Birthday Boy!

Well, another year has passed! It's such a cliche to say, but I will anyways: Man, it goes SO fast! I can't believe my little Sammy will be 2 tomorrow.

Here he is at his first birthday:

SO cute!

"Hmmm... not sure what I think of this so-called "birthday cake..."

"I like it!"

(Photos by Avey Christiansen Photography - amazing!)

I am really trying to not get caught up in lamenting my children's ages, or wishing for times past. We've had a good 2 years. We've enjoyed a LOT together. And it's just getting more and more fun. So, I'm not going to say that I wish Sam were small again, or that I miss him as a baby. Because I am just going to love where he's at and be thankful for each year that we get with him.

Happy Birthday, my sweet, sweet boy.

My sleep woes...

I just don't understand it. It feels like we're back to those tired newborn days!

Sam has been such a good sleeper for his entire little life, really. We read a book, put him to bed, say his prayers, kiss goodnight, and shut the door. He would sleep for 12 hours. Naps were similar. He's always really LIKED sleeping. He LIKED going to bed.

And then 2 weeks ago, he started making a bit of a fuss about it all. Turned out, he had tonsillitis, so it all made sense. We felt sad for him, and in the evenings before bed, sometimes pulled him into our bed for 20 minutes or so and watched a bit of a movie together. The tonsillitis cleared up, the bad sleep continued for another few days. Then, it got better! Naps got better, and nighttime sleep was better. It wasn't such a fight to get him to go down, and he would stay down the whole time, even the whole 12 hour nights.

And then it got worse again earlier this week. The night before last, he was awake from 11pm until 2am. I think that was worsened by the coffee ice cream incident. But last night, he did it again - he was awake from 1am until 3am. It's so weird, because once he's calmed down a bit, he lays there for an hour just talking to himself intermittently, not upset at all. But definitely not sleeping. At least he's not screaming. I just can't figure out what is keeping him awake. Teeth? That's the only thing I can think of at this point.

In the meantime, I guess I'll be having naps in the afternoon. And trying to figure out what is up. Anyone have any ideas? Anyone else gone through this?

(I apologize for an extremely boring post... it just feels good to get it out!)

My new obsession

I made my order. The cloth diapers should be here soon!

Warning: This may be my new obsession.

I remember my friend Bonnie telling me a while back that there is a whole culture of cloth diapering. It is so true. (And on a side note, while trying to decide if this is for us, or more specifically for KRIS, Bonnie suggested that Kris could go over and have a chat with her husband about it, to see how he, as a dad, enjoyed cloth diapering. We both laughed and thought that would be a hilarious conversation to eavesdrop on.)

I am just so looking forward to being a little nicer to our friend, the Earth, as well as to our friend, the Pocketbook. I'm glad not to be putting chemicals next to my kids' skin 24/7. And I'm excited to put those cute little things on them!

We went with Gro Baby Diapers. Besides all the things we loved about them, they have also committed to having fair treatment and wages in their factories - of which they even have photos on their website. I'm glad they're manufactured responsibly.

My other favourite part is the diaper sprayer we ordered. It hooks into the clean water line of your toilet, and sits nicely on a little hook when not in use (and can be shut off to avoid messes by curious little hands, of which we have 2 and eventually 4!). I'm hoping to save on using the flushable liners by just being able to spray the poop right off into the toilet. I read some reviews on them, and everyone gave a 5/5 and said they're indispensable if you cloth diaper. They also said it's super easy to install - we'll see. :)

I guess I sound like I'm advertising - I'm not. I'm just that excited. And I need things to be excited about these days. So, for right now, it's diapers.

147 million orphans

Today, while reading Kisses from Katie (an amazing blog), I discovered another amazing blog - 147 million orphans. They sell necklaces made from magazines by Ugandan women. They also sell really cool cow bone hoop earrings. I just love the idea - fundraising, recycling, giving hope and dignity to people in a developing country. Check it out. The jewelry would make great presents. Or, to just keep for yourself... :)

Again, it inspires me to be doing something more. It can be so simple.

The restlessness continues...

Terrible Twos?

It hardly fails. I mention that my son is almost 2, and far more often than I care for, my words get met with a groan, and "Oh, the terrible twos". Mmm... how encouraging.

Now, Sam has his moments. But so do I. (Oh gosh, so do I!) But to refer to an entire age group as "terrible" seems a bit over the top to me.

I've kind of wondered if its just OUR reaction to things, and our own issues, that make it terrible or not. Kris and I got a flat tire coming home from church in the city on Sunday. A really nice highway maintenance worker stopped to help, and when he saw that Kris had it handled, decided just to leave his truck with the lights flashing parked behind us to make sure none of the idiots driving would hit us. It was really nice of him. He saw that Sam was sleeping in the back seat, and asked how old he was. I told him he'd be 2 in a few weeks. It was so neat, because he said his kids were 10 and 12, and how much he just LOVED the age Sam is. He said he loved how they learned stuff, and got to be more independent. And even though having a 12 year-old girl was tough on him sometimes, it seemed, he still delighted in that stage too. What a change from some of the comments I've been getting from strangers.

We talked about it for a bit, and I said, "I wonder if people think it's such a terrible age because they don't like letting go of control?" I'm a person who likes to be in control. But I'm learning to let that go. I'm definitely not perfect. I've noticed, the more I try to control Sam, or take away some of the freedoms he can handle, the more he acts out. Yet, if I just let him be who he wants to be, and wear rubber boots with his sweater vest if he'd like to, the less issues there are. It's just amazes me how the more little freedoms and choices he is given, the less fuss he makes about following the rules that aren't an option. Hmmm... we certainly still have some tantrums, and Kris and I still get frustrated, but if we can remember to let go of some control, it makes a huge difference. I feel like this is a revelation for us. And it's helping the twos to be terrific, and delightful, and completely enjoyable, the way I think they're supposed to be. (I may have to re-read this post once our kids are getting into the teen years. I feel a lot of the same rules probably apply!)

I just really appreciate how God has been moving and changing me into the parent He wants me to be. It's not always easy to see the areas that I need to work on in my life, but it's really rewarding to parent in a way that I never thought myself capable. I always thought I'd be strict, tough-as-nails, overly-structured, and really controlling. Yet, I'm learning to be more gentle, and let the rules slide when they don't really matter, and be gentle and calm. It's definitely a process... But I am so thankful to be surrounded by so many shining examples in my life of this kind of mother. And God always lets me know which parts of me need to be weeded out.

I'm thankful for these things. And for my wonderful, growing, learning, delightful little 2-year-old. And for a husband who is on the same page. God is good.