Bright Eyes

So much life has happened 'round these parts lately.  Lots of holiday happenings, book reading, play dough playing, and even some sleeping.  Blogging, however, has not been happening.  It'll come though, in due time.  I had to quickly document this little love though.  Santa brought him a brand new high chair, allowing him to sit with us at the dinner table (instead of on the dinner table in his bouncy seat like the tastiest little entree you ever saw).  He sits and smiles at each of his family members in turn.  He also got a bead maze that suctions onto his tray and today he started reaching for it with intense concentration.  He's a little wonder.  

Christmas Day

 I love being the mom at Christmastime.  I love planning and sneaking and anticipating happy faces on Christmas morning.  This year was wonderful.  The boys loved choosing gifts for one another, opening presents and spending the day playing.  We had church this year which allowed us to enjoy the day with our wonderful ward members as well. 

 

 

 

Isaac was terribly funny during gift opening.  Everything was exactly what he wanted and he keep exclaiming, "I can't believe I got (fill in the blank."  While opening these cars he jumped up and yelled, "I like it!" 

Christmas Eve Eve

Parenting through the rough patches

I sometimes think find myself feeling smug, like such an experienced parent with all the answers.  Then I realize that, really, I am just getting started and that each phase is like starting over in so many ways and I have so far to go and so much more to learn.  Parenting, I am convinced, is the best way to humble a person.  

I am sitting in bed next to a sleeping Luke after a week of parenting four (very active) little boys while my husband logged 55 hours at his primary job and a least another dozen teaching and preparing for the night classes he has been teaching.  I have decided that I can consider it a success that all the kids are still alive, mostly thriving and that I have managed to keep the house standing.  The dog is also still alive.  I have been at this long enough to know that there are patches of parenting and family life that are just about survival.

I am grateful, as I go through this transition,  for the lessons that I learned during the first (rough) transition from one to two children.  Luke was a hard, hard two and a half year old, full of unchanelled energy and very quick to challenge my authority as his mother.  Noah was a delight of a baby until about six p.m. at which point he fussed and whined and nursed until he finally settled down to sleep late in the evening.  I had yet to learn some very important parenting lessons, the first being that nearly everything is a phase.  All I saw at the time were endless days of constant demands and needs with no way to meet them all.  I also hadn't learned that one shouldn't assign much meaning to a two year old's behavior.  Chances are you don't have a brat-- you just have a two year old.  I was also under the (mistaken) impression that parenting was neat and tidy like some sort of a math equation and that if I, as the parent, added a+b it would result in c, the desired behavior.  I was convinced that all those other parents were just doing it wrong.  I had read all the books, had a degree in education and many years of working with children under my belt.  There was a right way to do it and I knew what it was.  Then Luke happened and I saw just how wrong I was.

I vividly remember laying in bed with Luke while he fell asleep at night.  He would only fall asleep if I let him twirl my hair for hours on end.  I would lay there nursing Noah while Luke played with my hair and I would pray and pray for the strength to get through the next day.  I read parenting book after parenting book looking for answers and 

That first time around I was impressed to set clearer boundaries, carve out time to take care of myself, and let go a little bit more.  This time around I think the answer is to find more time to connect. 

Two months old

He's just as shocked as I am...