Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Toddler of Many Words

Grayson is almost 14 months now, and he is a toddler in every sense of the word. He does it all! It's insane. But first...too many pictures! :)

Silly boy likes to sit inside his toy drum!

YUM! Cheerios! We were cooking a perfectly tasty breakfast, but he kept chanting "EAT!" So we gave him a "nack." :)



We got this jacket for our trip to Gatlinburg next week...it just a TAD big!! Oops! (It was only $3 at a consignment shop!)

He was asking for a "bite." This kid and his food...

How cute is he??? Answer: Too cute!

Love to see sweet baby friends together! :)

Walking at the park...pay no mind to the leaf plastered to his face...

And the obligatory photo of my kid decorating the Christmas tree. Come on, you HAVE to do it! :)

Our Baby Center email this week said, "Your 13 month old may be able to say up to four words by now." Scott and I laughed a lot about this. Four words?!?! Are you kidding me? We started trying to list all the words Grayson can say and we gave up around 25, only to continue thinking of more as the day went on. He's clearly very advanced! ;) Some of the words I hear most often include: Melmo (Elmo), eat, snack, bite, beans (he likes food!), bottle (which is what he calls sippy cups) ball, Daddy, bath, night-night, uh-oh, bye-bye, teeth, doos (shoes), geet (get it!), dog, cat, kitty. He can say many others, but those are regulars in our home!

He also has started pointing out his body parts. He knows head, mouth, nose, and toes. He can follow simple instructions (when he wants), such as "find your ball" or "give that to Mommy." He's getting much better at the shape sorter games and is a pro at ring stackers.

He walks and borderline runs with no problems. The boy loves shoes and will carry them around the house if he isn't wearing them. He is in a size 5 now. Still wears anything from 9 months to 2T depending on the clothes. He's slowed down in growth so I think we'll be camping out at 12-18 months for most things for a while. He has started climbing, which is a little scary and very annoying! He can climb onto the ottoman we've been using as a coffee table b/c we thought it was safer (ha!). He'll pull himself on top of it and stand up! Ahhh!! He also likes to walk on the fireplace hearth which we try prevent in case he falls and hits his head on the hard parts inside. It's VERY hard to keep a toddler from standing on things!! Discipline is becoming more and more of a challenge. Still trying to figure out what works for us at this stage.

Grayson can also get down from the couch without falling, so at least that makes me less nervous when he starts climbing on it.We try to have lots of outside time on the weekends to keep us all from going stir crazy. I hate to tell him "no" so much, so we're working on other ways to entertain him.

Speaking of entertainment, he LOVES Sesame Street. What used to be the request of "BABMM!" for Big Bugs Band is now the chanting of "Melmo!" We generally only watch TV with him on the weekends, but it is truly amazing how he will just snuggle up with us on the couch and sit through almost an entire episode of Sesame Street! Scott and I both dozed off (lightly!) the other day while Grayson sat between us watching the episode and eating Puffs from his snack container.

Food is still going well. He eats three meals a day and small snacks as needed. Some days he is more compliant in eating what we serve him than others. He loves snacks, so we try to make those healthy. He wants a bite of whatever we are eating, so I basically only eat things that he can also have. That doesn't limit things much. At this point, he can eat just about anything as long as it isn't a choking hazard--which is mostly just whole nuts. He isn't deterred by strong flavors or spices either. Chili and black beans are among his favorites.

We are still nursing on demand at home and he still gets 3 sippy cups of pumped milk at school. He'll be switching to whole milk soon, as I don't plan to pump after the holidays. At school he'll get 8 oz of whole milk each day (once we make the switch) and he can still nurse whenever he wants at home. No weaning plans, just going with the flow for now.

He is moving full-time to the 1-year-old room at school starting next week! It's both a little sad and exciting! I know he is more than ready as he's been enjoying all the time he's spent over there lately, and clearly is bored in the infant room. Mostly I'm just going to have to get used to the new teachers.

Sleep is hit or miss, but I'm not worried. It's clear that the nights where he is up frequently are the nights that he's struggling with something, whether that be teething, congestion, nightmares, etc.. Some nights he'll sleep the whole time, others he'll wake up only once, and then on rare gems like last night he'll be up every 3 hours screaming. :( They go through so many changes at this age, I don't expect super predictable sleep patterns. He usually naps once a day for 1-2 hours, but will sometimes nap again in the afternoon. I feel like he should be napping at least one more hour a day than he usually does, but that's hard to control when he's at school for those most nap times.

We are having more fun than ever and enjoying the blossoming personality of our little boy! He wows me with his intelligence and melts my heart with his sweet snuggles. He cracks me up with his silly dances and faces and sounds. He is truly a joy and I'm loving every step of this crazy adventure. Having a toddler is presenting it's own unique challenges, and it's very different than the first year, but I think I like it even more! :)

Monday, November 17, 2014

My Prayer Life

Last week in our small group for church, we discussed our prayer lives. How often do we pray? What types of things do we pray about? What do we struggle with in regards to prayer? What do we believe about prayer?

