I admit, it's been a hard week reigning in the terrible twos. However, last night, I just looked at Noah when he was sleeping, and was completely taken with how amazing he it. So, here is my top ten for the week:
Why Noah rocks:
10) He says the funniest things right now. (sthnow)
9) Everything is exciting for him as he labels things through the house.
8) He gives great hugs and kisses.
7) He's ridiculously cute when he is sleeping.
6) He sometimes just likes to cuddle and be with you.
5) He can keep himself amused for a long time playing with the animals.
4) He is learning the people around him and is beginning to label them on his own.
3) He always wants to help...even if his help often requires more work for me.
2) He delights in the little things.
1) His way of a jubilant, "HI!" when we come get him in the morning. There is no better way to wake up then with a little person who is happy to see you. Forget the alarm clock. :-)
Jesse P. watched Noah last night so that Dave and I could go out on a date. It was wonderful. Noah didn't even care when we came home...he just looked at us like we were invading on his buddy time. Dave and I ate at TGIFridays (since I am digging their 3 course menu right now) and walked Walmart. I know, I know...Walmart. After you have kids, you will see how romantic this can be when you do it without them. :-) We leisurely walked the aisles and meandered where we wanted...even looked at movies for awhile. It was fun.
We came home and watched Martian Child after we put Noah to bed. It was a really good movie about loving even when its difficult and never ever giving up. It makes you think a little bit and made me go back into to check on Noah and just thank God for Him. EVERYONE needs to be loved. If you haven't seen it, I would encourage you to check it out. It's good.
Well, It's Friday and I have no idea where this week has gone. I feel like I blinked and it's the weekend. Sheesh! That means only 4 more weeks to go until this bambino arrives. It still seems like a long time, but there is much to do between now and then and if the weeks keep flying by as they have, it will be here in no time. We're anxious to meet the little dude. :-)
Have a fabulous Friday everyone!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Hallelujah!
Noah went to bed around 8:15pm (after meltdown upon meltdown) and slept all through the night until 7am. YES!!! He woke up in a really good mood, so let's hope it keeps.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Update
So, Dave gave me the best gift ever. He met me at the play center in the mall after work (where I was having some of my meetings) and took Noah off my hands. Noah has been very trying the last few days (see previous blogs) and I was at my wits end. Dave came and we all had lunch together at Wendy's. Noah proceeded to throw the biggest tantrum to date (lasting almost 10 minutes). Dave stood his ground though, much to the chagrin of other diners. After Dave declared victory and Noah realized that yes, Daddy is in charge, he was so amiable. I just watched in wonder as Dave did his magic...thinking if it were me, I would have been in tears long ago. Dave has a certain "Super Nanny" quality about him. It's really quite impressive...but also leaves me feeling a little bereft. I want that too.
Anyway, we got home and Noah went down for his nap nicely. I then laid down and got to take a nap, which was wonderful since I wasn't feeling so great and was slightly uncomfortable with some baby pressure. When I woke up, Noah was already awake and Dave had some errands to run before lifegroup. He decided to take Noah with him. Of all the gifts he could have given me, this was priceless. I got an hour and a half to myself. I cleaned a little, ate a meal in peace, and got things ready for lifegroup. It was so great. Noah had another battle of wills over dinner, but Dave and I both handled him through that episode.
Lifegroup tonight was amazing. We just finished Naturally Supernatural. It was a good book and everyone had a lot to say and I feel that there was a lot of learning that happened (for me too!). I definitely learned more about the Holy Spirit and prayer from this book then I did before. We also chatted more about Saturday's conference and how incredibly God moved. Our lifegroup really seems to be solidifying, and yet we are growing too. It's a neat experience.
Thanks God for the ways that you work in our life. You know just what we need to sustain us and encourage us. You (are the) rock!
