Almost February already?

So I've realized that I'm already behind on quite a few of my "resolutions" and it's not even the end of January! Ugh, I *kind of* wish I wouldn't have put them out there publically but maybe that's a good thing. I realized the other day that I hadn't posted in a while and I only wrote 2 for the month so far so here I am...watching Jace play, er...make that sit on the table with his trains (when he's supposed to be playing with the Moon Dough he so desperately begged me to get out) and listening to Dora prattle on about godknowswhat. It's a cold, snowy day here in this great mitten state and I have no energy, whatsoever, to get anything done for the day. I have managed to put in a load of laundry but it's been finished for at least 1/2 an hour now and I'm just too lazy to get up and put it in the dryer. Oh well.

(and I apologize for the HORRIBLE, grainy picture -my biggest complaint about my beloved Blackberry)

BUSTED!!!


Anyway, I also wanted to give a quick skating update...Jace is doing wonderfully at his lessons! The first week was kind of rough - he did NOT like the idea of falling - but by week 2 there was a huge improvement. I have been practicing all sorts of silly things to say with him like "I will do my best...even if I fall, I will get back up and try again!"...my inner cheerleader has had to make an appearance. LOL Whatever it takes, right? We are looking forward to next Monday, as it will already be the 1/2 way point! Maybe if I feel adventerous this weekend, I'll take him for a free open skate. We'll see! :)

Skating Lessons are Official

Today was a day filled with good food, family and fun. Jace and I had a date planned with Nanny (my paternal grandmother) for lunch and whatever else we wanted to do. On days like this I realize how truly blessed I am to have both my grandmothers in my life. They are both active, lively, fun ladies who are also good friends. Anyway, lunch at Johnny Carino's was fabulous, then we went to sign Jace up for his lessons and decided to hit up Barnes & Noble after we were finished...I could spend HOURS in there! Nanny and I are a bad combination in that store, for sure. We are both book lovers and especially children's book lovers (which is the section we were seeking today). She found some wintery classics, a snowman and a Charlie Brown Christmas wooden puzzle (to keep at her house for Jace's visits) so I would say that the trip was successful and we were able to pull ourselves away (and Jace from the Thomas train table) without too much damage! :) On our way home we decided to stop by my aunt and uncle's house to see pictures of their grandbaby - their first grandbaby - who is visiting with her momma from North Dakota for a bit. Unfortunately we weren't able to see Maegan and Emmalyn but we will get to see them on Saturday. Jace played hard with Uncle Joel, Clay and their puppy, Molly and I had a nice visit with Aunt Kai and Rachel.

On the way home to drop Nanny off, I got a text from my mom saying she and Dad were meeting up with...now stay with me here...my aunt's sister, husband and her daugther. Hey, I've grown up in a very different way than most people - I know all of my cousin's extended families and have been around them my entire life and I love it! We visited with them for a bit and then I finally headed home to get my very sleepy little boy ready for bath and bedtime.

What a Difference a Year Makes?

*sheepish grin* Hi, there! Has it really been 6 months since my last post??? Whoops...I guess this SAHM thing isn't as easy as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I just don't know how time gets away from me like that. Anyway, one of my New Year's Resolutions (I hate that term but whatever) is to blog more...so I'm publicly setting a goal of *at least* 4 blogs per month. Not too lofty and definitely achievable. So here is blog 1 for week 1 of 2011.

I guess I don't even know where to begin since I'm out of practice but we'll start with a Jace update. He turned 3 on 12/29/10, is potty trained (I know, I already blogged about that 6 months ago but it's still exciting), talks NON-STOP and eats (well...eats *a little*). Oh and I CUT HIS HAIR...ok, so I only trimmed about an inch and a half off the ends about 2 months ago but that's HUGE for me! After the many tears I shed after that bold move, I have decided that was enough for now. :)

I'm in the midst of putting together all the finishing details for his big b-day party (which is Sunday) so hopefully everything comes together without a hitch. We'll see...when you put 10 toddlers/babies and about 50 adults in one room there are no guarantees. :) We are putting him in ice-skating lessons (which perfectly fits my "Winter Fun" theme for the party hehe) and those will start next Monday so wish us luck! One of his little buddies will be in the class with him so hopefully that will help.

