Random February

After January's business at Disney, I wasn't sure February could be much more, but it turns out it was quite busy! We had a lot of fun and some not so fun moments (poor Reid's 5(!!!) cavities that needed to be filled... and we started the process and he bit his lip while it was numb!) I'm continuing to see Reid and Gemma bond while Micah's away at school and it just warms my heart. :)

Tooth Fairy

It's officially happened!!!!  We have a child who has lost a tooth.  I didn't think he was old enough....I tend to live in denial when the signs of growing up are glaring in front of my face.  I love watching Micah grow and learn and mature, but it also makes me crazy because I know I'll never have these years back.

Last Sunday, at 5 years and 3 months, Micah lost his first tooth and the tooth fairy paid a visit.  He was SO excited and I told him the tooth fairy would not be coming unless he fell asleep.  I had asked on facebook the going rate for the tooth fairy and received a large gamut of answers, and while I liked some of the suggestions, I had to do what was in our house (ie, the $2 for the tooth coin didn't work out).  We ended up making "Tooth Fairy $$" and had a picture of a tooth and the fairy wand.  Micah came down the stairs in the morning ecstatic, pure joy on his face.

8 months!

Amazingly, here we are again, celebrating another month gone in Gemma's short little life so far.  She's inching closer and closer to that one year mark, and it's coming all too quickly for this mama!  I want her to stop growing, to slow down, to savor each tiny little moment...and yet I look forward to her getting bigger, becoming more expressive, enjoying life in new ways than she can in her infancy.  It's such a mix of emotions, that all boils down to this intense love that I have for her that is so hard for me to express in words or actions sometimes :)

Month 8 - you've brought personality, joy and excitement.  I don't have doctor stats, so we'll just have to wait until next month to see we're she's at.

Things to remember:

• how you've started waving this month - saying "hi" with arm flails, and it's awesome!
• how teething has started wrecking havoc on your sleep - you had 2 different occasions where you came down with a fever and were extremely needy (whimpering, sad, pitiful) for a couple of days...can't wait until teething is over - in 2+ years :)
• how you like to growl when you're happy - such lady like sounds!
• how you cock your head to the side, like you're flirting ever so slightly...it's adorable.
• how you started crawling this month baby girl!!!  
• how you've become quite vocal - and even say "mama" when you're starting to need some attention
• how you've started giggling/laughing in your car seat - what a change from your earlier months of life!
• how you started puffs this month and love them - as well as lots of roasted veggies we cook!
• how you've mastered going from a crawling position to a sitting position - another thing that's impacting your sleep just a bit.

You're such a joy Gemma Jams!  You provide such happiness and you're a perfect piece of our family!  

11 months? Time is FLYING!

How is it possible that I am one month away from having a one year old and an almost three year old?  Where has time gone?  Reid is 11 months today and boy has he grown!!  He is continuing to explore the world around him, and getting ever so close to walking.  This past weekend he actually stood for periods of time on his own before cautiously sitting on the ground and he even took a couple steps here and there with only slightly holding on to mom or dad's finger.  Sooo close, too soon, and we'll have a walking little boy.  He has pretty much mastered his sleeping at this point and I am extremely grateful for that, as I've realized I can do anything on a decent night's sleep.  We have also seen a much more, shall I say determined? Reid? I fear the word "strong-willed" as we already have one of those boys, and LOVE him dearly, it might be a bit crazy in our household if that's the case, lol.  Reid is quite persistent in what he wants to do and definitely shows his dissatisfaction if we impede on his plans.  He also popped his 5th tooth this month, and I'm thinking he's working on his 6th right now as he's had a fever the last two days and been a bit more needy as well as chewing on what he can get his hands on.  He's growing so much and looking less and less like a little baby - though I know he still is in the big picture of life!

(Pictures will be updated here - poor baby has had a fever for the past 36 hours and was definitely not himself today, though I did snap a couple...I think we will do it again in a couple of days when he's feeling better...)

Things to remember:

• How much you love to play with the kitchen stuff...tupperware, pots and pans, dishwasher, fridge, pantry...you name it, you love it!
• How you have started standing on your own in short increments as well as taking baby steps with barely holding on to a finger...next up, walking!
• How you cruise with your walking toy, forward, backward, sideways...you're a pro.
• How you love to climb the stairs and get such a kick out of me coming to "get you".  You giggle profusely and then continue to climb (as long as you aren't distracted and fall backwards, only for me to catch you, lol!)
• How you have started drinking water from your sippy cup, as well as a bottle before your afternoon nap.  You are now officially down to 2 feedings from Mama and 1 more with the bottle.
• How you got your 5th tooth this month and I think #6 is on its way.
• How you are great at saying bye-bye when you go night-night or someone leaves the room.
• How you started doing "so big" when Grandma and Grandpa came to visit and love the attention and praise you get from it.
• How you absolutely thrive on flipping backwards, so much so that we have to be on guard when holding you to make sure we don't drop you unexpectedly.
• How you have finally made it through nursery without getting Mama called out.  3 weeks and counting!
• How you have started eating lunches that mimic your brothers - ie, peanut butter sandwiches and cheese sticks and fruit and veggies...such a big boy!
• How you whimper when you see new people in your proximity...not sure if you think that they are taking you away or that Mom or Dad are leaving you, but it makes us laugh.
• How you are saying "Da-Da" and "Ma-Ma" with much more regularity.
• How happy you continue to be, day in and day out!

