FFF: The Geography of Grandparents

Earlier this week Hugh had to travel to a conference for work in Minnesota, and Little Man missed him terribly (as did Sweet Girl and I).  This happened to be the first time that Hugh has traveled since Enoch has really been talking and putting things together (He should've been gone in May for another conference, but Karis just happened to be born right in the middle of it, so I'm glad he stayed home!!).  So, this time when Daddy left, we talked about how he was gone to Minnesota for a few days and about how Enoch was in Mississippi.

Now, I'm not real sure that Enoch totally grasps the idea of 'place' yet, but we started working on this quite a few months ago, when Otis last visited.  He had quite the hard time understanding where Otis was after he left.  So we had to have a lesson about Granddad and Otis going back home to Oklahoma. Anytime Little Man would ask about Otis, we would explain that he was in Oklahoma.  Eventually, Enoch learned how to say 'Oklahoma' (in the type of gibberish that only mamas can understand), and he seemed to understand that Otis wasn't going to magically appear at the back door anytime soon.. because he had gone to Oklahoma.

Then, when we recently visited AR & OK, Enoch learned the word 'Arkansas' (though I'm sure he'd heard it before in our conversations).   On that trip, he learned that Arkansas is the place where Papa Steve and Granny Susie live.  So, since we have family who live in Minnesota, it just worked well to teach him that word this time when Hugh was there for a short trip.  While we were at it (Enoch loves learning new words these days!), we went ahead and learned North Dakota and Mississippi as well.  Now I only have a few remaining states to teach (places where other family members live): Washington D.C. and Missouri and Florida.  I have a feeling those first two will be challenging though.

A few nights ago, before Hugh returned, I got this footage during dinner.  As you can tell, we're still working on North Dakota, since it's by far the hardest to shorten into gibberish at this point.  ;)

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When should tummy time stop?

For some reason, once Enoch was able to roll and crawl, I just assumed that he didn't need tummy time anymore.  And let's be honest, at some point the pediatrician stopped asking about it and keeping him down on his tummy became challenging - the boy just wanted to move.  So, if you would have asked me a few months ago, I would have guessed that at 6-9 months, once children have reached those two critical milestones, they should be done with tummy time.

This is my Sweet Girl working hard this week
during her daily tummy time

However, I recently stumbled upon this piece of advice from Melissa & Doug and was very surprised that older children should still be having tummy time!  Apparently it's a good way to continue strengthening their core muscles, which are quite important for most (if not all) of life's activities.  Who knew?!?!!  So now, if you were to ask me that same question, I'd answer that even teens should probably be having some tummy time every once in awhile... maybe even old married women like myself.  ;)  

Check out the original article to get a few good tips for engaging older children while on their tummies: 

5 Tummy Time Tips (from Melissa & Doug, 8.7.13)

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Karis Grace 3-4 mos

Four Months photo in mama's rocker

Here is a lengthy update on all things Karis.  :)  Overall, she is sweet and still so laidback.  The therapists have been amazed at how willing she is to work hard for them (and how long she can, given her age).  They've also been very pleased with her progress developmentally.  So far the only time that Sweet Girl gives us any trouble is when she fights sleep (which is a daily occurrence).  :)

At her 4 month check up last week, she weighed in at 15 pounds (~75th % typ. and ~99th % DS) and measured 24 inches tall (35th % typ.).  We were able to answer 'yes' to all of the developmental questions, like:

• Is she able to turn her head 180 degrees to track an object?
• Is she rolling?
• Does she turn toward sounds?
• Can she grasp a toy and hold it?

Here are a few other stats about what Karis is doing these days:

Eating- Karis nurses 6-7 times per day.  For the most part, I'm still block feeding (only one side per nursing session), though in the afternoon when my milk seems to be the lowest, she will sometimes finish off both sides.  In general, she is a much more efficient nurser, with each nursing session only lasting 10-20 minutes (including a burp somewhere in the middle). And no, we haven't introduced solids yet.  I plan to wait until either 6 months or when she begins to show an interest.

