Easter 2013...

Our Easter this year will be pretty low key. My family usually has a gathering of sorts, but it's not happening this year, so it will just be my sweet family of three at my house. And possibly my mom. But we will still have a nice little celebration.

First on the agenda will be Leland's Easter basket! I'm linking up with Sarah over at Our Journey for the 2013 Easter Basket Link Party!

So here is Leland's Easter basket this year {the Easter Bunny sent me these pictures so I could share them on the blog}...

The Easter bunny was good to Leland with:

• Some classic Dr. Seuss - Go, Dog, Go! {Side note: I actually hate this book. It's very long and it doesn't rhyme. But kids love it, so I sucked it up for Leland}
• Children's Bible
• Little People Wheelies - I'm slightly obsessed with Little People toys, so for each holiday, I try to build his collection a little bit.
• Toy keys, because he obsessed with mine, and these he can chew on safely
• Classic corn popper toy - Leland loves anything he can push around and anything that makes noise. This should be a winner. It might drive me and Dave crazy, but I think it will be worth it.
• Pinwheel - this I saw for 97 cents on my way out of the store the other day and I couldn't resist, because I know Leland will love it.

And that Easter Bunny is always sure to take care of mom, too...

I'm also going to have a small Easter egg hunt for Leland in the house. If we didn't still have two feet of snow in our yard, I would try it outside. Maybe next year. I had a hard time figuring out what to put in his eggs. Growing up, I always got eggs filled with candy and quarters, but Leland is too young for that. So I'm going to just fill them with Cheerios, puffs, and other snacks that he can have. He won't mind - he just likes to shake them. And he loves the surprise when they open. 

And while we're on the subject of Easter, Leland visited the Easter Bunny the other day. I thought for sure he would cry, but to my surprise, he just laughed hysterically. He saw the bunny and laughed and laughed. So I put him on the bunny's lap, anticipating a "strange-white-furry-thing-is-holding-me" freak out, but he just continued laughing and smiling. Wahoo! So I managed to get a couple cute pictures.

You're only allowed to take two pictures with your own camera {I don't know about anyone else, but I am not paying for their pictures, so I just try to make sure my two pictures are good ones}, so I got my two pictures and we said goodbye. I could not believe how much he loved it! I'm sure next year will be different; he'll be two years old and be all shy or testy. But hey, I got some good ones this year. :)

Happy Easter, blog friends!

15 months...

It's hard to believe my boy is already 15 months old! Here is what he's been up to:

• Weight: 22 lbs. 14 oz. {52%} - he has only gained 6 oz. since December! Must be all that walking!
• Height: 32 inches {80%} - 1.25" taller than December.

• Wearing mostly size 18-24 month clothes. However, I think since he's getting taller, he's thinning out a little. His pants are starting to look baggier than they did.
• Wearing size 5 diapers.
• Loves to do the chicken dance. Oh my gosh, it is so adorable!

The only video I could get. Every time he sees the phone or camera, he comes running over. Usually he bounces a little more, but it's probably a good thing he didn't bounce so much here, since he was on the table and all.

• Not many words yet. Still says mama and dada consistently, and now says "all done" and a few other babbly sounds that sometimes sound like something, and sometimes don't.

• Signs a lot of things that we haven't actually taught him, like "all done" and "more." I have shown him these a handful of times, but kind of gave up, and now he does them a lot.
• Shakes his head for no, and instead of nodding, he kind of rocks his whole upper body back and forth.
• Blows kisses {with the muah sound and everything}.
• Had his third ear infection this month. Hopefully it's the last.
• Molars are {still} coming in.

• Likes any toys he can bang together. Loves to clap his hands too.
• New favorite place to play: in the drawer underneath the stove. He pulls it out and just sits on top of all the pans.

