Birthday Swap

We have a few birthdays going on but none seem to be celebrated on the persons actual birthday.  It started with Arawynn's birthday on April 13th but Doug was out of town so we waited to celebrate.  Instead I baked cakes and cupcakes for for her, the boys and my brother, James on that day.  I made fondant and that turned into a nightmare.  How does anyone work with that stuff?  It just shreds and crumbles.  The people on Food Network make it look like it is the easiest stuff to manipulate and use.  Ha, and again I say Ha!  Horrid stuff.

The 14th was my sisters birthday but we celebrated James birthday instead.  The 17th was James' birthday but we celebrated Arawynn's birthday.  We tried to teach the boys how to blow out the candles so they could be pros at their party.  Their birthday is coming up on May 4th but we are having the party on May 5th, Cinco de Mayo.  Happy Birthday Mexico!  Okay, okay.  It's not really Mexico's birthday.  Too bad, it would have fit perfectly in my Birthday Swap story.  So there it is.  A bunch of jumbled up birthdays.

The boys have been walking a LOT over the weekend.  If they decide to go somewhere their first reaction is to try and walk there.  For a while Levi would get so excited to try and walk that he would go to fast and fall over.  He is finally slowing down and walking further.  Half of the time he still reaches out for a hand or finger to hold onto.  He doesn't need the help but he likes the security of someone nearby.  William doesn't need any fanfare to encourage him.  He just goes without a thought.

The boys have been playing so well with each other.  They laugh and giggle at each other.  The roll over and tickle each other.  It is so much fun to watch them.  There are occasions when it isn't so nice.  This morning for example.  They both had time-out in the pack-n-play and I heard William yelling and crying. I looked up and there he was laying down with Levi sitting smack on his head.  He was pinned and couldn't move at all.  Levi thinks he is playing all the time but he sure can be a bully to William.  Oh the things he does to my poor William.

So that is the excitement on our end.  Hope to hear from you all soon!

Progress. Finally!

William has a sensitive spirit.  He cries or fusses about things a little too quickly.  He has a difficult time handling change.  And he needs a physical connection with someone often.  So it isn't a shock that he has been challenging for me to get him to sleep on his own.  He has slept with me for the most part since he was born.  Before he could roll over he would nap in the crib but since then I haven't had much success.  It has been exhausting for me because it wakes me up so often when he is moving around.  I love snuggling with him but he needs to learn to sleep without physical contact.  

Now that he is over the ear infections and Roseola I felt I could finally tackle this problem.  So the past week has been all about Operation: "GO TO SLEEP!"

I started out with putting him in the pack'n'play for naps but he would scream and never go to sleep.  Fail. I decided I wasn't going to force it or fight it.  Instead I let him stay awake and play.  Even though he would rub his eyes and was tired I wasn't going to rock him to sleep.  He would try climbing into my lap and laying his head on my shoulder but I wouldn't let him get comfortable.  So for two days he didn't have a morning nap.  By the time Levi was ready for his afternoon nap so was William.  I put him in the pack'n'play and after a couple minutes of fussing he was so tired he laid down and slept.  

Success!

While I was working on naps I didn't want to work on nighttime.  I didn't want to stress him out too much so I stuck to our normal nighttime routine.  In a way it was nice because it made sure I went to bed at a decent time.

William is doing better at going down for a nap.  He doesn't fuss so much.  So I started working on bedtime with him.  The first night I let him cry for an hour before I got him out of bed.  My heart just couldn't let him go on crying any longer.  He fell asleep in my arms very quickly.  The second night I sat on my bed while he cried.  I thought that being nearby might make him feel not so abandoned.  He cried for close to an hour before he wore himself out.  Once he fell to his knees he laid down and fell asleep very quickly.  Whew! What an ordeal.  

I felt pretty good about it.  This was the first time he had fallen asleep in his crib.  He slept there until about four am when he started crying and then I scooped him up and laid him in bed by me.  At least I got a couple hours of snuggling in.

The third night he cried for fifteen minutes or so and sounded pretty panicky.  I went and got him and held him for another fifteen minutes before putting him back to bed.  He wasn't crying constantly anymore.  He would have a minute or two of resting before resuming the crying.  But he fell asleep sooner than the night before.  And I did not sit in the room with him.  Add to this the fact that he slept in his crib the entire night.  This was a big deal for me and I was so proud of him.  My sweet little man.

Tonight he cried but was out within a half hour.  I think it is getting better for him which means it is getting better for me.  Well, sort of.  I will get more rest but I sure will miss holding him while he sleeps.

It tears my heart to hear him cry and not respond to him.  Everything within me wants to go and scoop him up and cradle him in my arms.  Then kiss on him and tell him everything will be fine.  

That is the challenge to being a good parent isn't it?  Wanting to give into the child's desire but knowing you have to stay strong for the good of the child.  And to think the challenges will only get harder the older they are.  Five years from know I will look back on this and probably think of how easy that was compared to whatever I will be going through.   

Sometimes I ponder over the moments I have with these boys.  I compare it to what God must feel about us.  Having a child gives me so much insight into the love God has for us.  It makes me realize how selfish I have been.  Who am I kidding...how selfish I am.  I don't want to be selfish and I don't want to teach my children to be selfish.  I am grateful that God is so forgiving and His love is never-ending.  God give me the tools to be a good mom and raise them to be upright men, knowing what is good and noble.

Brotherly love. Or annoyance. Depends on how you look at it.

 It's all about going up with Levi.

 "Gimme some of that"

Levi

I look good in red.

I got myself in but now get me out!

He is such a ham.

Levi really likes to climb into the walker.  As to getting out...he can do it but he prefers to demand I get him out.

Carseats make for a fun toy.

Waiting outside the bathroom for his turn in the tub.

Bath time is the BEST

Outdoor time.  Being forced to like the grass.

William

 Chillin' with Uncle James

 Playing with Humphrey

 I have teeth, yes I do

I have teeth, how about you!

 New hoodie from Grandma Deborah

 Bath time is the my favorite time!

 Learning about grass.