Size- Karis is now wearing 3/6 mos or 6 mos clothes and size 3 in diapers.  Sometimes I have to roll up her sleeves on her jammies, otherwise they get wet from all of her hand-to-mouth action.  ;)

Sleeping- The big news in sleep-world this month is that Sweet Girl is now unswaddled!  We transitioned out of the swaddle during a 2 week period, which was convenient since right after that she learned how to roll onto her tummy (meaning a swaddle would've been unsafe).  She is still learning how to put herself to sleep without the swaddle though, and some naps are much harder than others (especially in the late afternoon).  Naps typically last between 45-60 min though we have an occasional 20 min or 2 hr one here and there.  At this stage, Karis will still fall asleep in the carseat (if we're driving), in the stroller on a walk, or in the ring sling if I'm wearing her.  Bedtime is currently happening around 8 pm, and she generally sleeps until 6:30 or 7 in the morning without waking (see schedule below).

Movement- Karis is now rolling over both ways!  This was a huge milestone for her to hit, and she has even chain rolled a few times now.  :)  She's also gaining more core strength from her tummy time, meaning that she can lift her head easily, which also helps her roll.  And no matter what position she's in, Sweet Girl is becoming quite good at grabbing and playing with her toys (most of them go straight to her mouth).  Sitting up is going pretty well, though this is one of the more challenging things for her at this stage (see below). Another exciting development is Karis' ability to lift her feet and legs up real high when she lays on her back.  Our PT says that it's a good sign and is wanting us to continue working on helping her discover her feet.

enjoying the mirror while working hard at her PT session

Things she enjoys- being talked to, watching Enoch interact with her, taking spit baths, being held, tummy time, thin toys she can easily hold, getting kisses, shiny things, snuggling

Things she doesn't like- taking oral medicine, self-soothing herself to sleep (without the swaddle),

Typical Daily Schedule:
7:00 Wake up & Nurse
8:30 Naptime

9:30  Nurse & play
{This is when I typically run errands, like grocery shopping.  Karis will happily go into her car seat awake after eating & being burped and then easily falls alseep in the car for her naptime.}
11:00 Naptime

12:00 Nurse & play
{This is typically when Enoch and I eat lunch, but if we have to run a late or long errand, Karis will generally sleep longer, meaning that this lunch time & nursing session gets pushed back a bit to 12:30 or 1}
1:30 Naptime

2:30 Nurse & play
{This is the time of the day where Karis gets lots of one-on-one with Mommy since Enoch is sleeping.  We typically work on her OT & PT during this time, and she sometimes helps me do food prep in the kitchen as well.}
4:00 Naptime

5:00 Nurse & play
{This is the craziest part of my day!  Between 5:00 and 6:30, I need to feed Karis at least once, make dinner, get it on the table, welcome Hugh home, play with Enoch, do family worship, and begin bedtime preparations for Enoch.}

6:30 Nurse & burp (lots of burps!)
7:30 Jammies & bedtime
{Karis typically falls asleep on her own in her crib, roughly between 8:00 and 9:00.}

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Around our house: the 4th bedroom

I'm so thankful to announce that we have completed our renovations to our 4th bedroom!!  {It has been a long awaited renovation, which has taken up much of Hugh's garage space, so I think he is thankful as well.}

To explain part of our excitement, I should begin by showing you firsthand the condition in which we first found this room - inhabited by a typical college guy.  This of course meant that after he moved out, his stained carpet and residual trash remained.  As did the holes in the wall and the dip stains on the baseboards where he missed the trash can one too many times.

So after we moved in, we quickly removed the carpet and filled in the holes in the wall.  Eventually, Hugh found a great deal on some wood flooring (which came out of MSU's gym floor), so he bought it and piled it in the garage.  Unfortunately, it still had the staples in it, which made the project of installing it seem so much larger than if it were new flooring.  And so it sat, piled 3' high by 6' wide in our garage for months.  (I wish I had a picture because it made our garage so unorganized and hard to walk through!!)

Finally, a few things fell into place, and we decided to hire someone to install it for us.  This lit a fire under my tail to get the room painted first (knowing that it would be SO much easier to do without having to tape drop cloths down to protect the new floor).  And so, after waiting for months with no progress on this room, we ended up knocking it out in 1.5 weeks!  I taped and painted, Hugh did some light floor prep, our handyman installed the flooring, and then before we knew it, we were done!
 

in process

Here's our final product!!  I love how the aqua blue looks with the light hardwood.  Even more than that though, I love having one more room finished and marked off of our "to renovate" list!!!!  :)

More coming soon about our plans for this room....