• Also loves to play in the laundry basket. I push him up and down the hall and he laughs and laughs!
• As of this week, he is no longer nursing. Last week, when I had conferences, Dave put him to bed with a bottle and he did great with it. I think he probably would nurse forever, but I don't think he was getting enough from me. He is sleeping better and seems happier now that he is getting a bottle before bed. I am a little sad to be done nursing, but considering my goal was 12 months, I'd say 15 months is pretty awesome.
• Sleeping is AMAZING! Sleeps 11-12 hours at night and takes two naps during the day. Usually 1.5-2 hours. We are finally getting good rest at night.
• Brings more joy to my days than I could ever have imagined. Even with the tantrums and fussiness these molars seem to be causing. He is the best part of my day, every single day.

Teething and Tantrums...

Oh, these molars will be the death of me. I'm pretty sure Leland is getting all four molars in right now, and let's just say it hasn't been easy on anyone in the house.

I know that Leland is at the age where he wants things and doesn't understand why he can't have them, so he will throw fits. That's just where he is in his little life right now. But I think teething has made it worse. He will throw fits over the tiniest things and it can be so hard to calm him down. He's been wanting his pacifier a lot lately, which is usually reserved for sleep. But I guess it's okay for him to use more often if it's just a short-term thing. I do not want him walking around all day with paci, but if it helps a little during this teething phase, I'm okay with it.

Besides the fits though, he's also very clingy and whiny. He will play by himself and be perfectly content a lot of times, but then there are times when he just absolutely wants me. Most of these times occur when I'm trying to make lunch or dinner and I really can't comfort him very easily.

And then, probably the strangest of all, is when he's playing very contently and suddenly starts whining or crying. Like, out of nowhere. He does this a lot lately. I am fairly certain it's his teeth, because he's usually a very happy kid.

Oh, dear Lord, please let these molars come in quickly. I miss my happy baby.

My Thoughts on Gay Marriage...

So, everyone is talking about gay marriage on social media sites today. I don't know what the official name for today is, but it's some kind of social awareness about gay marriage rights. I don't often discuss this, but I feel I should share my two cents. So here are my thoughts - take them as they are, my thoughts. I am just one person with my own opinions. What is it people say about opinions? They're like armpits; maybe you think mine stinks, but I don't really care.

A little background information about me. I am Christian. I grew up Catholic, but do not consider myself Catholic anymore; I don't think there is anything "wrong" with Catholicism, but I don't feel like I fit into that specific set of beliefs.

I am also a teacher. In general, most teachers are liberal-minded. I am not. I am very conservative. I tend to vote Republican because I agree with their stance on most issues. Not all, but certainly more than Democrats. Like abortion - call me crazy, but I just think it's wrong no matter what. But that is a whole other post.

That said {me being a conservative Christian}, on the issue of gay marriage, I just don't see why it is an issue at all. I don't know if it's a choice or if people are born that way, and I don't really care. The point is, everyone deserves to be happy. If they are happy with a person of the opposite sex, great. If they are happy with a person of the same sex, great. It really doesn't make a difference to me. I'm pretty sure God just wants us all to enjoy the life He gave us as long as we're not hurting anyone else. And gay marriage doesn't hurt anyone that I can see. I can't see how it hurts anyone else's marriage/relationships/friendships. Just be happy with your life and let others be happy with theirs.

Why does anyone care who anyone else is or is not marrying? Honestly, what difference does it make in anyone else's life? None. My marriage to Dave didn't have an affect on anyone else's life or marriage or relationship, and I don't think it would make any difference if I had married a woman.

And anyway, who am I to say someone else's relationship is wrong? My marriage certainly isn't perfect. I can't think of one that is. From what I understand, most are far from it. So why should I have a say in who someone else marries?

Furthermore, when I think about issues like gay marriage, I think of my son. What if he is gay? Whether it's his choice or whether he feels he was born that way, will I love him less? No. Will I want him to be unhappy? No. Will I want him to hide who he is or feels comfortable as? No. I want him to enjoy life in whatever way he sees fit. If he wants to become a dancer or a minister or a doctor, I don't care. If he is gay or straight or isn't sure or decides to never marry, I am happy as long as he is happy. As long as he is not going around bullying or hurting other people, he is just fine. I would hate for him to ever think that he is not okay or not loved. And the thing is...every gay person, every straight person, every person is someone's son or daughter. They deserve to love and be loved in whichever way they choose.