I walked away from that meeting, knowing that I want to "beef up" my prayer life. There are some ways I just want to grow more spiritually when it comes to prayer. Specifically, I want to focus on these areas:

+ Pray more often. 
In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul tells us to pray without ceasing.
I go through seasons with my prayer life and how often I pray. At times I pray a lot, all throughout the day, just having an on-going conversation with God. Other times I become more routine, praying only before meals, before study time, and maybe one or two quick prayers throughout the day as things come up. At this point in life, I'm in the latter stage. (Though I do also pray when putting Grayson to bed at night and that is some of my best prayer time!)

+ Pray more passionately.
I don't want my prayers to just be routine, or just be idle chit-chat with God. Both of those things are good. It's good to have a routine of praying before meals and bedtime. It's good to chat with God about the everyday things in your life. But it's also good to pray deeply. To seek God fervently and earnestly. To set aside time to really devote to hearing from God. To quiet the world around you and focus on Him. When times get rough, to not just pray that God be with me, but to call out to God with all the emotions of my heart, just like the Psalms in the Bible. When things are going well, to not just say a quick thank you, but to shout in joy to God, to dance, to sing, to really worship Him. 

+ Pray with more faith.
Sometimes I pray for people and certain situations with no real hope of my prayers being answered. Or I don't pray for something because I don't think it will help. I may not pray for healing in a seemingly hopeless situation. I may not pray for salvation for someone who seems like a lost cause. I'm hesitant to do it because I don't want to be let down. I don't want God to disappoint me. But the thing is, we are given power through the Holy Spirit to proclaim victory over certain situations through Jesus Christ. We can pray for healing with certainty that God will heal. This is hard for me. It's not that I don't believe God can do these things. I just have a hard time believing that it's 100% for sure going to happen. Because maybe it's not His will. Maybe a different outcome is better for some unknown reason. Or maybe He's just waiting for us to have a little more faith. This is probably the toughest area for me to work on. But the cool thing is, if I do the first two things, it will help me do this third thing. 

So, how am I going to work on these three areas? I know routine can be the death of passion, but for me, I thrive on routine. Routine motivates me and gives me a sense of calm in a chaotic world. So, while I don't want my prayer life to be nothing but part of a routine, I do want to use a routine to facilitate it. So, I have devised a plan.

For the next three weeks, I am praying for a specific person, situation, or large-scale issue each day. I have already written it out in my planner. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by all the things I want to pray about, and it becomes so overwhelming that I just give up and shut down. Instead of praying for just a few of the many needs in this world, I don't pray for any because it feels like too much to sift through. This list has allowed me to pull out a few of the things and people that have been on my heart lately. Today I am praying for my dear friend and previous co-worker Linda, who is suffering from terminal cancer. 

Not only do I have a plan for who/what I'm praying for, but I've determined when I'm going to pray with more focus. I've decided that when I pump at work (which is three times a day), I will close out all the windows on my computer (rather than using that time to catch up on blogs and Facebook!) and spend that time praying with passion and faith. I've been using my prayer journal (pictured above) to write down the prayers, which helps me stay focused. By praying for the same person/thing multiple times a day, I'm forced to go beyond the simplistic "God, be with her" and get more specific. I've found that my passion and faith is growing with each prayer! :) I've also found that if I keep that person in mind all day, I'm likely to say quick little conversational prayers throughout the day as well. Of course I still do my usual prayers, but this makes sure that I allow time to pray for something/someone beyond that. And not every day is praying for something or someone. Some days I'm just praying about my relationship with God, my thankfulness for Jesus, etc...

In addition to this, I've dedicated myself to praying every single day for the sweet baby of a girl I went to high school with. He has not been born yet, but they already know he has a heart condition and will likely need extensive surgeries after birth. I'm praying for miracles, and trying to pray with faith that full healing WILL take place! I have no set time for this prayer, but it's on my heart and I've been making time for it throughout the day, each and every day.

What about you? What do you struggle with in your prayer life? How do you maintain a powerful and personal relationship with Jesus through prayer? I would love to hear!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Halloween Pics + Song of the Week!

I've been a sicky this week and I have to say, loads of rest, green tea, and coconut oil really does wonders!! I feel 100x better today than I did yesterday! I'm still not completely well, but I feel well rested and that is saying a lot! If you are coming down with something, I highly recommend a generous scoop of coconut oil in your tea! And a 2+ hour nap doesn't hurt, either!

Moving on, November 12th isn't too ridiculous to finally post pictures from Halloween on the blog, right??

Curious George and the WOman in the Yellow Hat!

