My Girls!

Ryan and Bekah are growing up so quickly!! It is that time of year when I start thinking that Ryan will be another year older this summer and I quickly get sad because I dont want her to grow up. I cant believe she will be 4 in July! She tells me very often that God just made her this way and she just has to grow up. Ryan has really started coming out of her shell. I would no longer describe her as shy. She is far from it so much so that we have really started talking to her about strangers. She has really started discovering that she doesnt need help with anything and wants to do everything herself. This is hard because it usually ends up with a big mess to clean or takes twice as long. But I stop myself often to allow her to try. This last week I asked Scott if she would ever be quiet. I swear for 4 days straight she never stopped talking. I dont just mean conversating with me I mean talking so much and fast I coudnt get any words in and she was gasping and stuttering most of the time! I just wanted some silence! But I also thought it was very cute! She still loves Ballet, school, helping Scott and I do anything, the Allens, being outside, riding her bike (long distances!), talking, singing, playing pretend house, school, church and ballet, church, eating out at Chinese and Mexican. He favorite meal in the world right now is Beans and rice! Ryan is a joy in my life!!

Bekah! This girl is crazy!! Someone said at church that she is my quiet and shy one! Hahahahah! Yah she is in public and around strangers but as soon as she steps foot into our house she is wild!!! She never stops moving, jumping, running, dancing, laughing, galloping, spinning in circles, and standing on her head! We read her a book and she paces around the room. She will not sit on our laps for more than a page of reading, but if you stop reading while she is pacing she gets quite upset. She is going to be so hard to homeschool!! She doesnt even sit to play a game! Bekah is the most persistant child I know. If she wants something she will say it over and over, and over, and over no matter what you tell her she will keep repeating it. She doesnt start yelling it or throwing a fit she just continually repeats herself as if we just might change our minds. I will say it drives me CRAZY! How many times can I repeat the same thing without raising my voice. Sometimes I really think it is a test. Other times though Scott and I agree it is kinda cute. She can be mean too! She is a great biter and pincher! She has left some blood on Ryan many times. But Bekah couldnt live without Ryan. She would do anything for her in a second. If Ryan cries because she isnt getting what she wants then Bekah will give it to her. If Bekah is given anything she always asks for one for Ryan. She hates when Ryan leaves her and always asks about her. Bekah loves to be outside unless it is raining (she is scared to death of the rain right now!) Bekah has grown up way to fast because she has to keep up with Ryan. She definitely seems like a 3 yr old in a 2 yr old's body. She is agreat mommy to her baby! She tries to nurse her from her belly button, feeds her, clothes her, kisses her a million times a day, takes her everywhere, sleeps with her, and plays house, church, ballet, grocery, and school with her. Oh yes and most importantly this girl loves the mud!!! She asks to play in the mud everytime she goes outside. She loves to dig in it with her finger nails! yuck!! Bekah is such a beautiful girl and so much fun!

Frustration to determination!