My point is to just be nice. Try to be a good person and do things to make the world a better place. Enjoy your life because God wants you to. And let others enjoy theirs. I don't know about you, but God did not put me in charge of judging anyone else - He's handling that Himself. Thank goodness!

The Love Dare: Week Five

It's been a while since I posted about the Love Dare. I am still working away at it, but have had a hard time finding time to sit and read it. However, here is week five, which leaves only 5 more days, as it is a 40 day dare.

Day 29: Before you see your spouse again today, pray for them by name and for their needs. Say, "I love you," then express love to them in a tangible way.

I prayed for Dave, just as I have been a lot lately. That he can find a way to be calm and enjoy his life, and not let stress get the best of him. That he will trust that things will work out. And I told him I loved him, just as I do every day, and then I did my best to express my love to him so that he would know and feel it.

Day 30: Isolate one area of division in your marriage, and look on today as a fresh opportunity to pray about it. 

I guess I can't think of a specific area of division in our marriage. I think that arguments (I don't necessarily mean yelling arguments, just disagreements) divide us at times. I prayed that we would see each other's point of view and not argue for the sake of arguing or trying to be "right."

Day 31: Is there a "leaving" issue that you haven't been brave enough to conquer yet? Confess it to your spouse today and resolve to make it right.

This chapter had to do with leaving past relationships or other human relationships behind and putting your marriage first. I can't say this chapter really pertains to me, so I guess it was a good read, but no real "dare" here for me.

Day 32: If at all possible, try to initiate sex with your spouse today. Do this in a way that honors what your spouse told you about what they need from you sexually. Ask God to make this enjoyable for both of you as well as a path to greater intimacy.

This dare kind of made me laugh. All Dave needs from me is for me to initiate it. He doesn't care how; just as long as it's not him begging or complaining about it.

Day 33: Recognize that your spouse is integral to your future success. Let them know today that you desire to include them in your upcoming decisions, and that you need their perspective and counsel.

I always consider Dave's perspective and respect his opinion. He is one of the most level-headed people I know, and a great decision-maker. I probably don't tell him this though. I told him that I seek his input in many things and always appreciate his helping me see a different perspective.

Day 34: Find a specific, recent example when your spouse demonstrated Christian character in a noticeable way. Verbally commend them for this at some point today.

This one was kind of hard. It's not that my husband doesn't demonstrate Christian character regularly, but I guess it's not something I look for or notice. But it is something I will look for and commend him for when I see it next time.

Day 35: Find a marriage mentor - someone who is a strong Christian and who will be honest and loving with you.

I have many marriage mentors, but they don't necessarily know it. I have friends who I respect and know they treat their marriage with respect. And I have friends who may not be married, but I do respect their opinion, and I do talk to them about myself and Dave at times. I don't necessarily think I need someone to talk to and coach me about my marriage though. I might ask for advice or opinions from others at times, but this chapter suggested actually telling those people that they are your mentors. I think that puts a bit of a strain on a friendship, you know? I just want to be someone's friend, not their mentor, so some people are my secret mentors. :)

Finally...

...it's Spring Break!

March is always a busy month. It's not really fair to call it a month though, since it's really only about three weeks that are spent doing reading evaluations during every free second at school {which means bathroom breaks are scarce}, preparing for conferences {writing notes on every student's academic strengths and challenges for each subject and social skills}, actually holding conferences a couple of nights {I love talking with my classroom parents, but it is exhausting working 13 hour days and talking pretty much nonstop the entire time}, and then just general life stuff.

Add to that a sick baby and no sleep the last few nights, and you get one tired mama who is SO thankful to have the next 10 days off.

