Is it giving in or just knowing when it's time to win in your own way.

With all of our children, bedtime or nap time has been a struggle. As babies, we would get them to sleep and try to lay them down with a result of them screaming the instant you left the room. So, we learned to use a swing, bouncy chair, sling, rocker, even high chair and even the sucker visitor who wanted to hold the baby. As they get older and you really just can't sit there and hold them or spend the day trying to keep them asleep, you move on to sleep training exercises. You lay them down, they scream, you walk in and reassure them, they scream, you walk in and out and in and out. By the end of it you have officially done nothing. Well that isn't entirely true. Sometimes a kid will learn that if you leave the room and they proceed to nap then when they wake up you'll come and get them. Most of my kids chose and still choose to scream like they are possessed or being painfully tortured in some unspeakable way. You have heard stories and even seen other kids who are playing so nicely, their parents pick them up and say "night, night" and whisk them off to their beds, turn off the light, close the door and all is quiet until the next morning. I personally think these people drug their kids or slip some invisible muzzle over their mouths. As time wears on you realize that no one is being trained in anything and you are loosing what sanity you may have quickly. So now is the time to take it like a man, you've lost. Your child is officially not sleep trained in their bed. But is that such a bad thing? You've been trying for a seemingly endless amount of time to keep the baby asleep in the bed and in the back of your mind you are thinking 'if I just put him in his favorite chair he will fall right asleep and I won't be standing here pleading with him to go to sleep.' So you pick up the baby and put them there in the favorite chair, strap them in safely and in an instant they are out. You sit and think about how stupid you were not to have done that an hour ago. But then you think of all those who would just love to comment on this one. You can hear all of them; "I knew she couldn't get him sleep trained.", "I had my baby sleep trained at 3 months.", "I bet she even lets her kids watch TV.". And then I pour myself a glass of wine and listen to the silence that I so deserve.

Did I eat the whole thing?

Peter enjoyed his first birthday Krispy Kreme donut. Yeah!
Memories...
I can remember the excitment and stress like it was yesterday. Planning my first born's 1st birthday. Noah was the first grandchild for both of our families, he was our first and it had to be done right. Many people were invited, mostly family since we were in Mobile for the holidays. Shelley knew just what needed to be done and she had everything you could possibly think of for a baby's first birthday party. I hovered like the first time mom that I was. I didn't wanted to miss a single breath, sound, expression or crumb that he made. It was the milestone of the year. I had made it. I was a mom of a 1year old, a toddler. I remember being so worried that my son would not get the most out of his first birthday. I allowed myself to be that mommy monster that everyone talks about, the one that thinks her child is the only child ever to turn 1.
I remember Jake's first birthday. So relaxing, peaceful and fun. He got to celebrate his birthday with his godparents. We just had the best casual fun with family and no expectations. I remember feeling a little guilty that I didn't do the big party but then I remembered that it was more about celebrating what we had, a blessing from God. It wasn't about who you invited, what cake you had, what the baby was wearing. I had made it to another big milestone, I had gotten over being a 1st time mom. Whew!
Lucy's b'day was a little more of a big deal. By then we had friends in Atlanta and we had our older kids who could help celebrate. Lucy got two special celebrations. First the boys and I had a picnic in the yard and let Lucy just have at a box of cookies. It was just a fun day playing and eating. We did end up having a party at the park with our Atlanta friends. Our only little girl deserved a little bit of extra attention.
Now back to the relaxing hanging out with friends for Aidan. The Kuemmerles came over and Grant celebrated being two and Aidan 1. That was nice and easy, I didn't even have to make a cake (Daniel did).
Peter, well he is number 5, he just got the immediate family party. No balloons, invitations, no birthday hat, nothing. We knew Michael was going to be late from work so we celebrated with donuts for breakfast. Peter had his own cheering section that was probably louder than the Vrazels at an Alabama football game. It was great. He gently probed the chocolate glazed donut and just stared at all of us. Finally got a taste and knew it was worth trying. He picked little bites off until he realized what was on the inside. And then it was gone. He ate the whole thing. On a great sugar high, he crawled around and played for an hour and then passed out. His first real experience with sugar was a great one. It might not have been a elaborate planned out event or even shared with anyone outside our home but he has learned that Krispy Kreme has the best thing he has ever eaten.
All in all I think 1st b'days are great. You get to see that look of delight when they get that first real taste of the good stuff. You get to let out a little sigh of relief and sadness. You have made it a whole year when in the beginning you didn't think you'd make it one more day. You think about how hard you prayed just to make it to bedtime and then pray that actually got some sleep. You also think about how they are no longer babies. They are now counting the time with years instead of months, wow how quickly time flies.

Jake's opinion

Jake "Mom, it is so exhausting being your child"
Me "what do you mean?"
Jake "you know, all the stuff you do to us"
Me"what stuff?"
Jake"you know, tickle us, joke around and stuff"

There it is. It is apparently tough being my kid.

Bible verses in the morning

Yesterday was a true test of my patience with Noah. He yelled and did some serious sassing. I corrected him yesterday and then just left it alone. Well, Noah is an early riser and so he woke up with a surprize very early this morning. He came into the playroom and immediately asked if he could play a video game. I remind him that his behavior yesterday wasn't so great and he needed to learn a lesson this morning. So, I whipped out the Bible and gave him three verses to look up and copy. You know, the ones that say "honor your father and mother" "listen to your mother's teachings" and one about Jesus even obeying his earthly father and mother. I hope this sets the tone for our day. Thanks Heather for this great idea. I'll make sure and tell Noah where I got the idea from.