Christmas pictures

So I took the kids to get Christmas pictures taken, and boy was that an experience.

First, I got the kids these super cute matchy outfits from Babies R Us during Black Friday, so I was hoping to get some really cute pictures of them together.  Well it totally didnt work out.  Blake couldnt hold Adalynn up right, and Adalynn cried the majority of the time, so the only picture I got of them together was one of Adalynn laying down crying and Blake looking at her sweetly.  I almost ordered it with the caption Naughty and Nice. :)

So we decided to do most of the pictures seperately.  Blake took some really cute ones and he looked very handsome and soo grown up in his pictures.  Adalynn took a few cute ones in her dress, but the best pictures we got of her were in her diaper with her christmas bow and headband.  She is such a hippy baby never wanting to wear clothes.  :)  I ordered A LOT of pictures so I am glad they turned out cute.

Now for the ordeal that drove me to pull my hair out.  We first went to get the pictures taken Monday.  Blake did fairly good and for the most part cooperated (yea Blake!).  Adalynn didnt want to do anything Monday she mostly cried, so the photographer suggested we come back later that day after she was in a better mood.  Come to find out her lunch started at 2 and she didnt want to miss it and that was why she really wanted us to come back later, but whatever.  So I waited for Jeff to get home to help me with the kids when we returned Monday.  Well apparently someone else had done pictures and they took FOREVER looking and ordering pictures.  So we sat there for a hour and a half before she even got back to us.  When we finally started again doing pictures Adalynn started crying once more, definitely not a big fan of the camera, and then Blake comes up to us and tells me he is wet.  Pants are totally soaked, so I just told the photographer we would have to come back tomorrow.

So day 2 (today) went better.  Adalynn still didnt want to cooperate.  If we had her lay down she tried to sit up and if we had her sit up she laid down, but after I saw taking a picture in her cute little dress looked like a lost cause I decided to let my hippy baby be free from her clothes and that made all the difference.  She was just smiling and hamming it up for the camera.  So most of her christmas pictures are without her adorable dress.  I guess this is my punishment because when I was little my mom always wanted to dress me up in cutesy clothes and all I wanted to wear was jeans and t-shirts (still do) so I am now blessed with a daughter who doesnt want to wear any clothes!!! :)  Oh well she is still cute clothes or no clothes!

Black Friday

Well, we had a great Thanksgiving holiday.  It was nice to see the family and get to visit with everyone.  We went up to Kansas City for the holiday and since they have stores we dont have in Arkansas we went shopping on black friday.

We first hit Dick's sporting good store and we werent in there for 5 minutes before Blake threw a fit because he didnt want to come with me and look around.  So I left the store went back to the car and he got a visit from Mr. Wooden spoon. I have to say though after that he was much better.  Unfortunately we didnt even find anything at that store to get.

Next, we went to Old Navy and got Blake some Christmas shirts, a hat, and a coat for next yr.  I also found a cute KC chiefs shirt that matched one of Jeff's and Adalynn's.  We tried to find one for Blake too, but had no luck, but I do plan on getting a picture of all 3 of us in our matching Chiefs shirts.

We then went to Babies R Us and found the cutest outfits for Adalynn.  One is her Christmas day outfit, so I am not going to go into too much detail what it looks like because I want it to be a surprise, and then I got some matchy outfits for Adalynn and Blake for their Christmas photo ( which I think will turn out just super cute), but I just couldnt resist and got her a cheerleading KC chiefs outfit. I am going to put her in it tomorrow for the game.  :)

I also had my first scare of losing my child in a store.  I had my back turned and Blake was just a few feet away from me looking at something and then next thing I know he is no where to be found.  I have never been soo scared and worried in my life.  I ran all over the store looking for him, and thankful I found him towards the front of the store.  When I found him I just put my arms around him and hugged him soo tight after harshly explaining to him how scared he made mommy and that he needs to stay by my side at all times when we are out in public.  I think it scared him too because when he saw me he said, "Mommy, I was just looking for you."  I dont know what I would of done if something would of happened to him.  Thankfully he was ok though.  But it was definitely my first scary moment with him.

All in all though it was a nice trip, but I am Thankful to be home.  Now it is time to start all the Christmas madness. :)

Adalynn is 3 months, well actually tomorrow!

I figured I would do Adalynn's 3 month update today since tomorrow I will be too busy too!