Dave stayed home with Leland today because his cough was pretty bad this morning. He said he seemed better and his cough got better as the day went on. Tomorrow he has his ear re-check, which means another shot, I'm sure. BOO! I just hope that our next re-check {which will probably be Monday} will not require a third shot.

The doctor's office and getting shots is the not the best way to start spring break, but at least we'll have the rest of it to rest and recoup.

Sickie...

Leland hasn't been feeling well the last few days. He started coughing a couple of days ago, and I was hoping that it would pass quickly. Yesterday, he had a good day at daycare so I thought we were on an upswing.

But then last night, he woke up more times than I could count coughing and crying, and he could only go back to sleep if I rocked him. He didn't want to nurse; he just wanted his paci and to lay in his mama's arms. I was happy to do it as many times as I needed to. Honestly, I loved every second of snuggling him. He's always on the move these days, and I miss those days when he would just let me hold him.

At 1:30am, he had a fever {he never gets fevers unless he's really sick} and I knew we would be staying home today, so I got up and wrote my sub plans and went back to bed.

When Leland woke up this morning, he was so snotty and was coughing like crazy. He was sad and pouty and whiny and so completely not himself. I felt terrible. He actually sat with me on the couch for about an hour, just cuddling and watching Curious George {He has never watched TV before. It's been on, of course, but he never pays attention to it.}. I decided to make him a doctor's appointment, but couldn't get him in until 3:30.

I almost cancelled it because after his morning nap, he was in a good mood. No more crying or whining, much more active, but he still felt warm, so I decided to take him.

So we went to the doctor and the verdict is...double ear infection. One is just barely infected, but one is a pretty bad one.

I am so frustrated. I thought for sure the doctor was going to suggest tubes, but he actually said that this one seems connected to a bad cold, and he had a three-month stretch in between this one and his last one. So he thinks it's just kind of bad luck this time around. Plus, he said this is only his third one, so it's really not that bad. It's just that the oral antibiotics don't work for him and that's the hard part.

I really feel like the first two ear infections were dairy-related, since he didn't have another one after switching to rice milk until now. And right now, he has a bad cold/cough, so of course there is drainage.

I'm really hoping this is our last bout with ear infections for a looooong time. Or forever. That shot is the worst!

More Milk Decisions...

I mentioned before that we were looking into other options for milk for Leland. He liked whole milk okay, but it seemed too coincidental that he started getting recurring ear infections {that would not go away} right at the same time we transitioned him to milk.

Cow's milk causes mucous and is an inflammatory; both things that can cause an ear infection and prevent it from getting better. And, well, I can deal an ear infection here and there - that's part of life. It's the fact that they took several shots of antibiotic to get rid of them that was hard. I hated taking Leland to the doctor every 2-3 days for those shots. They were absolutely horrible!

So anyway, I tried almond milk and he hated it. I don't blame him; I tried it and it was disgusting. Of course, it was plain, unsweetened almond milk, so it really just tasted like eating nuts.

We put him on rice milk in January. It was the perfect solution at the time. He liked it and it was non-dairy. And he hasn't had an ear infection since.

But I knew that I didn't want him on rice milk forever. It just lacks so many nutrients. I did buy one that was enriched with extra vitamins and minerals, but it still didn't have much fat content. And, at Leland's age, fat content is important for brain development. I do make sure he has healthy fats in his diet like avocado to make up for this.

I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and I wanted to switch him to something else. I decided to try coconut milk. It has higher fat content and more vitamins, but I worried that he wouldn't like it. I had never tried it, so I had no idea if it would be something he would like. I decided to buy vanilla flavored, even though I don't want him to have something super sugary. I figured I could transition him to plain once he actually liked the vanilla.

So anyway, I bought the vanilla, and HOLY COW is it sweet! It's like freakin' dessert. He, of course, loved it, but I felt like it was too sweet. So I also bought a plain one and am currently mixing the two {because I have both}, and next week, we will try just the plain.