Anyway, we got home and Noah went down for his nap nicely. I then laid down and got to take a nap, which was wonderful since I wasn't feeling so great and was slightly uncomfortable with some baby pressure. When I woke up, Noah was already awake and Dave had some errands to run before lifegroup. He decided to take Noah with him. Of all the gifts he could have given me, this was priceless. I got an hour and a half to myself. I cleaned a little, ate a meal in peace, and got things ready for lifegroup. It was so great. Noah had another battle of wills over dinner, but Dave and I both handled him through that episode.
Lifegroup tonight was amazing. We just finished Naturally Supernatural. It was a good book and everyone had a lot to say and I feel that there was a lot of learning that happened (for me too!). I definitely learned more about the Holy Spirit and prayer from this book then I did before. We also chatted more about Saturday's conference and how incredibly God moved. Our lifegroup really seems to be solidifying, and yet we are growing too. It's a neat experience.
Thanks God for the ways that you work in our life. You know just what we need to sustain us and encourage us. You (are the) rock!
HELP!
I need help. The last two nights/days/and mornings have been pretty rough with Noah. If you read the blog from yesterday, he went to bed at 9:30 (after a large battle) and woke up at 6 and would not fall back asleep. Mind you, normal bedtime is between 8-8:30pm and he generally wakes up somewhere around 7ish. 8 hours is not enough for a less than one year old is it? He didn't eat a lot of his lunch or dinner. He fought me on naptime during the day (again...refer to live blog). Last night, we had a great time going to help our friend Becky celebrate her birthday. Noah got to play with River. However, by the time we left, it was almost 9pm and we still ensued a battle when we got home. This morning...he woke up at 5:45am and would not go back to sleep. Seriously folks...I need help. First, he is (and has been) in his big boy bed for months...so as much as I would love to revert back to "caging" him in his crib, I can't. Second, 8 hours of sleep can't be the right amount for a kid his age. Third, the eating issue is bothering me...although I am working really hard to not give him sweets that could have an effect on both his diet and his sleeping patterns...He just plays with his food or throws it at the dog.
I am at my wits end. I am sure that we are both tired of winter and need spring to come (NOW!). I've tried keeping him busy through the day, but that doesn't always help. Is this what they mean by terrible twos? If so, there HAS to be some way to counter it so that parents don't go crazy too...right???
On another note...I am looking for a gate that can extend atleast 5-6 feet for our kitchen. It might not even work since we have a funky shaped divider. Noah keeps "playing" in the kitchen. He pulls chairs up to the counter and "cooks" or plays with spoons. Somedays I am OK with this as long as its not dangerous. However, the last two days (notice the pattern of the last two days) he has pulled a knife out of the knife block (that i have pushed as far back as possible) and has fiddled with the stove burners...2 big fat no-no's for this household. Unfortunately, the kitchen is a huge draw for him since he feels that he is a "big" boy. Do I continue to let him "explore" and just watch him very carefully? Or do I kick him out of the kitchen completely?
Clearly, I am not feeling like super mom right now. Noah's instruction manual got lost in our move here, so if you have some really great ideas or just some support I would appreciate either!
I am at my wits end. I am sure that we are both tired of winter and need spring to come (NOW!). I've tried keeping him busy through the day, but that doesn't always help. Is this what they mean by terrible twos? If so, there HAS to be some way to counter it so that parents don't go crazy too...right???
On another note...I am looking for a gate that can extend atleast 5-6 feet for our kitchen. It might not even work since we have a funky shaped divider. Noah keeps "playing" in the kitchen. He pulls chairs up to the counter and "cooks" or plays with spoons. Somedays I am OK with this as long as its not dangerous. However, the last two days (notice the pattern of the last two days) he has pulled a knife out of the knife block (that i have pushed as far back as possible) and has fiddled with the stove burners...2 big fat no-no's for this household. Unfortunately, the kitchen is a huge draw for him since he feels that he is a "big" boy. Do I continue to let him "explore" and just watch him very carefully? Or do I kick him out of the kitchen completely?
