For those of you that may not know...I have played the piano since I was 7. I love playing the piano. As a kid I often used the piano as a way of escape. I would enter into a new world with each musical piece. Unfortunately I haven't played it for quite some time. I just can't seem to make the time to play it much. Yesterday I decided to get the books out, dust off the keys and play a little for Ryan. He was very interested, and he decided to try his hand at a few notes.
"Upside-down Orneriness"
"Telling Grampie All About It"
"Clean Cutie"
"Hi, how are you today?"
"We're sitting in Brandy's garden. This is a lavendar plant."
"It says so...right here."
"See! Right there...'lavendar'."
"Hey, aren't you supposed to have something for the birds in here?"
"I like your hat. I want a hat."
We like to define a toddler as:
We spent a little time outside. It was a pretty nice day although quite windy. I'll be glad when the wind is more of a light breeze. I planted some tomato plants today in Brandy's garden. I also bought a few items for our vegetable garden in the backyard. I'm still waiting for that mud puddle to dry a little before I can start planting. It looks like this weekend is suppose to be nice. I'm hoping to do some gardening this weekend. I'll post pictures of Brandy's garden and our vegetable garden as they begin to grow and produce.I know this video is rather short. Sometimes my little man is hard to catch on video. If he sees the video camera it's all over. He just wants to eat the camera!
He is walking so well. The farthest he has walked without assistance and without falling is from the chair in the living room to his highchair in the dining room (approx. 15 feet). That's a long way for a little guy.
We've been having a bit of a battle-of-the-wills of sort lately. Come time for bed and our house is not necessarily the most peaceful place. Now don't get me wrong, we have a great, peaceful evening routine that most would assume would lead to a peaceful bedtime. Not so!
Starting at about 7:00 or 7:30 in the evening (sometimes earlier if he's very cranky) Ryan takes a soothing, warm bath. He then gets a massage, or at least a quick rub-down with lotion. Then he gets his clothes on. Then comes the bottle of warm milk, and as he quietly drinks I read him a story (most nights anyway...sometimes books create way too much excitement for him), often he falls asleep eating and I gently take him to his room and lay him peacefully in his crib afterwhich I say a quick prayer over the miracle God has blessed me with. Sounds peaceful doesn't it?
Up until lately I have been able to lay him in his bed and quietly leave the room. He would remain asleep for most of the night without awakening. For several nights now as soon as his sweet little body touched his bed he would come all the way awake and the crying would begin. I would pick him up and rock him...sing to him...and he would fall asleep quickly. The second time down in the crib usually worked. Not lately. For the last 2 nights as soon as he touched the bed the crying commenced. If I picked him up the crying continued. The only remedy...take him back in the living room and allow him to play, but he's so tired that his playing usually led to a bunch of falling down, whining, crying, head bonking, frustration. This just won't work. The boy needs to sleep. His mom needs to sleep! So for the last 2 nights our routine has remained the same and we say our prayers together. He gets to lay in his crib (awake or asleep) and I say goodnite. The crying is heartwrenching. Last night I went to bed feeling like a horrible mother. Tonight was a little easier. The crying didn't last as long. I don't feel as bad, and hopefully he will begin to understand that bedtime is just part of the day...a good part...a peaceful end.
Tomorrow is a new day!
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therfore I will wait for him." Lamentations 3:22-24
Even if there are only 2 teeth!
He was a little nervous at first.
But then he warmed up to the birds. They're bigger than he is, so I'm sure it's a bit intimidating. They are also very noisy. I don't know how many geese and ducks swarmed around us when we first pulled out the bread, but there were a lot. A lot of birds make a lot of noise.
Ryan decided to try some of the bird food (don't worry...it's only bread).
After feeding the birds some bread we decided to take a walk around the park. 
Some of the geese followed us.
Playing in the Toy Box
It's a Duck!
"Mom, is it done yet?"