This may seem weird, but I am so excited to be switching to coconut milk. I loved that rice milk seemed to help with the ear infections, but I never felt incredibly comfortable having him on rice milk because of the lack  of fat in it {not that Leland needs fat for his body, but he does need it for brain development}. Coconut milk will be a good alternative. And it even has a higher fat content than almond milk!

Coconut milk seems like the perfect solution. I'm hoping it turns out that way.

Sleep at last?

When Leland was an itty bitty newborn, he was a great sleeper. He started sleeping 5-6 hour stretches at night pretty early on, and I was certain we were on the road to a great little sleeper.

At his six month appointment, he was sleeping about 6 hour stretches, and our doctor said he should be sleeping longer. I wasn't terribly concerned though; he was a breastfed baby and ALWAYS hungry, so I was okay with getting up once or twice a night for nursing. Plus, I enjoyed that time of just us in his quiet bedroom at night. It was great bonding for both of us.

However, right around 7 months {right about the time he started getting teeth}, his sleep started to regress and he was getting up every 4 hours, then every 3 hours, and sometimes, he was up every hour or two. It was exhausting, but I knew that his little mouth was hurting and he needed something to soothe him {the boob}. I didn't want to give him Tylenol; I'm pretty much anti-medicine unless necessary. There were maybe two or three times when I gave him Tylenol to help with teething pain. I didn't notice a huge difference. But it was summer vacation, and I could handle less sleep.

Right before school started, Leland miraculously started sleeping 9 hours at night, which was wonderful. I thought we were back on a good sleep pattern.

Then at the end of September, with more teething, sleep started to backslide again to only four hour stretches. Then he got his first ear infection which lasted forever. Then his second ear infection. And well...we haven't had good sleep ever since. I can count on one hand the number of times Leland slept more than 6 hours straight since September. {Although on Christmas Eve, Leland gave me the gift of a 12-hour sleep. I actually woke up before him on Christmas morning.}

A few weeks ago, I just couldn't do it anymore. I was SO tired and I just could not get up 2-3 times a night. I did what I thought I would never do. I made him "cry it out." But my cry it out is not exactly what others do. I could NOT let my baby cry for 20 minutes without helping him; it just didn't seem right. My cry it out was more like waiting a few minutes to see if he actually needed to nurse, or if he was just waking up in the middle of the night missing me. So when he woke up, I didn't get right up. I waited, which was actually REALLY hard to do. He would whimper for a minute and then sleep for a few minutes. Then whimper, then sleep. But he wasn't "crying." So after about ten minutes of the whimper/sleep, I went in and gave him his pacifier. When I left the room, he cried, like REALLY cried, but he fell asleep within 30 seconds. No joke.

For the past two weeks-ish, Leland has been going all night without needing to nurse. He sometimes sleeps all night long, and sometimes wakes up at 2:30-3:00 and goes right back to sleep. A few times, I have had to go in and give him his pacifier at 3:00, but he doesn't cry when I walk out. He just goes right back to sleep.

I also figured out that, not only does he like to be covered up with a blanket {just like me, no matter how warm I am, I HAVE to have a blanket}, but he likes to snuggle his face on one as well. So I now have one blanket that he can lay his face on {and rub his hands on, because he likes to do that too}, and then one to cover him up with.

We're not out of the woods yet. I know that he's still not consistently sleeping ALL night. But we're getting closer. He is now sleeping all night more often than not, which is a huge relief for me.

End of Discussion!

Yesterday, one of my first grade students was upset with me. I don't remember why, but he was mad and pulled his fleece vest over his face and refused to look at me.

When I continued on with my lesson, he was a little perturbed at not getting any attention for this behavior, and said, "I am NOT looking at you!" And then some other words came mumbling out that I couldn't quite decipher thanks to the fleece over his face.

So I said, "Did you just say I'm disgusting?" {That seriously was what it sounded like.}

The boy replied, "No! You're beautiful! I said 'END OF DISCUSSION!'"

I about died laughing. Apparently, he wasn't too mad at me if he still thought I was beautiful. And he got over it a few minutes later.