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Year #2 With Enoch John

Our Sweet Boy turned two yesterday!  I can hardly believe that it's possible!!!  We had a pretty typical day with a special breakfast and some chocolate cake after dinner to celebrate, though we are also hoping to throw a little party sometime soon.  At the end of the day, I couldn't help but cry just a little, realizing that the Lord truly has blessed me with two years of daily gifts through my Little Man.  Yes, there are hard days, but there are also such sweet moments, even on the hardest of days.  And the stage he is at now - constantly learning and talking - continually amazes me!

To continue the tradition that I began last year, I wanted to look back over the past year and post up some of my favorite photos.  This time I tried to narrow it to only one photo per month {of course there are a few exceptions}, which was so difficult to do!

As you look through the photos, please join me in praising our great God who has sustained Enoch this far.  He is truly good and gracious.  And please pray with us that the Lord would allow Enoch's heart to see His glory so that Enoch might put his faith in Jesus, the only mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5-7).


12 Months

shopping with mama

13 Months

voting with daddy

14 Months

blowing kisses

15 Months

excited to see daddy at the airport after a few days apart

announcing that he was going to have a SISTER

16 Months

playing at the dog park

17 Months

our trip to the gulf

18 Months

digging up some weeds

19 Months

Mama's wedding date

wrestling with daddy

20 Months

munching on some fresh tomatoes

21 Months

family photo on our back deck

playing at the splash pad

22 Months

learning colors with his puzzle

23 Months

forward facing in the car seat

24 Months

family photo at a recent wedding

playing with daddy in the water

 And one last photo... from when he was 1 day old.  What a change 730 days, lots of love, and the gracious provision of the Lord can make in one little boy's life!

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Facing Forward in the Carseat - Why We Waited

Roughly two weeks ago (at approx. 23.5 mos), we turned Enoch's carseat to be forward facing because he ended up exceeding the weight limit for rear facing (35 lbs).  I know that most of our friends turn their babies around between 12-18 mos, but we held out because our pediatrician continued reminding us of the new recommendation to keep children rear facing until 2 years of age.

According to the AAP (see link above), this will soon be a law, not a recommendation.  Though I questioned Enoch's legs and feet being squished and possibly injured in an accident due to the rear facing orientation of his carseat, our pediatrician gently affirmed that his head and neck are much more important than his feet/legs and also that leg injuries are far easier to repair than head/neck ones.  Check out these stats from a CNN article covering the new recommendation:

A 2007 study in the journal Injury Prevention found that children under age 2 are 75 percent less likely to die or to be severely injured in a crash if they are rear-facing. Another study found riding rear-facing to be five times safer than forward-facing.

Safety for toddlers really does increase when they remain rear facing as long as possible!  Since I know that this is a big decision for most parents, I thought I'd list a few things that helped Enoch be content while rear facing for almost 2 years.

• removing shoes - This made it so much easier for him to move his feet around and find a comfortable position, especially on long car rides.
• riding in a high car/van - While I realize that not everyone can (or even wants to) go out and buy a minivan or suv, I honestly think that this made riding rear facing so enjoyable for Enoch because he could see out of the car.  Our minivan has high seats and lots of windows, which Little Man fully utilized.  In fact, Enoch enjoyed watching out those windows so much that even when Hugh would ride behind him in the third row, Enoch paid more attention to the passing scenery than he did to his own daddy.
• having special car toys - We have a bag of toys that are only played with in the car (or in waiting rooms when I need a quiet little boy).  It's composed of about half toys and half books, and it has helped us get through many long trips.

Back to that forward facing little man of mine, I just have to say that I feel like turning him around made him age by 2-3 years - just look at how old he looks in that photo above!!  In all seriousness though, I'm glad we waited as long as possible before turning him around.  Even though we didn't get into any wrecks in the past two years, my motherly heart knows that it's always better safe than sorry.

If any of you have any other tips for keeping children happy while rear facing, feel free to share them in the comments below!

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Daddy's New Pushbroom

Hugh got a new pushbroom for sweeping outside surfaces last week, which got him pretty excited. To celebrate, he decided to sweep off our leaf covered patio and back deck, which were both looking quite dingy. And of course with such excitement in the air, Enoch wanted to join in as well with his little broom. They really enjoyed themselves and came back quite sweaty and dirty to prove it. ;)



Here's a video of the men in action (and for those who haven't seen Enoch in person lately, it has some good footage of Enoch's typical {constant} going and talking these days).

posted from Bloggeroid

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