Today was a busy day for us. Ryan had to be at the doctor's office at 8:30 this morning which meant we had to leave the house no later than 7:30. No...the doctor's office is not an hour's drive, but it takes an hour to load up, drive, get caught in a.m. rush hour traffic, enter the parking garage, hope for a parking space, find a parking space, unload, get on the elevator, visit the necessary room (of course I drank coffee on the way!), and enter the office to sign in. I'm glad we didn't leave any later this morning. Rush hour was a mess! The appointment went well. Ryan screamed his head off during and after the shot. This time, for the first time, I noticed him recognizing what was happening...laying on the paper, on the table, with pants down meant bad things. It was a neat realization. After his appointment Ryan and I had a "date" in the cafeteria. He ate some scrambled eggs and some oatmeal. I ate a biscuit with some gravy and any of Ryan's leftovers. That's becoming a more and more common thing. He eats...I get what's left. After our breakfast we went to the gift shop scouting out some hats for Ryan's Nana. We left empty-handed. Oh well.
We then went to Wal-Mart. I was on a mission to return a non-working item. I had to do a little arguing, and then I found my receipt. All was well. I also got a new pattern. Did you know that the Belle Isle Wal-Mart still has a fabric/sewing department? Not many Wal-Marts have that department anymore. Many have a "craft" department consisting of one aisle of crafty odds and ends. I found a great pattern for making some pants/shorts for my little guy. Very few things fit him around the waste. He grows out of his pants lengthwise long before they even begin to fit him around the middle. I decided I could just make him some pants and shorts for the upcoming months. It will be fun for me. Who knows?...maybe I could start making and selling pants/shorts custom fitted for preemies. Do you think there would be a market for that?
Well, anyway we went to deliver a note to a family of a preemie. Without getting into any details for fear of saying something I would later regret the mission was unsuccessful.
The rest of the day was spent at home other than an hour or so over at Nana's house to install a carseat in her car. Ryan has been a nut all afternoon. I think they must have spiked his shot with some caffeine because he has been one wired up little boy all afternoon and even until just about 30 minutes ago. He has been so happy though and talking and laughing. I just love that little boy. I can't imagine why God would ever choose me to be blessed so much, but I'm so very very thankful.
Some exciting news...Ryan actually went to sleep...on his own! We had our usual nighttime routine stuff after which he and I laid in the twin bed in his room. He wouldn't settle down, so I laid him in his crib. He fussed and cried for a while, but I kept telling him it was "night, night time". Eventually he laid down and rolled from one end of the crib to the other until he finally wore himself out and went to sleep. I hope this is the start of something good. Speaking of sleeping reminds of something I haven't mentioned. Some things I mention on this blog are meant only for my own personal records. This is more or less my journal. I would love to have more time to write everyday. Some things I mention on this blog are meant to inform/help someone else. Ultimately I would hope that anything I say would lead you to see God's great love, His grace, and His mercy...that He still does miracles and, He still offers you a place in Heaven with him throughout eternity. One of these days I'll devote an entire blog only to this subject. If you have questions please ask though.
I got off a little on my original thought...Speaking of sleeping reminded me of what we've been going through at our house lately. Ryan as been sleeping terribly for a week or more now. He has been going to bed at a reasonable hour, but he has been waking up within a couple of hours screaming his head off. It's a scream that's more than just "I don't want to be in bed". It's a terrifying scream. At times he is easily consoled. At other times it takes a long time for him to settle down. Dad is not even an option during most of these times. He often goes back to sleep but then wakes up again a couple hours later. It's a viscious cycle. I asked him the other day if he remembered he was a 13 month old not a 3 month old. It's been worrying me to some degree, but then my mom called me the other day and said she had read in a parenting magazine in her doctor's office that children who are teething often wake up with "Night Screams". It fits perfectly. I've started giving him Motrin right before bed in hopes that if the screams are at all related to pain the medicine would help. Other than that I am now just resting assured that this too shall pass. I'm just glad to find out what it is and to know it's a common normal thing.
Mister Connor
Little Miss Macy
Mashed Potato Mask
Sharing With Zoe
(That white dot on her back is not a natural thing...it's potatoes)