Things Adalynn has mastered:

giggling- she doesnt do it often, but when something tickles her she will let out the cutest little giggle!

Following moving objects/people- she watches people all the time( mostly me), but she will turn her head to follow.

discovered feet- she discovered her feet the other day, it was soo funny because she had them up by her face and just stared at them.

Things Adalynn is still working on:

lifting head/trunk- she still refuses to lift her head and trunk at tummy time, she lifts her head up fine at other times, but just wont do it on her tummy time mat. Lazy girl!

Rolling over- She is still just getting to her side, but I figure by the end of the month she will push herself over.

Things Adalynn likes:

Carseat- She is still not a fan of sleeping flat, but seems just fine sleeping in her carseat.

Christmas tree lights- She enjoys looking at them.

Mommy- she has gotten into the habit of wanting to be held a lot, and will cry until she gets her way...thankfully mom is getting Adalynn a moby wrap for Christmas and I hope this will solve this problem.

Things Adalynn doesnt like:

Being strapped in her carseat- She has definitely been letting me know today that she is not a fan of being strapped in her carseat for too long.  We ran some errands today and she decided to cry everytime I started strapping her in.

Music on her playmat- Not quite sure why, but every time I turn on her music to her playmat she cries, so she plays on it without the music.  I am thinking it might be too stimulating for her.

Clothes- Normally I just have her in her diaper because she likes to be swaddled, and she is like a hot potato, but when we go out I put clothes on her, well today she had had enough and as soon as we got home, I took her clothes off and she just smiled and cooed at me.  She might be a little hippy baby! :)

Well, again it has been a great month with Adalynn she is growing soo much and I have enjoyed getting to see her learn and explore new things.  I am hoping next month I can report that Adalynn is no longer sleeping in her carseat and maybe has graduated to her bassinet.  I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. :)

Thankful

Since it is getting close to Thanksgiving, I figured it would be a good time to share what I am truly thankful for. :)

1)  I am thankful for my wonderful kids and husband.  These people make me laugh, smile, give me hugs and kisses. Show me unconditional love

2) I am thankful for my wonderful family members.  These people support me and are always there for me no matter what.

3)  I am thankful for Adalynn's miracle blanket.  This product allows me to get sleep!

4)  I am thankful for the opportunity to be a stay at home mom.  I love being around my babies and getting to watch them grow.

5)  I am thankful that my family is healthy.  Something we sometimes take for granted, but I am glad that no one is deathly ill. 

6)  I am thankful for GPS, and yes even though I will probably still get semi-lost with it, I usually get within a few blocks so I usually find my way.

7)  I am thankful for chocolate because it taste soo good :)

8)  I am thankful that I am going to be an aunt to a precious little boy ( cant wait to meet him)

9)  I am thankful for college football because it is awesome, but it also gives jeff and me something to watch together.  GO HOGS!!!!!

10)  I am thankful for the 3 books my mom bought me about discipline and dealing with a strong willed child because it really has made a difference in Blake's behavior.

11)  I am thankful for the holidays because it is truly the best time of the year.

12)  I am thankful for Blake's leappad, because it has made going out to dinner a pleasant experience.

13)  I am thankful for being blessed by God and knowing that without him my life would not be nearly as good as it is.

14)  I am thankful for my DVR, because having two kids now I have a hard time catching a lot of my favorite shows.

15)  I am thankful for being able to let things go because anger is a nasty emotion to hang on to.

16)  I am thankful for having a warm place to call home. 

17)  I am thanful for place and bake cookies, and yes on occasions I will even mess these up, but they still taste good. 

18)  I am thankful for wine, because on days that everything just isnt going my way it helps ease the tension :)  I am soo classy too, I like my 4 dollar wine at the EZ mart, but it doesnt come in a box!

19)  I am thankful for friends because they are always there to listen and offer advice.

20)  I am thankful for being alive and getting to spend my time with precious people.  I cherish every moment because we arent promised tomorrow.

So these are just a few things I am thankful for this coming Thanksgiving.  I hope you all take time to reflect on things and people that you are thankful for.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Blake

Well, I want to take this time to brag on Blake.  Sometimes I feel like all I do is focus on the hardships with him and I forget about the wonderful things that makes Blake, Blake :)

Things I Love about Blake:

1) His imagination, He is constantly coming up with creativity stories and loves telling me all about things that are going on usually with his cars.

