big sisters.

You remain one of the most social babies I've ever encountered.  You do not need much encouragement to chatter with someone.  Often, as soon as someone glances your way, you will begin to coo and giggle.  Once while skyping with Daddy, you chirped and immediately giggled at some private joke you had made.  You did this several times in a row.  It was wonderfully precious and adorable.

Physically, you are a very strong little guy.  You don't require any encouragement to practice your squats.  If someone supports you under your arms, you will gladly use your strong leg muscles to bounce up and down, up and down.  If it weren't for your terrible (wink) lack of balance, you would be standing on your own.  You certainly have the strength for it.

During tummy time, you are very good at holding your head up high.  You can also roll from tummy to back, but not yet from back to tummy.  You get one poor arm lodged under you like a kick stand and get pretty well stuck.  However, you do get those legs going under you like you want to crawl.  If you had stronger arms and better trunk control, I fear you'd be mobile.

You are almost to the point of being able to grasp a toy.  Though you haven't quite mastered opening and closing your hand around an object, you are an expert at sticking your hands in your mouth.  You love to chomp on your fingers.  We thought for a little while that you might be a thumb sucker, but we haven't seen you single out your thumb as of late.  Now you prefer your entire fist.  I don't think you're teething, but also would not be surprised if I found a pearly white poking through soon.

Your eyes remain blue, but if I'm not mistaken, they have taken a slightly green tinge.  I am anxious to see what color they will become.  Your hair is a very pale strawberry blonde.  Seems like Sissy's hair was also this color as a wee babe.  I wonder if it will change as you grow up.

You continue to be our sweet and precious little man.  We are thankful for you every day!

Camp Mema

About a week or two ago, we headed on down to my parents house for a little family reunion of sorts. Scott and Celeste were coming down with my sweet nieces, and Pa and Gamma were going to come up for the day that Saturday.  This was their first opportunity to meet the little mister.  Pa had a special surprise for the little man - his first cap.  Naturally, it is a cap from the local cotton gin.  I love it!

Here is Farmer Jack in his overalls and cap.

Forgive the quality; I took this picture with my webcam.  But, yes; you're right.  With all that precious cuteness, it IS a wonder that I get anything done.  Thanks for noticing.  

Anyway, that little weekend getaway had another purpose, too.  It was the kick-off weekend for Camp Mema/Gulag P-pa.  On Sunday, John and I left the big girls at my parents house for an entire week.  Now, what's that word I'm thinking of?  That word that describes how it feels to only have one kiddo at the house for 5 days?  Oh yeah, a.w.e.s.o.m.e!  It feels awesome!  I remember the first time I let Cora go to the grandparents for a couple of days.  I cried.  Then, I let both the girls go overnight for the first time about a year ago.  I cried again.  But the next morning, I slept in.  Sweet mercy, it was heavenly.  

As you can imagine, I was looking forward to those 5 days.  The girls were pretty pumped as well.  The plans for Camp Mema sounded pretty outstanding.  It was impressively planned and coordinated and for good reason!  4 kids ranging from age 8 down to 2 1/2 will keep you on your toes.  Gulag P-pa was a little more tongue in cheek.  Where Camp Mema would have water day involving playing in the pool, water day at Gulag P-pa involved water boarding.  As he said, it's "all the fun with only a fraction of the water."  The facebook posts were pretty entertaining as written through the eyes of the Gulag Commandant .  Some of the mayhem included the following:

"Cora K. did a magic trick and made Mema disappear. Now, no one can find her. The panic is setting in. We’ll starve to death. Finally, Hannah L. found her, cowering in fear behind a bedroom door. What have we gotten into?

The inmates are thinking the same thing. Hannah L. said to Cora, “Don’t make Mema disappear again or we’ll all go to Gulag P-Pa. I have a plan to overthrow the condamant.” (Her pronunciation)"

and

"Gulag P-Pa, Day 4: The terror continues. Condamant P-Pa awoke at 5 a.m. Carys K. was standing by his bed, blanky in hand, apparently planning to smother him. He asked what was wrong. “Can’t find Dita,” she said. Nice recovery! “Dita” is short for “Perdita,” a stuffed Dalmatian from the Disney movie. The Condamant got up with flashlight and slipped among the other three sleeping inmates, finally spotting a Dalmatian on the floor. “There’s Dita,” he said. “No, that’s Pongo,” she replied indignantly. One stuffed Dalmatian looks like another to Condamant P-Pa. Eventually, the Condamant found the actual Dita under the covers on Carys K.’s bed, making him suspicious of The Mischief Maker’s true motives."

Meanwhile, I was at home doing pretty much whatever I wanted, including sleeping in to an hour of the morning that seems positively sinful when you have small children.  Heaven!  I also managed to be a bit productive.  I got the girls closet cleaned out and organized.  I sorted and stored toys.  And, I got the house cleaned.  The best part about that last statement is that it stayed clean...all week...I had forgotten what that's like.  What's that word again?  Yup, it, too is AWESOME!

