Saturday, April 27, 2013

The Binkie.

For the last year or so, I feel like we've been keeping a dirty little secret from the world.

My 3 year old (well, nearly 3 & 1/2 at this point) still uses a pacifier for sleeping.

He'd probably happily suck away on it most of the day if I let him, but I restrict it to sleeping only.

I've been feeling like this is our "dirty little secret" because most everything I read makes me feel bad that my 3 year old still uses one.  That I'm damaging his teeth.  That he'll have a speech delay.  That he'll never grow out of it.

I've decided I don't need to justify my kid with a bink to anyone but my family.  I've decided to stop stressing out about it.  If you don't like it - well, that's good for you!  Sincerely!  I'm glad your kids don't have a sleep crutch, but mine does & I'm okay with it.

He's not deformed.  He isn't slow.  He doesn't have buck teeth.  He doesn't have a speech impediment (other than what's normal for a 3 year old have).  I'll tell you what he does have: a great vocabulary.  Impressive diction for a 3 year old.

So.



Dear Ben,

The evening of April 19th kicked off the worst week in recent memory for our family (as far as child rearing stuff goes).  That evening, you went & got your binkie and then headed to the potty before bed.  As soon as you got in to the bathroom, your binkie fell out of your mouth and landed in the toilet.  Daddy said that was enough.  The end of the binkie (we couldn't very well give you something to put in your mouth that had been in the TOILET - GROSS).  I convinced you you could sleep with out it - I reminded you that you fell asleep in Colorado for Nana without it.  I reminded you that once the Binkie Fairy came to visit, you'd get a prize.

You laid right down, my brave sweet boy, and fell right to sleep.  I was half way lulled into thinking this would be an amazingly smooth transition.

And then the rest of the week happened.

No naps.

No naps in 7 days (well.  1 nap.  but that was after mommy completely lost it, got right in your face & yelled and then cried and apologized all over herself).

Night time sleep-stalling tactics that took you at least an hour (if not longer) to stop doing and just go to sleep.  Waking an hour early and not going back to sleep.

Horrific, horrific behavior that did not improve &; in fact, got worse.

And one of daddy's cousins posted a sweet note that reminded mommy that no matter what any one else says, I get to choose what's right for my child.

In this case, I sincerely believe you are not ready to let go of your bink and I'm not going to make you.  Who is it hurting, really?  It's really not that different than sucking a thumb, which your mommy did for ever and ever.  Who does it bother?  Not me.

Last night I gave you a new binkie (I actually found it in the cupboard the day after The Event while cleaning up/rearranging and nearly gave it to you then).  You fell right asleep with no sleep-stalling.  Today, we had a mostly great day (that attitude seems to be sticking around, hopefully it doesn't take the full week it was here to disappear) and at nap time, you happily went right to sleep.  Like I knew you should be.  Some people say 3 year olds don't need naps.  I say mine does.

I love you to bits & pieces babe, and I'm sorry we made you spend a week in agony.

The binkie will go away for good at some point.  Just not right now.  And that's okay.

Love,
Mom

Friday, April 26, 2013

Durango: Part 1

 Hey!

We went to Durango!

I almost forgot to share our adventure.  :)

Here it is, for posterity.
ready to go!
We got up bright & early Saturday morning and loaded ourselves in to the car.  Nick & I had gotten the car nearly all packed the night before - all we needed to do was add ourselves and our last minute things.

We started out about 45 minutes behind schedule, which really isn't that bad considering we're traveling with two kids.  :)  We took our first planned stop in Twin Falls, but decided to go a bit further and visit Shoshone Falls since we were there anyway.  The falls are not spectacular in March, but it was still fun to see and a great way to let Ben stretch his legs while I fed Matthew.

