Training up a child in the way he should go

I feel like Carter hit 12 months and all of a sudden it's like "ok, we're now training him". I know it's not technically a hard switch from infant to toddler, but we are in that transition right now. Parenting thus far I feel like has been relatively "easy" as far as making decisions about what to do--feed him, bathe him, allow good times of rest, keep him clothed/warm, and we're golden. He feels loved.

I was talking to my sister in law Emily over the holidays about all the controversy in Mommy world. It really starts from pregnancy--do you drink caffeine? do you watch your HR when you run? do you eat foods/drinks with aspertame? do you eat deli meat? all the way to natural vs epidural, breastmilk vs formula, cry it out vs sleep training, etc etc. I think it probably will just get more and more intense from here on out, and I feel like the most important thing is that Caleb and I are on the same page, intentionally raising our kids to be responsible and independent, praying that they will focus their hearts on Christ and live lives for Him.

Okay, so that's the long term goal. We're making daily decisions in the short term to get to that long term--training him up in the way of the Lord. Woa, pressure!

Carter is watching us constantly, we're his example. He already will grab the remote, aim it towards the TV, and push buttons. He's realizing his independence and that he can refuse. When there is food on his tray that he doesn't want--he just puts it on the floor. In the past week he's developed a pickiness of food that I never thought I would deal with considering he LOVED all foods in the pureeds stage.All he wants is bananas, strawberries, yogurt, and ritz crackers. He refuses all vegetables and recently most meats. So, Caleb and I have to decide--do we let him "win" or do we let him realize that what is in front of him is dinner and if he doesn't eat it, sorry dude. Hopefully you'll make a better choice next time? Geez, he's only 12 months but again, he's developing habits now and he definitely has cause and effect down--if I sit here and don't eat this chicken and broccoli, eventually I'll get my crackers, so I'll just wait! He's one smart cookie.

He's also definitely got the back arch/squirming thing down so that it is near impossible to hold him if he wants down or strap him in his seat/stroller if he doesn't want in. Ahh...and so it begins! I know most of you with older kids are probably thinking--you.just.wait! I know, I know, it's coming :).

All this to say, the past few days during naptime I've been listening to some Christian podcasts on parenting while doing chores around the house--dorky? probably, but that's my life right now. So, one today was on building responsibility and it gave a website of a list of "age appropriate chores"--and it starts at 9 months! So, here we go, get excited for chores, Carter boy! Here's the resource if any of you are interested:

http://familyroi.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Family_ROI_Age_Appropriate_Chores.pdf

Naptime is over, so I'm out...

Reflection

I tend to always reflect  back on the year on Christmas Eve night. Not sure what it is...maybe that my one constant Christmas traditions as long as I can remember is going to the Christmas Eve service, so as I sit I think back to "this time last year..." and then think "I wonder if this time next year...".

I know I say it every year but this past year has been such a blessing. The Lord gives and takes away and I hope I'm always able to say "blessed be the name of the Lord"--it's easy to say in a year of giving. It's been a year of transition for us, a transition that wasn't smooth or easy, but I wouldn't trade for the world.

There was a week in July that I don't think I'll ever forget. One of Caleb's co-workers lost his little boy to a brain tumor, he was only 6 weeks older than Carter and their family pretty much lived our life--that hit me so hard. The next day my Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember driving home one day and just losing it...then the Lord spoke so softly, reminding me that this world is not my home and for the first time ever (or that I can remember) I longed for heaven. Where there are no tears. No loss. No grief. No cancer.

We also had a scare with my Dad during that same time, thinking he had a stroke as he lost feeling in one of his arms and face. Thankfully it ended up being a pinched nerve, but that  phone call in the middle of the night from my Dad's wife saying Dad was in the hospital again left me clinging to the Lord.

But then time passed. Mom's surgery went well, Dad is doing great, Mom's almost done with radiation. The family that lost their son is still grieving I'm sure but I don't hear as much about them, although I do think about them often. Carter is growing like a weed and doing new things every day (as this blog as pretty much been dedicated to this past year) , such a joy in our home. It's such a blessing but I feel like when things are "good", I lose my dependence on the Lord. As I reflect, I must remember that every good and perfect gift is from above and give HIM glory. He has done great things for us, and I am filled with joy.

Who knows what the next year will bring, but as we approach the new year, I pray that in times of abundance and in times of need I am able to rest in the Lord and give Him the glory.

