Consistency!

I love my little four-year-old. He keeps me on my toes and says some of the funnniest things. The other night he wanted something, and when I said he couldn't have it, he stated, "I'm not too tickled about this." We are not even sure where he heard the phrase tickled! When I was going to discipline him, he called out (very dramatically!), "Somebody free me!" It is a blessing to have these humorous statements come from a child who can also test my patience beyond what I thought was possible. He benefits from consistency in schedule, life, and discipline. I, however, struggle with consistency now that I am a mom of three. I would love to say that I am self-disciplined and follow through every time. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I know that I need to discipline for disobedience each time, but oh my, it is so hard! This morning the phrase, "My grace is sufficient for you," kept playing in my head. And do you know what? On a day that included several episodes of disobedience as well as hyperactivity caused by fatigue, the Lord was faithful! God is good--all of the time. Now, onto tomorrow...

NESCorF diet

If you want to lose weight, have I got the diet for you!

When Grant was 4 months old, I discovered blood in his (dirty) diaper. After discussing the situation with his pediatrician and a nurse at Riley Children's Hospital, I decided to try going onto an elimination diet. I took the most common allergens out of my diet, which I remembered by using the acroynm NESCorF: nuts, eggs, soy, corn, and fish. In addition to these, I eliminated dairy. Eventually, by adding the foods back into my diet, I saw that he was allergic to dairy and corn. I kept those foods out of my diet until I stopped nursing him. He is now a healthy, allergy-free two-year-old!

During my pregnancy with Caroline I was so worried that I would have to repeat this process and wondered if I would even want to do it again. At six weeks I found the same symptom of an allergy with Caroline as I'd seen with Grant: blood in her diaper. Ugh! I opted to try removing just dairy to see if this would cure the problem. The bleeding stopped but other GI issues continued. I figured, since corn had been Grant's other trigger, I would cut that out instead of eliminating everything. However, she seemed to continue having GI problems. So, I am currently dariy, nut, egg, soy, corn, and fish-free (but may add back corn soon).

What do I eat? This is a question many people ask. I still eat oat bran for breakfast (cereal often has soy or dairy or corn), and for lunch I eat hummus on pitas, matzo bread, or rice cakes. I have a list of meals that I ate during my last stint with this diet so dinner is a bit easier than it was last time. The foods I really miss are glasses of milk at dinner and peanut butter for lunch. Yum!

As difficult as this diet is, I love nursing my daughter and will continue this diet as long as is necessary. It is such a special thing, and I'm thankful that I can do it!

Third vs. First Child

Caroline does not like shopping. Well, to clarify, she doesn't like sitting in her carseat while I shop. Generally, if I do not wear her in the Moby, I end up with a screaming baby before the end of the excursion, which is what happened yesterday at Costco. I made it almost all the way through the store without any major glitches (well, unless you count mango nectar spilled all over Grant and our gallons of milk)--until I ran into a friend. My tired baby started screaming and several people, in their amazing knowledge of my daughter, commented that she was hungry. We made it to the lines that were, in typical Costco fashion, 5 carts deep. Everyone turned to look at the woman with the screaming baby, the sticky 2-year-old, and the wild 4-year-old. I had a similar situaton with Jack when he was her age, and I remember feeling like everyone was thinking what a bad mom I was to let my baby scream. Yesterday I didn't get the feeling that I was a bad mom. I did, however, feel as though everyone was looking at me and feeling sorry for me. I'm not sure which one is worse!

27 months!

This may seem like an odd thing to realize, but today Grant is 27 months. And the only reason that I really even care about this milestone (lest you think I continue to celebrate the 22nd of each month as a birthday of sorts for him) is that he should have 50 words by this point, according to the early intervention program provided by the state. I've been waiting for this date and counting his words, adding each new one as I notice it. We have indeed hit 50 (total: 51 words)! My favorite words are elbow, Costco, and marshmallow. The words I wish he would say are milk, water, and more (but who needs useful words?). I love my little boy and have high hopes that some day he will wake up and speak in full sentences, as many people have told me happens. We'll see!

Passing the torch

me at 3 months (I think)

Caroline at 8 weeks

When I was growing up, my uncle nicknamed me J.J., which stood for "jelly jaws." I've decided that my baby girl may surpass me in the jaws department! We went to the doctor yesterday and had her weighed and measured at her two month appointment. She was 13 lb. 6 oz. and 24 inches long. Interestingly enough, Jack was also 13 lb. 6 oz. at 2 months, and Grant was 24 inches at 2 months. Caroline appears to carry most of her weight in her cheeks!

A bike, a trike, and a ham

Yesterday we decided it was time to take the big step and buy Jack a bicycle. We've been contemplating this for awhile, and, as much as we love teaching our children to share, watching Grant chase Jack around for a turn on the tricycle was becoming a bit much. After seeing that the bikes were on sale we went to the store and perused our options, eventually opting for the Cars bicycle. Of course, we also needed a helmet to match our new bike. I think Jack was more excited about his helmet than he was about his bike. In fact, he wore it right up until bedtime last night. Ryan and I worried that he would become discouraged after riding for a couple of minutes and return to his trike--fortunately, we needn't have been. Jack rode like a champ and spent a couple of hours enjoying his newfound freedom. And, just as lovely, Grant had the tricycle all to himself and displayed his demolition derby tendancies, crashing into Jack at every chance he had. They had a great time. Thanks, Ryan, for spending time outside with the boys and encouraging their play!

While Ryan and the boys were outside, I had the privilege of attending to our dear daughter. She had a fussy day but seems to perk up as soon as she sees the orange light our camera emits as it focuses. At that point she dons a smile and charms! I finally got a child who loves the camera!

Here we go...

I've wanted to start a blog for awhile. As I have considered how to begin this endeavor I've looked at other blogs to see how they were begun. After much thought, the best way to start may be with pictures. Who does not like pictures?

my little explorers in their boat (or completely emptied toy box)


mommy and Caroline

Caroline

Daddy and his princess