Nevertheless, I was excited to see my girls again that Friday.  Scott and Celeste so kindly offered to bring them back since they would be passing through anyway.  It was pure bliss hearing my sweet Cora yell out "MOMMY!" when she saw me. Carys was a little more subtle with her affections although she did insist on sitting in my lap and cuddling throughout most of lunch.   All four of the cousins were nice and tired out after their week.  The early bedtime for the girls made for an easier transition back to reality.  Sure enough, the next day, my world was back to normal - teetering on the edge of controlled chaos.  We're looking forward to Camp Mema 2014!  

Three

Little man, you are one quarter of the way through your first year.  What's new, my little three monther?

You are our strapping young man.  I'm guessing you weigh around 14 pounds now.  You have completely outgrown the newborn clothing and are about to outgrow your 0-3 month things.  You wear size 2 diapers that hug the adorable rolls on your legs.  You even have the cutest little double chin.  If this trend continues, you will be the same size as your youngest sister by the time you're a year old.

You have such a sweet natured personality.  You love to talk to people.  The first time I dropped you off in the nursery at church, you conned the sweet ladies into holding you and playing with you when you should have been taking a nap.  You are such a little flirt.  My absolute favorite thing is when you see me and your eyes light up while your mouth curls into this adorable little half smile.  It is precious!  You tend to be quite a content little man.  Usually, you only fuss for one of three reasons: hunger, fatigue, or boredom.  The toughest time of the day unfortunately coincides with dinner time.  You seem to have a thing about me being able to sit down and enjoy a meal.  I'm going to savor our time together, though.  Soon enough, you'll be sitting at the table eating along with us.

You are a strong little guy.  You have excellent head control which is necessary since you love to flirt with the ladies.  You are constantly pushing and flexing your legs and abs.  I fear this means you will want to crawl and walk before mama is ready.

You still enjoy hanging out in the sling.  One of the reasons I enjoy baby-wearing so much is that you are incredibly content while snuggled up in there.  I took you grocery shopping last night, and you were happy to people-watch while we strolled around the store.  Maybe you like it so much because you get so much attention.  People just fawn over you while I carry you around.

I suppose that is what has developed over these past few weeks.  Please enjoy this video.  It is one of my favorites for obvious reasons.

Oh, how I love this sweet little man!

Some Days

Some days, parenting is really hard.  You know those days where you put your two year old on the potty and wait and wait and wait for her to use it.  You finally let her up after an unsuccessful half hour, and within five minutes, that same two year old tee tees all over the floor.  sigh

But, then you have days like today where you realize how blessed you truly are.  See, we were out late last night watching fireworks at our local park.  The girls didn't get into bed until close to midnight.  Stinky, tired, yet overstimulated girls out way past their bedtime.  You can imagine the fun we had putting on pajamas.  You know how as an adult, if you go to bed late, you sleep in?  That doesn't apply to my little ladies.  They were both up at the usual hour ready to be fed, clothed and entertained.  Thankfully, the little gentleman slept in.  I managed to occupy them all morning, kept them entertained and fed, and even got them bathed.  I'm sure this seems like no big deal to most people.  Truly, on a normal day, this would be cake.  But, for those of you who may not know me in real life, I'm pretty sure I'm the inspiration for that mattress commercial with the grumpy mama bear.  'Nuff said!

Anywho, the little ladies were almost finished eating lunch when the little gentleman realized that he had failed to interrupt this meal.  (My babies have all had a knack for knowing the exact moment when you sit down to eat.  That is the exact moment that they realize they are starving. STARVING!)  So, I told my little ladies to finish eating, put away their plates, and go to rest time. I was off to nurse little man in the comfort of my own bed. I had no doubt that they would obey, but what I didn't know would happen absolutely made my heart burst.

See, we have a video baby monitor in the girls room.  It gives me great peace of mind having it because it is necessary to check in on baby ninja while she plays in her room.  (After all, she earned that moniker for a reason!)  After they finished eating, Cora and Carys both traipsed into their room where I can hear Cora talking on the monitor.  She takes baby ninja, puts her in the bed and reminds her "Okay Carys, it's rest time!"  She heads over to the closet and turns on the fan.  Before she leaves, she calls out, "Have a good rest time!"  Very gently, she closes the door and headed to the guest room for her rest time.  And, then, my heart melted into a big gooey puddle.

She just amazes me, y'all.  I feel like we walk a fine line with her.  I want her to care enough for her siblings to watch out for them.  But, at the same time, I don't want her to feel as though we expect her to parent her siblings.  For the sake of her sibling relationship, I don't want her to be a bossy pants.  But, I also don't want her to feel like she can't step in and be a leader when the situation calls for it.  Regardless, I'm going to count this as a small success and file this away in my mind for those parenting days that are less like today and more like the first scenario mentioned above.

I can't help but think of Hebrews 12:11.  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  Normally, I consider this verse in the context of how the Holy Spirit shapes and trains me, yet how apropos it is to this parenting journey as well.  Parents work so hard to shape their children, and we don't always get to see the fruits of that labor on a day to day basis.  But, then, you get that tiny glimpse of how you are training them to become the creature that God created them to be, and it makes cleaning up endless puddles of tee tee worth it.

I am so blessed!