2) The way he loves his sister,  he hugs on her and gives her kisses and tells her he loves her, and cracks up when she smiles at him.

3) His loving spirit, He likes to give hugs and kisses and tells me he loves me and that he is happy, which is the most rewarding feeling to know that your child is happy. :)

4) His ability to handle change (most of the time), I was soo afraid that having Adalynn would be hard on him, but he has been soo good to handle the change and has really just gone with the flow of things.


5) His cute little sayings and actions.  He does soo many cute things I cant list them all, but I have to say my favorite right now is when we tell him to run for a touchdown, he stops and touches the ground, cracks me up everytime.

6) his fun nature, he loves to be outside enjoying the nature (which he did not get this from me).  He likes swimming and running, climbing, jumping, swinging, just about any outdoor activity he will do it.

7) His love of movies, I love cuddling on the couch with him and watching movies, which right now are RIO, Veggietales Christmas episode, and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

8) His progress he has been making with his therapist,  he got really good reports yesterday and from someone that only seems to get bad news with Blake I cherish the good news that I get :)

9) His sweet nature, He doesnt like to see people upset, when he sees someone crying he always asks whats wrong usually followed by a hug.

10) His funny attitude, He just is soo funny! I sometimes dont know where he comes up with some of the things he says, like the time Adalynn would not stop crying and he asked where her off button was,,priceless :)

I love my little guy soo much and I hope I am being the kind of mother he needs me to be.  Even though I have had my ups and downs with him I would not trade one single moment! The day he was born I found my true calling in life,,, to be a mom!

3:40 the new 8:00

well here I sit blogging because Adalynn decided that it would be fun to get up at 3:40 am and not go back to sleep.  I have to admit though this is not the norm so I cant complain to much.  Usually I feed her around 9:00 pm and she goes 6 hrs before her next feeding, but last night she was up every 4.

If this had happened when Blake was little I wouldnt have worried too much, because I would just sleep when he did and didnt have to worry about taking care of another kiddo, but now that isnt really an option, so whenever Blake decides to get up will be the start of my day.  Thankfully, he usually doesnt get up until 8 or 9 so maybe I can get in a few ZZZs now that Adalynn seems to have FINALLY gone to sleep.

On a side note, Jeff, Blake, Adalynn, and I all went to dinner last night because I had a rough day, and I have to brag that it was a very good experience.  I think 2 things helped with his restuarant behavior.  1) We let him bring his leappad so he could watch and play games which kept him entertained and 2) I told him I was putting the wooden spoon in the diaper bag and if he didnt behave I would take him to the bathroom and use it, well he didnt like that idea at all (thanks mom, for the idea).  So Jeff and I had quite a pleasant dining experience, which is very rare because normally, he screams and tries to run all over the place.  I also finished my second book, the strong willed child, and it gave some good parenting tips and ideas on how to deal with this personality, highly recommend it.  I will be starting my third book today, Dare to discipline, and I am thinking we have had soo much success with Blake with just the first 2 books, by the time I read and apply these new techniques I might not have anythng to blog about, which would be fine with me.  :)

Living in a Fog

For the past 2 days mommyhood has really hit me hard.  I dont ever remember being this tired in my life, not even when Blake was a little guy did I feel this way. As I have mentioned we have been trying out some new techniques with Blake to help control his behavior, and it is physically and emotionally exhausting.

 He has really been pushing the limits, but seemed to be making progress at least while we are at home.  We have been doing time-out and he took it pretty well with me, but last night I told Jeff he needed to also be seen as a disciplinarian to Blake and not just the playmate.  Blake did not take this change in role well, he pushed every button possible with his daddy.  After a long battle of time-out and toys being taken away it ended with Blake going to bed early and without dinner since he chose not to sit at the table with the rest of us.

Adalynn also is going through a clingy phase and doesnt want to be out of my sight or arms, which is very tiring.  I tried to do an infant carrier with her and she freaked out.  I mean if the neighbors would of heard her they would of thought I was doing some serious damage to her.  She hasnt been taking good naps either maybe 45 mins at the most.  So it doesnt give me much of a break.

So moving on to today, the kids had their wellness checkups which all and all they got a good report. However, as soon as we entered the building I had my first challenge with Blake.