In more joy filled news, I'm thrilled that 2 of my 3 college roommates had babies within 2 days of each other. Welcome Miranda Grace and Nathan James--cant wait to squeeze those babies and love on their Mamas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Christmas is by far my favorite holiday, so even though Carter doesn't get it, we've been partaking in some Christmas festivities to help get in the spirit. I think Carter is just confused by it all...why is there a big tree in our living room? why do we have lights in our yard? why does Mommy insist on listening to Christmas music instead of my kid CDs in the car, and in the house, and singing in the bathtub..? and who in the world is this creepy old man that Mommy forced me to sit on?

LOVE this. He is so confused. and innocent. He didn't cry--just could not figure it out!

I'd always heard about the Trains at Northpark but felt like you had to have kids to go. So, with Carter in tow Mommy got to see the train exhibit! Carter was interested for a bit, but this little boy's conductor hat was way more interesting than the trains.

sweet boy

Finally! Someone I know! Whattup Aaron? What did you think of that creepy old man with the beard?

Although all of this is fun, I really want Carter to understand early the true meaning of Christmas. We look at the nativity and talk about Jesus' birthday, sing Away in a Manger and Silent Night,  but I know we're building the foundation right now. So although he seems confused, I know that seeds are being planted and we're building the foundations for future Christmas traditions. Merry Christmas!

3 huge events in 55 hours! Whew, tired just thinking about it!

 December 2nd....we went to Austin to see Aunt Beth marry Uncle Clint! It was such a pretty wedding, but unfortunately I didn't get much captured on my camera. Carter was dealing with a stomach bug+cutting a molar + miserable sleeping which =needy baby in Mama's arms.

Nana and Papa with their 5 grands, love this non-posed shot :)

Our lil family

Harrison could get this boy to smile! Love his hat!
Cannot believe I got ZERO pics of the bride and groom!

The next morning we woke up and it was CARTER"S FIRST BIRTHDAY! I think I already summed this up in a previous post, but here are some pics...

Papa's pancakes for  breakfast

Daddy and Carter both enjoying grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. Carter LOVES grilled cheese and Caleb's ritual is to eat grilled cheese pre-runs and this was pre-race!

Lots of playing whatever Carter wanted to play!

My big ONE year old!

And it would not be the 3rd without the monthly photo shoot!

One last birthday present to end the day--thanks for the fridge farm Brown's! He LOVES it (or actually loves to take the magnets off the fridge and throw them on the floor...we're working on putting the magnets back on the fridge, then we'll work on putting them in the farm!)

After Carter went to bed all attention focused on Caleb. He was preparing for a huge race and I felt like his glory of hard training and work was kinda put in the shadows of the wedding and birthday. However, he was mentally and physically prepared. Here's all the clothes all ready to go!

Homemade arm band? Check! Gu? Check!


RACE DAY!! December 4th

Pre race breakfast of champions=frosted flakes. He's watching the weather here.  Wow,  I tried to be positive but the weather was miserable for a runner. Temps were good--40s, but it poured rain all night and it continued to pour sheets of rain all morning. He says it let up a little before the start and for the first few miles, but miles 4-26.2 were complete downpour. 

Carter and I braved the cold, rainy weather to go out and support Daddy! This was taken before the downpour.  It was very different being on the spectator side of the White Rock. Being out there definitely gave me motivation for training, but I can say sipping my Starbucks in the cold cheering on the runners wasn't so bad :).

Okay, so I did not get my camera out anymore to save it from the torrential downpour (not to mention Caleb was running so fast it would have been blurry!), so we have no pics  of Caleb actually running or post-race. Honestly, I think Caleb was so miserable post race we may have needed counseling if I got my camera out and started snapping photos. Let's just say Carter and I saw him and we strolled around a bit before talking to him....then found him outside after..eh..getting sick. However, pale-faced and shaking, he said "I got Boston". That's right, folks, in the miserable weather and "no personal records will be made today" schpeels from the anchors on the marathon broadcast, my hubby not only PR'd but ran lightning speed at 3:03. For those faithful readers not into running, this breaks down into a 6:59/mile. Yeah, Carter's 1/2 Kenyan (that's for you, Al Brown!). 

Daddy needed to rest his legs post marathon. Carter didn't really understand...

We made this sign and had it with us in the rain, but Carter was still proud to present it  to Daddy! 

Our fabulous friends hosted a post-race party in their fancy new home. Here's Caleb with his  fellow lawyers/lunch buddies/neighbors/good friends. 