Clearly, I am not feeling like super mom right now. Noah's instruction manual got lost in our move here, so if you have some really great ideas or just some support I would appreciate either!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Monday- Live blog
6:00am- Noah wakes up after going to bed late (9:30pm). I go in to remind him it is still "night night".
6:20am- Repeat process
6:40am- Repeat process
7:05am- Allow him to get up for the day. (For the record...I am really just wanting him to not get on a 6am wake up schedule 5 weeks before I am to have this baby.) Anytime after 7am is fine.
7:10am- Let dog out, get Noah's milk, start breakfast, lose patience, empty dishwasher, turn on computer.
7:55am- start my quiet time away from dogs, kids, and everyone else. This was perhaps the best part of my morning as I had already lost my cool 3 times before 7:30am. I prayed through the fruits of the spirit and really connected with Jesus. This is good.
8:30- play "play do" with Noah, send out emails, check blogs, upload pictures from yesterday's baptism onto facebook.
9:30- Finally get into the shower.
10:00- Chat with Summer on the phone. It's nice having another mom to talk about life with. I hadn't seen or talked to her in a few days, so it was nice to catch up a little bit.
10:05- (While on the phone) Reprimanding Noah and the dog for ganging up on the cat. Noah had him in a headlock and Chester was attacking from behind. Successfully freed (sp?) cat...who immediately ran for cover in the baby's crib.
10:30- Refilled juice, am starting to think about picking up the house a little bit. Reprimanded Noah for climbing on the table...Praying for the 12th time this morning for patience. Trying to decide if it will just be an early naptime or if we need an activity to keep us going today??
10:35- Started reading books with Noah...pretty much read through most of his library, but it was good quiet time with my son.
11:00- Started lunch
11:05-Pulled the oranges that Noah had started to microwave...out of the microwave and reprimanded Noah. As I am putting them higher, he reaches for the set of knives...bigger reprimand and explanation that knives are dangerous and can hurt. Kicked him out of the kitchen and for the 10th time today wondered how I could make a baby gate work in our house...
11:10- Gave Noah lunch- chatted with Becky C. on the phone about mom's hour at Starbucks...will go if Noah is not already sleeping (and I pray that he is)
11:17- Noah is throwing his food on the floor to the dog. After a warning, he picked it up and squeezed it all over his legs. Cleaned him up then put him in time out.
11:26- Decided that he needed to take a nap. Tried laying him down.
11:32- He got out of bed, made a loud noise and set the dog off on a barking tangent. Got dog settled down. Told Noah to lay back down.
11:35- took away binky (which is only for naptime) but have decided to let him play in his room...as long as he stays in there. He is clearly not tired...although I am. Will probably go to mom's hour just to get out of the house and in a different setting. Hopefully he will wear out there and we can come home and he will nap.
12:00- Mom's Hour at Starbucks. Becky W., Becky C. and Sarah R. were all there with their kiddos. It was actually fun and helped to calm my nerves a little bit. Noah enjoyed being around the other kids except that he kept clearing the table of markers and such. He did give everyone hugs goodbye though...that was nice.
12:50- Start the naptime process for the second time. As I continually have to go in to lay him down again...I feel my blood pressure rising. It is not a good situation.
1:20- Dave wakes up from his morning rest. I ask him to check on Noah...who at that point was shaking his fish tank. Fortunately, Dave dealt with that one...and of course Noah went right to sleep after Daddy said something to him.
1:30- Dave and I started watching the movie, "Once"...A lot of our friends recommended it to us. It's an Indy film...neither Dave nor I were really thrilled with it (sorry to our friends that really liked it).
3:00- I'm still contemplating cleaning the house and Dave just went out to the garage to play. I need to run to the West side to go to Von's this afternoon sometime.