On a side note, Jay has a HUGE interview next Wednesday and I can't stress enough how desperately our family needs him to get this job so your prayers are GREATLY appreciated. I'll be sure to post updates.

I guess that's all for now...no major changes for us, just living life!

Not a baby anymore

WOW...has it really been 4 months since my last post??? I guess time really has gotten away from me. Where should I begin?



Well, for starters, Jace is POTTY TRAINED!!! Yep, we did it. It was a little later than I had originally anticipated but 2 1/2 isn't too bad. He also is talking up a storm. It's so fun to see his true personality finally coming out. He is a very funny kid with A LOT to say! (I don't know where he gets that from...) hehe

Not much else is going on with us...just trying to enjoy summer and slow down time. Jace has been enjoying our new (to us) pool and is getting more confident in the water. I know this sounds "cliche" but I wish I could just freeze time for a bit. I find myself just sitting back, watching him sometimes and realizing that he's not my baby anymore. One thing he does, though, which secretly makes my heart melt is crawl up in my lap and sign "baby". What he wants me to do is cradle him in my arms and hold him like a baby. (This is funny to me because when he WAS a baby, he hated being held like that.) No, it isn't easy to cradle a lanky, 29 lb, 2 1/2 year old in my arms like that but I do it each and every time. Those are the moments that make every ounce of stress, worry, anger and everything else just disappear.

2 year check-up

So for everyone who's been concerned, wondering or even just slightly curious, here is my follow-up to the "Eating Strike" blog. It's been long overdue but I finally am getting a chance to give everyone (or at least the handful of my faithful followers) an update...

I took Jace to his two year check-up a couple of weeks ago and here is how it went:

We got to the appointment on time, in fact we were early which never EVER happens when I have to take Jace by myself anywhere. We waited a short while before we were called to our room and Jace entertained himself by rolling on the floor (YEAH, GROSS) and flirting with a teenage girl and her mother. I was thinking "Wow, not too bad...so far so good." (That thought was short lived.)

The nurse (who was actually very friendly and caring which has NOT been our experience at our peditrician's office but I'll talk more about that in a second) came in and asked me to take Jace's clothes off down to his diaper so he could get weighed and measured. No problem...clothes removed, now just waiting on kind nurse to return.

Still waiting...Jace is starting to get cold and irritated over the fact that the door is open. *Come on lady, I have a cold 2 year old in here who cannot be contained for long*

Ok, here she is.
We take Jace to the scale...I'm feeling kind of nervous since I know my child doesn't eat.
HOLY COW - 27.8 lbs!!!
Now, to most people this wouldn't be that exciting. 27.8 lbs pretty average for a normal 2 year old, but MY son has always, always been in the low (5th-10th) percentile his entire life. I know you're not supposed to compare kids since they're each unique and different but this is HUGE for us!!!

Next we have to take him back to the room to measure him. *holding breath*
32 1/4 inches!!! WOO HOO Ok, cool, I can breathe for a moment...those are great stats!!!

Now the nurse tells me that she has to take a blood sample...oh boy, here we go.
Every time they do this he loses it! *Great*

WHAT?!?! You're going to prick his finger, not just take it from his toe like you have before? *This is not going so well...Mommy doesn't handle this kind of stuff as well as Daddy does. Where's Jay when I need him? Now I know why I used to make him take Jace to the appointments.*

So now I have to hold him AND try to get him distracted from what's about to go down. He happily gives her his finger and then IT HAPPENS...