My perfect baby has changed to a not so perfect baby. He seems to have a preference about food and doesnt care if he sleeps all night anymore. It is hard when Ive been spoiled for 6 months. Ive tried so many different ways to feed this boy and nothing seems to be the answer. If he eats solids he doesnt nurse well and if I only nurse him he gets mad because he wants food. But not baby food. Our food which is still too flavorful for his tummy. He loves fruit but I dont want him only eating fruit either. He is such a big boy so I have been very surprised to see him struggle to eat both solids and nurse without getting too full. He'll go 5-6 hrs during the day without eating sometimes so of course in the night he wants to make up for it. That does not make me too happy. Not only has this frustrated me immensly but he has found a way to entertain himself while nursing. He has always been a puller and tugger so I have had to nurse in a position I dont really enjoy but Im able to hold his head in tightly so he cannot pull and tugg. But since growing new teeth (as Ryan would say) he has started biting me when I hold his head in. If I dont hold in his head then he goes right back to pulling and tugging. Youd think after 7 months he would know how to latch on correctly without my help!! Nope not at all! He also enjoys pinching my neck while nursing. So to add to it Im trying to hold his head in, hold his hand, and hold his strong body with only 2 arms! All this to say that I woke up this morning completely frustrated, tired, and declared I was switching to formula. For once, Scott did not say anything instead just said he was sorry it has been so difficult lately. Because of a bad night Scott stayed home with Caleb while Ryan, Bekah, and I went to church. The message was just what I needed to feel like I can finish my year out for Caleb and for myself. Steve talked about how our natural selfish person does what we "feel" like doing instead of taking up our Cross and doing what God wants us to do no matter what. He gave a handful of examples but all I could think of was nursing. Surprisingly that wasnt one of his examples (haha), but he spoke right to me. Yes I want to quit because it is getting harder than it was, but is it as hard as it ever was with Bekah? Yes I want to quit because it hurts, but its the best thing I can do for Caleb. He doesnt know he's hurting me. God has given me a great milk supply and I need to use it. This Cross Im going through right now seems so small compared to the Cross Jesus actually carried, but it is real for me right now. I had a much better day today and realized after the time of reflection that I only have 4 months to go before I can start weaning and holy cow I cant believe it! Where has time gone? I will hang in there and when I look back I will be glad I did!! God is so so good!!!!!!!

We figured it out!

So I had written earlier that I was going to scream if we didnt figure out nap/rest time for Bekah soon. After several different approaches we found that something that is working very well!! However, I will say it is something I said I would never ever do! That is why I should quit saying never. It has bitten me in the butt more than once since having children. So here it is: At 1pm I take Bekah in her room and rock her to sleep. Crazy I know but it is the only thing that has worked. I was afraid if we did it then she would want it at night too but she has never asked. I rock her and she asks me to sing Jesus Loves Me. By the second to third time I sing it she is usually out! So she is now asleep by 1:10pm instead of 2:30pm after fighting me for an hour and a half. If she is still asleep at 3pm we wake her up so that she will fall asleep that evening at 8pm. Since implementing this we have not had a single issue with this girl. She stays in her bed with no problems at night and goes right to sleep and she is not over tired during the day from no nap. This means less fighting with Ryan! I kind of enjoy the time with her to rock her since time alone with Bek's comes very few times during a week. Now Im not angry and frustrated and neither is Bekah. Now I usually get my 30min-1hr break at 2pm when Ryan watches Cailou and Word World all depending on how long Caleb sleeps!! I also get almost a full hour of one on one time with Ryan before her tv/rest time starts. So in the end everyone wins!!!
Bekah is such a crazy girl!!! She cant even sit still to play a game. She paces around the room while she waits for her turn! Oh she is going to be fun to homeschool!

6 Month Check Up!

Caleb is 6 months old and I can hardly believe it! The first year always goes by way too quickly! He weighed in at 17 lbs 6 oz and 27 1/2 in long. Not too bad! His weight slowed a little but that obviously is not an issue! He didnt have much of an appetite these last 3 weeks due to getting two teeth! He is so cute with his new little teeth. But he did not grow those things without letting us know. He didnt sleep, play, or eat well, but we loved him anyway. It was hard to deal with bc we have been so spoiled by such a perfect baby. His newest milestones are rolling over, holding and eating toys very well, pulling my hair and pinching my neck while nursing, hollering to make sure he is heard, and eating baby food. We gave up on cereal and went straight to the baby food which has proven to be what he wants. Since starting the baby food though he is no longer on a daily predictable schedule which I must drives me crazy. It is hard when one day he wakes up at 7am and then the next at 8:30am. Ive decided to quit worrying about it and eventually he will get himself on a schedule again. He still takes 3 naps a day most days of the week which is crazy!! He still cannot sit up on his own but is getting closer. It is hard to believe since both girls did by 5 1/1 months old. I hope this just means he will crawl late too! Im not in any hurry for that! By the way he is such a cutie pie!!!