Blake sees his ENT in the same building as his regular doctor and usually when we see the ENT we use the stairs since it is just located on the 2nd floor, but his regular doctor is located on the 4th floor so we use the elevator.  Well Blake threw a fit because he wanted to use the stairs and he threw himself into a temper tantrum.  He wouldnt get up so her I am with my big 5'2" self carrying Blake, Adalynn in the infant carrier and my diaper bag down the hall.  The men in the building just looked at me like I was crazy, but thankfully there were some understanding women that helped and provided enouraging words.  Needless to say I was very embarressed.

Once we got into the doctor's office things werent much better, he didnt want to do anything the doctor or I asked, again I was thankful that the doctor seemed to understand and not judge me.  I truly am trying soo hard to be a good mom and raise him up right, but I am feeling like such a failure.  He truly is a strong-willed child.  My next action will be using a wooden spoon for spankings and taking it with me when we go places and letting him know that if he misbehaves I will use it.  My mom did this with us kids and I feel like we turned out pretty good so maybe it will work for Blake.

I truly feel though these past 2 days I am just living in a fog.  I am soo tired in all aspects that I barely have any energy to do anything, but just keep my children alive.  I am hoping as I continue to apply the techniques with Blake and Adalynn gets older that my life will slowly be less chaotic and more peaceful.  Fingers crossed :)

Making Chilren mind without losing yours

I have posted in previous post about having issues with my four yr old son and following rules, well after a terrible and embarressing session with Blake's therapist, my wonderful mom bought me three books to hopefully help with Blake's behavior. 

The first book I read was titled making children mind without losing yours.  It is all about giving children choices and letting them deal with natural and logical consequences.  So I have been applying some of the theories with Blake, and today at his therapy session I won a mini-battle with him.

Normally when it is time for Blake to walk in his class, he says "NO" and runs all over the place and I end up having to physically drag him into the class, and then he usually ends up giving his teachers a hard time too, but today when his teacher decided it was time to start and I could see it in Blake's eyes that he was about to start his normal game of lets embarress mom. I calmly told Blake, " Blake, you can either sit next to me in this chair, quietly, or you can go play some fun games with Ms. Lindsey." Blake looks at me, and says I want to sit by you.  I said ok, but we are going to sit here quietly while I read my book.  Well he wasnt in his chair for 30 seconds before he was asking to go play with Ms. Lindsey.  He walked in the classroom all by himself and didnt give his teacher as much trouble. So it was a big step for Blake and it allowed me to see that all is not lost with him.

So I am now reading my second book entitled The new strong-willed child by James Dobson.  I am hoping my the time I finish all my books and apply the techniques that I will have a well behaved little boy that I am not embarressed to take out on outings with me :)  Fingers crossed. :)

Halloween fun and baby weight day 2

Last night was Halloween and the kids had a great time.  Blake was a jedi, Adalynn was a sweet ladybug, and their cousin Madison was wonder woman.  Blake and Madison went trick or treating, while Adalynn, Marianne, and I stayed at the house and passed out candy.

Blake enjoyed getting to go up to each house and saying Trick or treat.  Jeff said Blake thought it was a game and kept asking, "Can we play Trick or Treat again?"  He went up to one house that had the great pumkin scene from Charlie Brown and he just thought that was the neatest thing, the poor guy that answered the door to that house got an earful from Blake talking all about Charlie Brown.  It was nice of the guy to stand there and listen to Blake's story.  :)

Blake did really well with most of the houses until he came across one with a scary skeleton on the porch that pretended to be fake, but it didnt fool Blake he knew something wasnt right about that skeleton so he wouldnt go up to that door.  I would like to think that the skeleton would of realized that Blake is little and scarying him would not of been a good idea, but Blake wasnt going to take a chance with it anyways. :) All in all though he had a great time and says he wants to Trick or Treat Again! :)

On a side note, this is the second day I have been able to get a workout in on my wii fit and in less than a week I have already lost nearly a pound.  I figure this is pretty good.  Blake enjoys working out with me and stands on his leaptop and acts like it is his wii fit.  He also says "Good Job Mommy." when I finish an activity.  He is a great motivator! :) So my goal is to lose another 1.5lbs by Thanksgiving, and I feel like this is totally doable, especially since I have gotten Blake on board to workout too, and he doesnt bother me for other things for 30 mins.  :)