The quick prick was nothing, it was the bright red stuff flowing from his finger that put him over th edge. PURE SHOCK (remember this kid isn't vaccinated and hasn't been to the doctor in a year). He wasn't just crying because he was scared and hurt, I truly believe he was so traumatized that this nice lady would do such a horrible thing to him.

Now we all know that she was just doing her job and I'm sure she feels bad for having to the bad guy all the time but he doesn't know this. He trusted her and she shattered that trust BIG TIME.

Ok, the nurse is long gone at this point and I'm still stuck in this room with a cold, injured (you'd think she actually cut his finger off by the way he was screaming), bleeding, crying 2 year old. This doctor better get here fast.

I'm trying to console him and also keep my thoughts together for this doctor. This is my first time seeing her. We have seen two of the other doctors in this facility and so far I have not been impressed. These doctors came highly recommended to us by someone I admire and trust and we also heard many, many other praises about this office from quite a few people we know. Sadly, we have not had these wonderful experiences that everyone else has had. The nurse we always see is rude, we can't understand the doctor's very well and they never tell us what's wrong with Jace (when he has been sick), it's always been "just a cold" when they, in fact, have previously missed a double ear infection. :/ Jace has always been a very healthy child, so far, so the couple of times we HAVE taken him in have been *what I consider* pretty serious. We're definitely not the types of parents that take him in for every little sniffle since we try to a) do things naturally to prevent sickness and b) do things naturally to help the sickness pass quickly.

Anyway, Jace is completely inconsolable at this point, the doctor is still not coming and I'm starting to get anxious.

Oh thank God, here she is. She's young AND speaks perfect English...I think I'm going to like her!

We go over the standard stuff: vaccinations (she didn't criticize me at all), what he's doing, saying, and here it comes...the dreaded eating. I'm ready for her to really give me what-for about his diet (or lack of). I talk in detail about what he will eat and won't eat, what I do to get him to eat, how often, how long this has been going on, how long he was breastfed, etc. Oh, all the while, Jace is STILL screaming and crying and grabbing my face to look at him and his finger. I'm starting to not feel as sorry for him at this point since it's been a good 20-30 minutes!

She actually told me that it's OK! Everything I'm doing is wonderful and to keep up the good work. Her only suggestion/question was if I had considered putting him on Flinstones and I told her he was on a multi from Better Health as well as one with the Omegas. She was very impressed and said that we were doing more than the majority of parents would do. She could tell how concerned I was and reassured my fears by stating the same thing that I've heard from everyone else but it was just different coming from her. I'm not normally one to put so much weight into one person's opinion but I cannot put into words the relief I felt at that moment. I know it sounds so cliche but I literally felt soooo much lighter after talking with her.

Jace never did calm down during this entire time. It wasn't until we got all the way back to the car and he was buckled in his seat and got his movie started did he finally quit crying. All that for one little finger prick...could you imagine how he'd react to a vaccination??? IF we decide later on to do one or two vaccinations, I think I'll skip that and make his daddy take him. LOL

After all the excitement from the doctor's office I decided we needed a McDonald's treat (sweet tea and fries cures all, right??) and a quick trip to Target before we went home to take a nap...I definitely deserved it, after all. :)

Eating Strike

I don't want to sound like one of those people who are constantly complaining but I cannot take it anymore...I have a child that doesn't eat. I don't mean that he's just picky, I mean he has days that he really doesn't eat much more that a couple handfuls of Cheerios! This is not a new development, either...this has gone on for almost a year!!! I have tried every trick in the book from "sneaking" food into what he WILL eat to just giving in and letting him eat junk by justifying it by telling myself that at least he's getting calories (howbeit, empty ones).

I did so good for the first year of his life...he was breastfed until 14 months (I would have nursed longer but he chose not to), I made all his baby food (and when I gave him store bought, it was all organic) and was a stickler for monitoring the ages at introducing new foods. Right around the time he went on strike from nursing is also when he gave up eating. Oh there are a few select foods that he will occasionally chose to partake of but that usually turns into a battle because I make him what I KNOW he likes and he still refuses to eat.