Scott was a zoo keeper...Grayson's costume worked with each of ours, individually. ha!

 And it's also Song of the Week Wednesday! This week I'm rocking out to Katy Perry's "Roar." I know it came out over a year ago, but it's still a great song to crank up and make you feel like you can do something really impressive...like run a mile in a sleep deprived state, for example. :)

{and the video for this is supremely silly! Not sure what it is with me and weird videos...oh well!}

Helene in Between Song of the Week Wednesday

Friday, November 7, 2014

For Dads of Newborns...

Ah, the newborn days! When all the baby needs is mommy, all mommy needs is a nap, and daddy is like...what am I doing in life??

I think all new dads struggle with this to a degree. Moms are exhausted, hormonal, and physically recovering from delivery (this goes double (or more!) for moms recovering from a c-section). Newborn babies desire constant contact with their moms because that's all they've known for the last 9 months, and if mom is breastfeeding, the endless cluster feedings result in baby needing mom all the time. Dads want to help. They want to make life easier for mom. They want to help take care of the baby. They want to share a bond with the baby and feel like dads. But how? Where is their place in this scenario?

This can leave a lot of dads frustrated, angry, hurt, disappointed, and insecure about their role in the family. Especially if dad has to go back to work right away, there is little time for bonding and he can't understand the day-to-day struggles of life with a newborn. Mom might not have the energy or patience to soothe the hurt emotions of dad, and she may actually have no idea how he can help anyway. It's true -- the baby wants and needs her. So, how can dads find their place in their brand new family? How can they help take care of mom, take care of the baby, and feel valued and useful? There are a lot of potential ways this could play out, but I'm going to share some of the things that Scott did that worked really well for our family. Feel free to borrow some of these ideas! :)

+ He made sure I ate! Never in my life would I guess I would be the type to forget to eat! I love food! But during the early days of parenthood, I had no idea how to balance it all! Plus, I was stressed and slightly bluesy which killed my appetite. There was more than once that Scott came home from work and I was frazzled and weak and I realized, I barely ate all day! Scott decided to help me out by making sure I had food prepared for me to eat throughout the day. Every day he would prepare a smoothie for my breakfast and have it in the fridge for when I woke up, and he would make me a sandwich for lunch. That way I didn't have to worry about cooking or anything. I just went to the kitchen and grabbed my food whenever I got hungry! Bonus points for food that I could eat one handed! 

+ He woke up for every middle-of-the-night scenario. Particularly in the beginning when we had to change Grayson's diaper every couple hours to redo the gauze on his circumcision, Scott was amazingly helpful! We worked out a pretty good system. Grayson would wake up, I would immediately pick him up and nurse him from one side. Inevitably, he would poop during that feeding (this is why we altered it from Scott doing the diaper change before I fed him. That was the original arrangement and it always resulted in needing two diaper changes!). Scott would take him, change his diaper and redress his wounds, and then bring him back to me. I would nurse him from the other side and he would fall back asleep. Sometimes I would let him sleep since I knew he had to get up early for work, but most times he was eager to pop out of bed and take care of Grayson as much as he could.

+ On weekends, he would take Grayson to the living room and let me sleep in. I would still wake up and feed Grayson, but after that I could go back to sleep for a while. Sometimes it was fruitless because I couldn't sleep while I could hear Grayson crying in the other room. But after a few weeks, they got into a routine with their "Everest Saturdays" (watching the show Everest while I slept in).

+ He texted or called me throughout the day to check in. He would also request pictures of Grayson throughout the day. This helped him feel more connected to us and what we were doing each day, and it helped me feel less alone in it all. 

+ When he got home from work each day, he was very present. He spent a lot of time talking to me about my day, and he talked very little about his. (I think he knew I was a little jealous of his regular work routines!) He held Grayson as much as he could. I think he still struggled with the feeling that Grayson didn't like him sometimes. Grayson had a fussy period that usually started right when Scott got home from work. But aside from a few sad comments or defeated exhalations, Scott remained positive and encouraging and did what he could.

+ When we were together, he would bring me whatever I needed. Whether that be my phone, iPad, a book, the TV remote, a blanket, a paci, a burp cloth, the baby...! It took me a while to get the hang of getting up and down with a baby and figuring out how to maneuver around things, carry things, etc...all while holding an infant who had zero control of his own body! Scott made that easier! 

+ He participated in every routine he could. He helped bathe Grayson, he did every single diaper change while he was home (since I did them all day while he was at work), he did endless loads of baby laundry, and he had a role in bedtime. He played his guitar softly while I rocked and nursed Grayson (around 8 months we had to retire that routine b/c Grayson loves the guitar so much that it was just exciting and distracting him!)