Yea runners! I think this was the first race for everyone except  Caleb! I LOVE seeing people get into running and so proud of Erin who quote "I don't see why anyone would want to run that far" to me just 1.5 years ago. Love she got the bug :)

It was such a busy weekend, but full of so many memories! Bring on December!

Birthday PARTY!

I will let the pictures do the talking...

Food Table

Carter's Cake

Smash cake on the special day plate!

More food table

Invitation, birthday pictures

Opening presents--he did not know what to think. Pretty much  kept a little frown on his face the whole time--very confused, sweet boy.

More presents!

All eyes on Carter--I guess he's not really into being in the spotlight....yet.

Banner from my baby shower--this will hopefully become a staple for many birthdays to come! Thanks Alison Kemp!

Did NOT like his cake. Had no interest in eating it or tasting it. I think he was very confused by people singing and everyone staring at him. Haha, love him!

Daddy finally rescued him from the cake after we realized he was not interested at. all!

Birthday banner. I strategically placed this over the TV so no college football would be on during his birthday party!

close up

After the party was over and there was less pressure we tried cake again. Mmm...he realized the goodness he was missing out on!

There's our 1 year old birthday boy!

He LOVES his wagon he got from Great Nana and Papa Burl. Papa Burl even  personalized it with his name and longhorns!

Playing with Mimi

Great Nana likes to snuggle, Carter likes to get a quick fix with his blanket and GO!

So special to have all of Carter's grandparents and great grandparents to celebrate his birthday. Cannot believe I let everyone leave without getting pics! Here I am later that evening with my grandmothers.

Oh, that boy...

The past couple of weeks we've had more rain than normal. I love the rain, especially this time of year when it's tempting to just stay inside, make a hot cup of coffee/tea, and snuggle. Carter was great this time last year at the snuggling and enjoying rainy/cold weather....this year? not so much! He LOVES to go outside. Will point the door and wave bye bye constantly. If I go to the door and let him look out or look out the windows, he will cry/scream. Not good enough!

His birthday was a very rainy day where it pretty much did not stop raining. However, as many people know, my philosophy is--when it's your birthday, you pretty much get what you want. Caleb takes this to a whole new level by asking me to tie his shoes for him or brush his teeth for him "cause it's his birthday". Haha. I digress. So, on Carter's rainy, miserable weather day of a birthday, he wanted to go outside. Did we go? You betcha. Mommy did. Daddy is not much into getting wet and was "resting his legs" for the marathon the next day (man, I have so much to catch up on!). So, multiple times we went outside, dancing and singing "I'm singing in the rain" and he LOVED it. What a good memory of his first birthday--singing, dancing, and being silly in the rain with my happy, giggly, little one year old birthday boy. 

What else did he do on his actual birthday? We woke up at Nana and Papa's house and he ate Papa's famous pancakes--first time for pancakes :). Drove back to Dallas (Aunt Beth got married in Austin Fri night, Daddy ran marathon Sunday, Carter birthday Saturday), stopped at Subway for lunch and Carter got a birthday cookie (first time). He preferred banana over the cookie :). Came home and got lots of 1-1 attention. Mommy and Daddy played with him on the floor, followed him around, let him explore things he usually is prohibited to explore, and sang in the rain. Not too shabby of a first birthday in his little mind , as it was all things Carter :). 

In going with the theme of how I started this post, it was raining last night and Carter wanted to go outside. Nope, not gonna happen when it's pouring rain and it's not your birthday :). He pointed to the door, we looked out, but when we came back to the kitchen he was crying--poor thing doesn't understand and I'm such a tease by letting him look outside but not go outside. He handed me my keys (I thought he was playing his new game--he hands you things and you say thank you) then looked at me and waved bye bye. That little stinker. He was going to find a way to go outside one way or another--if I wasn't going to let him go out the front, then why not go for a car ride? I was impressed by his strategy, but unfortunately for him it didn't work. More pics to come...I promise!

Happy Birthday Carter!!

We've had oh so much fun the past couple of weeks, I've got a lot to catch up on! However, I wanted to go ahead and do his one year post now so I would remember all he's doing at this age. We just got back from the doctor, poor guy got 4 shots and 5 vials of blood drawn (after 2 sticks!) but he's a trooper and a healthy little one year old, couldn't ask for more!

STATS:

Weight: 19.12 lbs (10%)

Height: 30 inches (55%)

Head Circumference: 18 inches (25%)

Stage 3 diapers

mostly 12 month clothes, pants still fit at 6-12 months

size 2 shoes (very little feet!)

I think it's crazy he went from 80% to 10% in weight in a year, but the doctor says he's very healthy and proportionate, so I'm not worried. He's just a skinny, active little boy!