Tonight he decided he didn't want to eat anything we offered him until I pulled out a yogurt. He gobbled that up. I could tell he would eat more but I didn't have another individual serving. I did have a whole tub of vanilla, though. I know from previous experiences that he usually will refuse this kind (especially when it's in a regular bowl or if he sees me try to "trick" him and put the regular kind into the old one's container). I cut up, cooked and pureed a pear to add (while he was distracted), stirred that in and sat down to give it to him. He INSTANTLY refused after barely letting the spoon touch his lips. Jay suggested I throw some blueberries in (since this is on of the few foods he rarely will turn down) and again...refusal! I wanted to SCREAM!!! If this was just a phase or if he was not feeling well or something like that I could understand...but this has been going on for-ev-er!!! I have seriously exasperated every trick, tip, ruse and gimmick and so far nothing has worked. The only thing that has semi-worked has been pureeing veggies (like carrots, squash or cauliflower) into his mac and cheese but the poor kid obviously won't eat mac and cheese every day so that only works once in a while.

Proper nutrition is important to me. Ok, let's try that sentence again (LOL)...Proper nutrition FOR HIM is important to me - I am still working on applying the same standard to my life and it's not easy. I have battled weight and food issues for as long as I can remember and I just don't want my child to go down that same road. So often I fear that he is doing permanent damage to his young self by this self-induced food aversion. I scheduled his 2 year check-up for next week and will talk to the doctor about this and see what she has to say (though I'm very doubtful that it will be anything different that what I know and have heard for the last year). I'm not one of those moms that rush to the doctor for every little thing (he hasn't been in since he was sick a year ago because despite this issue, he is actually a very healthy little boy) but I just don't have any other options at this point.

So here it is, almost 9 o'clock at night and all my boy has eaten today was some Cheerios, blueberries, a Nutri-grain bar and a yogurt! Wish us luck in overcoming this!!! :)

First Haircut??? I don't think so!

I have a little boy who happens to be a pretty child and has very pretty hair. I'm talking the type of hair that is golden blonde, naturally parts on the side and has little ringlets and waves in the back. He also happens to get called a "girl" every day by random strangers. It usually goes something like this:

Random Stranger (usually someone working at the drugstore, restaurant, etc.): Oh, she's soooo pretty!

Me: Thank you. Jace, can you say "thank you"?

Jace: *signs "thank you"*

Random Stranger: Can she have a balloon?

Me: Yes, HE can. Jace, would you like a balloon?

Random Stranger (STILL not getting the subtle clues given by myself that "she" is actually a "he": What color would she like?

Me: Well, pretty much anything but pink since "she's" a boy! (With nice, friendly smile on my face and sort of laughing so random stranger doesn't feel so bad for calling my son a girl.)

Random Stranger: OH I'M SOOO SORRY...he's just SOOO pretty! I didn't realize he was a boy!

Me: That's OK, we're used to it at this point. It's happened ever since he was born.

So that's a normal day in our life. I am starting to think that maybe it has something to do with my son's long hair, but honestly, it has happend his entire life and up until this last spring/summer, he was pretty bald! I dress him in what *I* think are fairly obvious boy clothes...ok, so it's not usually planes, trains and automobiles or soccer and basketballs, but it's definitely NOT girly stuff! I can't figure this out!

My other question is this: When did it become fashionable or even *expected* for little boys to get that "little boy haircut"? Is it so wrong of me (and my husband) to not want to cut his hair? I didn't realize this decision would catch so much flak from some many people. I get the comments quite often, lately, like "Oh, are we going to take Jace for his first haircut soon??" or "Jace, you need to tell Mommy that you are ready for a little trim"...you know, stuff like that. I really dislike that passive-aggressive approach. I want to say to people, "You had your chance to raise your children, now may I have mine??". What is so wrong with me wanting to keep his hair long?