**Sorry about the continual jumping back and forth from past to present tenses...too lazy to go back and fix it though**
6:20am- Repeat process
6:40am- Repeat process
7:05am- Allow him to get up for the day. (For the record...I am really just wanting him to not get on a 6am wake up schedule 5 weeks before I am to have this baby.) Anytime after 7am is fine.
7:10am- Let dog out, get Noah's milk, start breakfast, lose patience, empty dishwasher, turn on computer.
7:55am- start my quiet time away from dogs, kids, and everyone else. This was perhaps the best part of my morning as I had already lost my cool 3 times before 7:30am. I prayed through the fruits of the spirit and really connected with Jesus. This is good.
8:30- play "play do" with Noah, send out emails, check blogs, upload pictures from yesterday's baptism onto facebook.
9:30- Finally get into the shower.
10:00- Chat with Summer on the phone. It's nice having another mom to talk about life with. I hadn't seen or talked to her in a few days, so it was nice to catch up a little bit.
10:05- (While on the phone) Reprimanding Noah and the dog for ganging up on the cat. Noah had him in a headlock and Chester was attacking from behind. Successfully freed (sp?) cat...who immediately ran for cover in the baby's crib.
10:30- Refilled juice, am starting to think about picking up the house a little bit. Reprimanded Noah for climbing on the table...Praying for the 12th time this morning for patience. Trying to decide if it will just be an early naptime or if we need an activity to keep us going today??
10:35- Started reading books with Noah...pretty much read through most of his library, but it was good quiet time with my son.
11:00- Started lunch
11:05-Pulled the oranges that Noah had started to microwave...out of the microwave and reprimanded Noah. As I am putting them higher, he reaches for the set of knives...bigger reprimand and explanation that knives are dangerous and can hurt. Kicked him out of the kitchen and for the 10th time today wondered how I could make a baby gate work in our house...
11:10- Gave Noah lunch- chatted with Becky C. on the phone about mom's hour at Starbucks...will go if Noah is not already sleeping (and I pray that he is)
11:17- Noah is throwing his food on the floor to the dog. After a warning, he picked it up and squeezed it all over his legs. Cleaned him up then put him in time out.
11:26- Decided that he needed to take a nap. Tried laying him down.
11:32- He got out of bed, made a loud noise and set the dog off on a barking tangent. Got dog settled down. Told Noah to lay back down.
11:35- took away binky (which is only for naptime) but have decided to let him play in his room...as long as he stays in there. He is clearly not tired...although I am. Will probably go to mom's hour just to get out of the house and in a different setting. Hopefully he will wear out there and we can come home and he will nap.
12:00- Mom's Hour at Starbucks. Becky W., Becky C. and Sarah R. were all there with their kiddos. It was actually fun and helped to calm my nerves a little bit. Noah enjoyed being around the other kids except that he kept clearing the table of markers and such. He did give everyone hugs goodbye though...that was nice.
12:50- Start the naptime process for the second time. As I continually have to go in to lay him down again...I feel my blood pressure rising. It is not a good situation.
1:20- Dave wakes up from his morning rest. I ask him to check on Noah...who at that point was shaking his fish tank. Fortunately, Dave dealt with that one...and of course Noah went right to sleep after Daddy said something to him.
1:30- Dave and I started watching the movie, "Once"...A lot of our friends recommended it to us. It's an Indy film...neither Dave nor I were really thrilled with it (sorry to our friends that really liked it).
3:00- I'm still contemplating cleaning the house and Dave just went out to the garage to play. I need to run to the West side to go to Von's this afternoon sometime.