+ When I told him how I was struggling with losing our normal routines, particularly our time together watching TV and eating ice cream (which, by the way, fully resumed by 4 months!), he came up with a solution. He pulled up our shows on the iPad and we snuggled together in bed with Grayson and ate ice cream and watched TV before bed. It somehow made everything less stressful. 

There are countless other things that Scott did that I am probably forgetting or that just seemed so natural to me that I didn't recognize how special they were. I am beyond blessed to have Scott as my husband and Grayson's dad. His patience and love for us amazes me. Not only did these little things bring me comfort and peace, but I know they helped Scott feel more useful in a time when dads can easily be thrown to the wayside. 

Also, moms--I know this is tough, especially in the beginning, but don't forget to show dad a little love too! I distinctly remember thinking at one point that I spent all my energy taking care of a little person that I could not possibly meet the needs of anyone else. The very thought exhausted and angered me at times. But it only takes a few kind words, a loving touch, or an appreciative smile to help your partner feel loved and validated. Don't forget to do it! He's probably doing the best he can, just like you. 

What about y'all? Any tips or personal examples of how dad can help out?

Thursday, November 6, 2014

One of those days (no, the other kind!!)

This picture has nothing to do with anything, but how cute is this baby selfie?!?!

Today has been one of those days, and I don't mean "those" days. I mean the good days! :)

Nothing extraordinarily awesome has happened. I'm not doing anything particularly exciting. I'm not traveling to some exotic location or bumming around the house watching movies with my family. It's a regular work day with regular work day routines. But today it's all about the little things for me!

Earlier this week, even last night, I was in a funk. I attribute a lot of it to the time change. If not for how it has affected me, then for how it has affected Grayson. But I think it's been a bit of both. I've felt sluggish and tired, which isn't uncommon these days, but it was more than that. I also felt overwhelmed and stressed, but about nothing in particular. I may have shed some tears over my burrito last night (which is highly unusual since it's one of my very favorite meals!).

But today has felt totally different! First of all, Grayson slept through the night!! I want to say this is maybe the sixth or seventh time he's done this now? Woohoo! I'm still not convinced that it's the new normal or anything, but it's a far cry from the up-every-three-hours-screaming-for-no-reason junk we were dealing with earlier this week. Again, time change, but also three new teeth coming through. And Grayson is transitioning to the 1-year-old room at school, which means he's going 100 miles an hour for most of the day, napping less, and then coming home completely exhausted. It's all we can do to keep him up for the hour or so until bedtime and then he sleeps restlessly through the night, waking up cranky again. (side-bar: Grayson's fussy or cranky does not even register to most people. I realize this. And I know I should not complain!) But anyway, so last night he slept through the night! And here's the kicker...so did I!

Usually, even if Grayson stays asleep, I'm awake every few hours to check the clock, check the monitor, and go to the bathroom because my body is used to waking up frequently. But I have no memory of waking up at all last night!

Due to the awesome night's sleep, I was able to pop out of bed (okay, maybe it was a slow pop!) and go for a jog. It was probably a little shy of two miles, but it was so nice outside and the fresh air filled my lungs and my blood surged through my body and I was quite literally pumped!

Grayson still woke up too early (5:35 AM), but my sweet hubby got up with him and took care of him until I was back home and showered. Then I spent some time snuggling and nursing Grayson and then continued with our morning routine.

Our Bible study time has been a bit strained lately as we're adjusting to Grayson's curiosity and growing ability to get into everything while we're trying to pray and read and reflect. But this morning Grayson played quietly to himself (pro tip: only get the quiet toys out!) and Scott and I were able to have a great discussion about Solomon building the Lord's temple.

All of it was great fuel for my day -- sleep, exercise, family time, getting filled with The Spirit -- it doesn't matter how mundane my day has been ever since, it's been a great day! :) Funny how getting a good start can make all the rest just fall into place.

{Side story -- only a nursing mom could understand the struggle of stuffing your boobs into a sports bra and going for a jog after your child has slept through the night! Then I had a bit of an overflow situation while pumping at work and got milk all over my new pants...and then had to go to a staff meeting! It was still a small price to pay for the sweet, sweet sleep!}

How has YOUR day been? What do you incorporate into your morning routine to help you have a better day? I would love to hear! :)


Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Song of the Week Wednesday

I recently started following the blog Helene in Between, and today Helene launched the link-up Song of the Week Wednesday. 

I'm super pumped to join along because music is such a huge part of my life! I've talked about this before when contemplated my labor/delivery playlist for Grayson. So, I am really looking forward to sharing the songs that I'm jamming out to each week and reading the posts of other bloggers to discover more awesome music! :)

This week, I've definitely been into "Animals" by Maroon 5. The music video is definitely weird and kind of creepy (okay, a lot creepy!), but the song is so great! I especially love the melodic "ahhooooo" howl! :)

You're welcome.

Helene in Between Song of the Week Wednesday
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