EAT:

The big change this month was transitioning to whole milk. He got 1/2 whole milk 1/2 breast milk  in a sippy (no more bottles!) up until Thanksgiving day at which point we transitioned to 100% whole milk. Upon the change to 100% he started to get less interested in drinking his milk. I didn't think much about it but the Friday after Thanksgiving he vomited (I thought he had too much water) and then over the next few days we started correlating vomiting with times he consumed his entire 7 ounces of milk. This, along with blood in his stool (this is my diary folks, so you just ignore these parts if it's tmi!) and persistent wheezing (and with the help of google) had me self diagnose Carter with a possible milk allergy. Well, I didn't really diagnose--Caleb had a cow's milk intolerance as a kid, I called the doctor, he said I'm not too off target, and recommended I start giving him soy milk as an experiment for the week and we would do a blood test today at his check up. So, he's now on soy milk and is doing great, but I also think he might have had a little bug last week, so I'm not sure if it's coincidence? Either way, he's back to liking his milk and no more vomiting/GI issues, so we're happy. I will be interested to see what the bloodwork shows. As far as food, mostly table food, pretty much whatever we're eating. Caleb says Carter's so skinny because I give him chicken and broccoli for dinner :). He ate cake at his birthday party (on 2nd attempt...more on that in a coming up birthday party post) and a cookie on his actual birthday, so we are slowly acclimating him to yummy goodness and not just fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains! After the little bug/milk issues he is back to being our good little eater and is eating a TON--just ate an entire grilled cheese sandwich and 6 strawberries for lunch for example :). 

PLAY/DEVELOPMENT:

A friend at a party last night summed up Carter perfectly in one word: "busy". He is WALKING (as of 11/14!) and climbing and exploring like crazy. He is interested to see how things work, as cause/effect is definitely mastered. He is getting more interested in books, especially touch and feel, and will turn the pages. He started pointing (mostly does the "Hitler salute" type of point) and now will point wherever he wants to go or what he wants--primarily it's the door and will then wave "bye bye" as this boy loves to go and loves to be outside. As the doctor so eloquently put it today, "he's all boy". As a SLP, I feel like we constantly work on naming things but to him, everything is still /dada/. I know he'll get it, and believe me--he does a great job communicating wants/needs by signing (eat, bye bye, all done) or by pointing to what he wants. He's very active and strong, will rarely cry because of falling down, but if I tell him "no" or move him from something he shouldn't be doing, he cries so easily. I'll be interested to see if we have a sensitive little guy on our hands. He loves balls, lights (not light up toys but actual lightbulb lights), bathrooms, remotes, and phones. He even picked up the remote, aimed it at the TV, and started pushing buttons the other day....must get that one from Daddy :). 

SLEEP:

Minus our week of GI issues and trip to Austin which were miserable sleeping nights, he continues to be pretty consistent with a 7:30-6:30 schedule and 2 naps (8ish and 1ish) during the day. He may play in his bed for up to an hour before falling asleep (he acts grumpy and wants to go to bed but will play before falling asleep) and I love watching this playtime on the video monitor. Just this morning he was doing the "downward dog" yoga pose and talking up a storm!

HEALTH:

Not such a great month for health. I pretty much summed up the possible milk allergy stuff in the eating section,  so I wont do that here.  About 2 weeks ago he got a cold, which turned into fever, got diagnosed as croup. Lungs sounded clear, just a nasty cough. Well, fast forward 3 days, croup resolved but wheezing begins. The pulmonologist told me at the first sign of wheezing to give him a call, so he put him on pulmicort 2x/day in addition to albuterol, advair, and nasonex. Wheezing got worse, he had retractions, took him into the doctor and he put him on q 4 hour albuterol treatments around the clock--yes, setting our alarms to give him breathing treatments during the night. Thankfully, he slept through them in our arms as we put a mask on his face and blared his nebulizer. Love that sound sleeper :). We only did that a few nights, but no changes--not better, not worse, stayed the same. So, this past Monday (11/28) we put him back on the oral steroid :(. Thankfully, he's back to his healthy little self and we're hoping and praying we can make it through cold and flu season without any more steroid doses!

He also got his first molar this past week (bottom left) which puts him to 4 bottom teeth and 2 top teeth. 

I need to upload all my pics so no 1 year photos here, so hoping for lots o picture posts ahead--Thanksgiving/turkey trot, birthday party, Beth's wedding, birthday day, marathon---whew, what a couple of weeks!