Ben & Nick at Shoshone Falls
Me & Matthew at Shoshone Falls

The rest of our drive down went fairly uneventfully - just long.  What should have been an 8 hour drive ended up being about 12 because of all our stops.  Ben did amazing.  He watched movies, he colored, he read books, looked out the window and snacked - he even NAPPED.  Matthew did amazing.  He napped (terribly, but he napped) and didn't fuss too much.  Matthew likes to eat every 2 hours and doesn't hide the fact that he's ready to nurse - that's part of what took so long to get down.  Having to stop to nurse, to do potty breaks, to eat food, etc.

the best way to road trip ;)
REAL MOUNTAINS!

We stopped for the night in Moab.  We hit Arches National Park in the morning, but since this is picture heavy already and quiet time is over for the biggest of my little dudes, I'll save that for another post.
so excited to be out of the car 
obligatory hotel bath pic ;)
 

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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Owl Walk

A few weekends ago, we bundled up the fam and drove out towards Camelsback to take a stroll through the hills and spy some owls.

We didn't see any, but it was a fun adventure anyway.

we stopped by the learning center to make a craft

it was supposed to look like the example on the table.  it did not.  ;)

off we go!

what every little guy needs for a hike: binocs, owl mask, water bottle, rain boots & a backpack

two are better than one

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Thursday, April 11, 2013

9 Months.

Wow, so when things fall through the cracks - they really fall through the cracks.

My little old blog is so neglected.  I really want to keep up on it more, it's one of the only ways I keep track of my kids lives and there's stuff I just don't want to forget.  I've hardly blogged about Matthew has he's growing and that bums me out.  At some point, I'm going to get my crap together and start scrapbooking again and when I get to Matthew's - I'm not going to remember anything that happened.

So.

Matthew.

He's 9 months old now.



Last time I blogged specifically about Matthew, he was 4 months.  So yeah... oops??

So, we haven't had his 9 month check up yet (that's at the end of the month when he'll be practically 10 months but there ya go), so I'll update with these blank stats later:


Stats:
  • Weight: 
  • Height: 
  • Head: 

He is:
  • just starting to work on a creeper/army crawl
  • really mobile, even though he doesn't necessarily crawl much - he rolls, lunges, stretches & creep/army crawls to get what he wants.  when seated, he scooches by kicking his legs
  • not yet pulling up to stand on his own
  • finally said "mama" - his words (sounds ha ha) are: mama, dada & bubba (which is what we call Ben at home)
  • a VORACIOUS eater - this kid does not mess around with food.  he has no tolerance for purees and basically eats what we do.  the only thing I'm restricting for now are meat, peanut butter & honey.
  • has his bottom two middle teeth and is working on cutting his top two
  • adores his big brother


He does not care for:
  • getting his nose wiped - he knows what's happening when you come at him with a tissue or wipe and will turn his head away (and freak out if you actually attempt to wipe his nose)
  • vegetables (he basically only eats yogurt, fruit & bread) or cottage cheese
  • hats of any kind
People remark on:
  • his big blue eyes
  • how happy he is (though don't try to get a smile out of him at the grocery store - that boy knows how to throw a stare down)
  • his great laugh
{just for fun - here's Ben's 9 month post}

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Tumble Time!


When Ben started up preschool, I stopped sending him to Tumble Time because I couldn't juggle both expenses.  As much as we all love school, we were pretty bummed to miss out on Tumble Time, so in January we started him back up again and I'm so glad we did.  Even though he missed about half that term from being sick and then recovering from surgery, we're so glad to be going again!

This surgery was the very best thing we could have offered our little guy.  The confidence he's gained... he never ever did the beam by himself before - he always had a death grip on Miss Colista.  Now he confidently walks across like no big deal (which to me, it's a GIANT deal)... well... except on the taller beam.  He still needs a little help from Miss Colista on the taller beam.



Such a difference a few months makes.  I was worried that seeing me in the lobby would be a distraction (not that he couldn't do the class without me, but that looking up and seeing me would cause issues) but he mostly doesn't even look my way.  He's so focused on the class, he's such a great listener, tries all the courses.



It's much fun.  I'm so glad we juggled money and are able to have him go again!

Show day!

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