**Sorry about the continual jumping back and forth from past to present tenses...too lazy to go back and fix it though**
Kaitlyn's Baptism
Yesterday, Noah and I drove to Watseka, IL to witness our niece, Kaitlyn get baptized. It was nice to see the family again. I hadn't seen Kaitlyn since she was 6 weeks old...she grew fast, but is still little. :-) Noah and Tyler were buddies for awhile until the red/yellow car came out...then there were some battles. Ahh...cousins. :-)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Learning to Listen to Jesus
We had an awesome mini-conference at church today. It was entitled, "Learning to Listen to Jesus" and basically in a nutshell talked about prophesy, dreams, and visions. Sorry if this concept scares you. Believe me, at one point in my life...I didn't even believe in it myself. However, I have watched God work and change people's lives through visions or pictures meant to encourage, strengthen, and comfort a person...I am now convinced that it does happen.
Today, our lifegroup got totally hit. Well, number one...we all went, which was stinking cool. We know how to represent. :-) Second of all, many people in our lifegroup received life changing words and cool things spoken into their lives, while others had specific words for other people. We both received and gave. It was awesome.
I ended up calling Becky W. later tonight to ask her to pray for me. I have been feeling very judgemental and critical lately. And of the outflow of those petty feelings, come critical comments. I got pretty convicted because the thoughts I have had are towards people who don't know Jesus and need my love and compassion the most. I hate that this comes back and bites me every now and then. Becky did a good job praying for me and helping me to deal with it. Sometimes it takes a harsh realization that I am not being who God wants me to be to get my rear into gear again. Usually, its not very pretty and I get pretty humbled (if not a little embarassed by my actions... "I said that? Eeew.") Dave so graciously confirmed that I had been acting this way (It's SO HARD to hear that you are sinning from your spouse...I hate it when God uses Dave. However, it is also the most effective...when my spirit is willing to listen that is.)
So, anyway...if you have heard ungodly things from my mouth recently, I deeply apologize and (gulp) give you permission to call me out in the future. I am desperately trying to live my life in accordance with God. I realize now that my tongue reflects my heart. I need to be reading God's word and really gaining spiritual truths and insight from it (I'm working through Numbers right now in the Chronological bible...and admit...I probably need to also be reading something else to balance it out). I also need to be really seeking God's heart in prayer more often.
So, now...after this big confession...I am heading to bed.
Lord, I can do no good thing apart from you. Help my actions to be your actions...my thoughts, your thoughts, and make there be less of me and more of you in my life. I truly long for you to fill me and make me more like you. I don't do such a hotshot job on my own.
Today, our lifegroup got totally hit. Well, number one...we all went, which was stinking cool. We know how to represent. :-) Second of all, many people in our lifegroup received life changing words and cool things spoken into their lives, while others had specific words for other people. We both received and gave. It was awesome.
I ended up calling Becky W. later tonight to ask her to pray for me. I have been feeling very judgemental and critical lately. And of the outflow of those petty feelings, come critical comments. I got pretty convicted because the thoughts I have had are towards people who don't know Jesus and need my love and compassion the most. I hate that this comes back and bites me every now and then. Becky did a good job praying for me and helping me to deal with it. Sometimes it takes a harsh realization that I am not being who God wants me to be to get my rear into gear again. Usually, its not very pretty and I get pretty humbled (if not a little embarassed by my actions... "I said that? Eeew.") Dave so graciously confirmed that I had been acting this way (It's SO HARD to hear that you are sinning from your spouse...I hate it when God uses Dave. However, it is also the most effective...when my spirit is willing to listen that is.)
So, anyway...if you have heard ungodly things from my mouth recently, I deeply apologize and (gulp) give you permission to call me out in the future. I am desperately trying to live my life in accordance with God. I realize now that my tongue reflects my heart. I need to be reading God's word and really gaining spiritual truths and insight from it (I'm working through Numbers right now in the Chronological bible...and admit...I probably need to also be reading something else to balance it out). I also need to be really seeking God's heart in prayer more often.
So, now...after this big confession...I am heading to bed.
Lord, I can do no good thing apart from you. Help my actions to be your actions...my thoughts, your thoughts, and make there be less of me and more of you in my life. I truly long for you to fill me and make me more like you. I don't do such a hotshot job on my own.
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