You're Doing OK, Mom

I think that Ben came a long when he did to reassure me of this. His sweet smile and Carlyle's sweet little voice certainly remind me of why I do it.

My Mom told me about this Johnsons and Johnsons commercial that aired during the Oscars. I definitely get choked up when I watch it.

Big Sister Advice

I meant to share this before, but Susanna Grace sent Carlyle this sweet letter along with a Big Sister book when Ben was born.

Feeding the Ducks

We try to take Carlyle to feed the ducks as much as we can, especially with this mild weather we've had this winter.

I think the ducks are pretty aggressive at White Rock Lake, so we try to keep our distance. 

I remember the first time I took her, we were by ourselves, and she (on her own) named the Mommy duck (the white one), the Daddy duck (brown feathers), the Gramma one (speckled feathers), and "the Thicken!" (she thought the one with a red neck was a chicken).

Cute Scootin'

My Reading List

I did not read parenting books while pregnant with Carlyle or Ben.  I know myself too well, and I knew that I would try to take the advice word-for-word and stress out when I didn't follow the guidelines.  The past several months with a toddler have proven to be more difficult, and I am turning to books, articles, or parents for any advice or help.

I downloaded the Secrets of the Baby Whisperer for Toddlers on my iPad.  I think feeling prepared and educated is half the battle.  I found that if I feel like I have the right tools to use, then I don't feel as helpless when faced with a toddler tantrum.  

For Carlyle's personality... Ignore. Ignore the bad behavior and tantrums.  Any attention, whether bad or good, is attention.  We'll see though... its a work in progress.

And most recently, my friend Jen sent me this article.  The newly published book is called Bringing Up Bebe, and I am very tempted to buy it.  The article and video attached (click here) is very interesting.

I am intrigued. 

Late Night with Mommy and Daddy

After sister goes to bed, Ben has one-on-one time with Mommy and Daddy.  

Aside from this past week, Ben had been waking every 3 to 4 hours a night since the Christmas holidays.  Where before Christmas, I had him sleeping from about 10-5, then 5:30-7:30, and I wasn't complaining.  This past month, I felt like I had a newborn all over again.  Partially my fault, because I "untrained him" during our stay in Natchez by waking up to feed him at the slightest squeak or squirm.  I was afraid he'd wake up Carlyle or Justin, and we were all sleeping upstairs in the loft. After almost 8 nights of this, he reverted back to his early sleeping habits.  

I attribute some of his recent sleeping habits to being sick off and on since the holidays, but regardless of the reason, I was determined to fix it.  I turned to the internet looking for sample schedules for babies.  Its been very difficult this time around to establish a schedule with Ben.  We are on-the-go with Carlyle and preoccupied, and I hadn't really paid attention to how often he was eating or sleeping.  I found a great method called E.A.S.Y. from the Baby Whisperer.

Ben is eating about every 3 or 3.5 hours and [6 out the past 7 days] he has been sleeping from 9:30ish until 7am, then taking an hour or so morning nap.  Finally, some quality sleep for Mommy... the first in almost a year because I am a restless pregnant sleeper too!

She Said

"You OK, Sweetie Momma?" or "Mommy, you OK, Sweetheart?"
"No, not yet." - she says this way too many times a day instead of no.
"Daddy, hold you?" - Daddy, hold me.
"Azza-rah-rah" - Our dear friend Alexandra's name has progressed from just "Azza"
"Look, just like Santa does." - While we were pretend-cooking, she recognized that the oven mitts look a lot like Santa's gloves.
"Hey Mommy, is that funny?"
"Is that scary, Mommy?"
"Hey Daddy, is that silly?"
"Mommy, brush your hair." or "Put your hair down, Mommy." - She demands this way too often.  I keep reminding her that Mommy doesn't like to wear her hair down, but sometimes I give in to avoid a fit.
"Sing the Daddy song." or "Sing the Mommy song." or "Sing Baby Ben song." or insert any name of someone that happens to be on her mind at bedtime (Tinkerbell, Prince Eric, her teacher Miss Pati). The only problem is that I can't remember from night to night what tune I used to make up the song.  I know she is catching on because she can remember a tune the first time she hears it!  AND Justin's version of songs is different than mine.
"The Baby one. The Mommy one. The Daddy one. And the Grandma one." - As she has for some time now, she continues to categorize things by size and name this way.  Usually the largest one is the Daddy and the smallest one is the baby.  Mommy and Grandma fall somewhere in between.