We love you sweet Reid and I cannot believe next post will be your 1 year post!  Ah, you are growing up too quickly baby boy, but we are thriving on every second of it.

#4 is here too

Within a week of tooth number 3 making its appearance, number 4 decided to show up too.  And #4's timing was over the course of a day, truly.  It was in the morning that I noticed just the tiniest little spot where the tooth had broken the surface, and by the time Reid when to be that night, it was all the way across!  I have never seen a tooth come in quite that fast, during the day no less, but let's just say that Reidees was quite needy and fussy due to his pain and discomfort. 

Thankfully we have made it through those two teeth and are seeing a much happier and content little guy.  What a joy he is and a blessing to our family!

Say it Ain't So

Could it be possible that I gave up too soon?

And what are the chances that Micah's 2 year molars came in this week?  The same week I decided to try and potty train.  That would explain the fever, the disrupted sleep, the lack of appetite, the dehydration, the hands in the mouth and the overall crankiness the second half of the week.  Seriously, the timing is just uncanny.

Lo and behold, after I gave up yesterday and put him in diapers, he wakes up this morning dry.  He then proceeds to tell Christian (as I was gone running already) that he needed to go potty.  Christian was fixing breakfast and told him just a minute, and he even had to wait a little longer.  And then he went.  For a long time.  Then before lunch he runs up to me and says the same thing, and he went again (all the while maintaining a dry diaper).  He slightly resisted before nap time (probably because it was my prompted versus his) but he did end up going, again.

After nap we were off to Monkey Joe's to play for a little bit and then out to eat at a fabulous Indian restaurant Christian has discovered.  When we got to the restaurant Micah comes up to me while I'm looking at the menu and tells me he has to go potty.  We head to the bathroom, and he went!  He also had very little wetness in the diaper that had been on him since he went down for his nap. 

All this play-by-play of the day to say, maybe he is ready?  Or at least certainly heading in the right direction fast.  And maybe he really was just dealing with 2 year molar pain, on top of trying to learn potty training and it threw everything off.  And maybe I did just give up too soon.  Whatever the case, I'm just taking his lead right now.  It seems to be the best of both worlds, if he still comes up to tell us when he has to go potty but does it wearing a diaper so as to avoid any accidents that could happen.

Ah, the joys of parenting that always leave you wondering where the next road in the journey will take you and what you'll think looking back on where you've been and where you're at.  It's a wonderful, exciting albeit frustrating ride that I wouldn't trade for anything.

Tooth number three

has finally emerged!  It took a looooooong time, but it's broken the surface and we are, hopefully, on our way to a happier Reid!  I will also say that in addition to the tooth breaking through, he's gone 2 nights of sleeping completely through the night.  7:30-6:30 2 nights ago, and 7-6 last night.  YAY!!  It's been a long journey with Reid and sleep at night, but we are making progress, I just feel it.  Now, I know I'm saying this shortly after a 4 day string of awfulness at night, but that was with extenuating circumstances that I know can't be held at face value.  So, there you have it.  Teeth are coming through (I'm sure #4 is close behind) and sleeping at night is occurring.  That's a good day in the Lauffer household.

On another note, my dear husband did not fair so well today.  On his way out the door this morning he stood up from tying his shoes and nailed his head on the corner of the half wall.  It was a pretty loud bang, and within 2 minutes I hear him calling for me to get him a towel 'cause he's bleeding.  20 minutes later after applying pressure and ice, I analyze the wound and tell him I didn't feel comfortable with him going in to work today without getting it checked out first.  I looked up Urgent Care, and off he went.  A half-hour later he's getting 4 staples in his head.  Ouch!  Praise the Lord it wasn't worse than that, but wow, what a way to start off the day.

The positive that came from it (for me, anyways:)) is that he did in fact stay home from work.  He was more tired than usual and dealing with head soreness that he needed to rest, per doctor's orders.  So at least we got to see a little more of Daddy today, staples and all.

It helped having him around as the potty training day 2 began.  I have to say, Micah is doing wonderful!  Yesterday we went through 6 undies when all was said and done, today was only 2.  And the 1st one was really only minor wetness.  He's been great at staying dry, and only resisted a couple of times when I asked him to go on the potty.  One time was because I could tell he needed to go, but he was in the middle of watching Mickey and he didn't want to leave.  That's my struggle - I don't want him to have an accident because he'd rather not take the time to go, but I also don't want to force him to go to the point that he hates the potty and begins refusing it all together.

But, aside from that thought, I'm thoroughly impressed with my big boy!  Two days done, and 11 times on the potty today.  We have yet to go #2, so I'm still a little anxious to see how that plays out.  Maybe tomorrow I'll get to see it firsthand.  Anyone reading this have any tips/suggestions/words of advice?  I'm all ears!  Especially what to expect moving forward...

Here are today's potty training pictures, though not the best quality coming from my phone.

 

Micah was reading "Where's Waldo?" and decided that Minnie, Mickey and Goofy needed to try and find him too :)

And here is our bathroom right now.  Potty training chart with stickers, potty rules, and Mickey figurines watching Micah's progress.  What a journey :)