Challenges, milestones, and summer's end
It's been a little while, and for good reason. We continue to struggle with Trey as he asserts himself. It has been a totally unexpected learning experience for us, both on the parenting side as well as on the spiritual level.
How great is the Lord's love for us that in the midst of our sin, He sent His Son to take our place on the cross. And how He must grieve as we daily disobey Him, throwing our self-centered and in-the-moment tantrums, knowingly and willingly stepping into sin.
Thank you, Lord, for your mercy and grace to me.
Here is a little random catch-up on us.
We visited the allergist to again have Trey tested for his milk allergy. The test results showed that he remains highly allergic to milk. So we'll keep on keeping on. And praying for no slip-ups.
Trey begins preschool on September 2. Or shall we say, the first day of preschool is September 2. Whether he cooperates enough to attend has yet to be seen. When we talk about it he is pretty excited, but when zero hour arrives and it is time for us to leave him alone with absolutely no one he knows, I have no idea how he'll act. I have a theory, but I'm trying hard to expect the best from Trey. We'll see.
Bedtime is an oddity these days. Trey is completely unpredictable. Maybe once in the last couple of weeks he has gone to bed without issue. The rest of the time he has either played till he fell asleep, protested until Brandon would lay with him in his room, or just pitched a royal fit. He's been refusing to sleep in his bed, preferring to sleep on a quilt on the floor.
We just shake our heads in bewilderment. Thus is the kid who, though he has always fought sleep, always did so on his own. Ever since he learned to talk and sing, Trey has loved to lay in his room and sing himself to sleep. Ah, the good old days.
Amid the discipline issues, potty training is going very well. We have had several underpants outings with no accidents. In fact, while we are home, Trey doesn't even like us to help him in the bathroom. Ever since we went out and got some Kandoo soap that he could pump himself, he's been flying solo with the potty. It's great!
Brandon went back to work today. What an incredible blessing it has been that we have all been home together this past summer. I would have lost my mind without Brandon here. He is such a great dad, and amazing husband.
Case in point: for my birthday, Brandon kept both kids so I could go shopping all by myself. I spent quite a bit of time at Once Upon a Child to buy some fall/winter clothes for Trey ($30 for 6 play outfits and 3 church outfits), and then headed to the mall to use birthday gift cards for some back-to-work clothes for me. Such a great day.
Today was my first day alone all day with both kids. I had a fairly pessimistic prediction of how it would go. The morning surprised me. Aden was active and jolly. Trey was as pleasant as he ever was, helping me with chores around the house, talking to Aden. Then came naptime, and the accompanying downward spiral. Sigh.
I hate wishing time away, especially not knowing what the next phase will bring, but this one stinks!
I go back to work Thursday. Not entirely unwillingly. Don't get me wrong, I love my boys and being a mom. It's been tough to find time to spend with each individually, which will only get worse as my paying job resumes. But things have been so crazy and unpredictable lately, that I believe it will do all of us some good to get back into a steady routine. And both boys could definitely use some time away from us, I believe.
Aden is now completely weaned to the bottle, and in this we have discovered that he is not allergic to milk. Yay! Weaning has been no fun, painful for me and frustrating for Aden. But he is doing great with the bottle. The kid eats very well. His cheeks, big ol' belly, and rolly-polly legs say it all.
He has moved into 3-6 month clothes. This is crazy to me - wasn't he just born?? It is kind of neat getting to revisit Trey's outfits, some of which he only wore one time. And it's neat to dress Aden in the few new things he has. AND it's odd and a little sad packing up Trey's 2T and 3T clothes, knowing that all too soon we'll be pulling them out again. Sniff.
Aden is growing interested in toys, and likes his floor gym and the musical attachment to his bouncy seat. Though he won't reach for the toys yet, he is pleasantly surprised when one of his arm-flails makes the toys move or make noise. He'll talk up a storm to the doggies on his bedroom wall, and just recently started smiling in response to the red-eye light on the camera. Hey, whatever works!
Brotherhood is getting a little better. Trey still has his moments of complaining over Aden's presence, or trying to pull his limbs off. But they can be sweet together too. Trey has even gone into babysitter mode a few times, talking, singing, or reading to Aden. These are precious moments, the ones I imagined while Aden was in my belly.
I hope to post some random pictures later in the week. (Sorry, Poppop, I'm sleepy right now!) Where does the time go?
Where has the time gone?? This is the last call for summer, an incredible and challenging summer that went by quicker than any other. Time is marching on. There are days we must try hard to stay sane - even some days we just hope to survive. Even so, life is grand. Blessed beyond measure indeed.
How great is the Lord's love for us that in the midst of our sin, He sent His Son to take our place on the cross. And how He must grieve as we daily disobey Him, throwing our self-centered and in-the-moment tantrums, knowingly and willingly stepping into sin.
Thank you, Lord, for your mercy and grace to me.
Here is a little random catch-up on us.
We visited the allergist to again have Trey tested for his milk allergy. The test results showed that he remains highly allergic to milk. So we'll keep on keeping on. And praying for no slip-ups.
Trey begins preschool on September 2. Or shall we say, the first day of preschool is September 2. Whether he cooperates enough to attend has yet to be seen. When we talk about it he is pretty excited, but when zero hour arrives and it is time for us to leave him alone with absolutely no one he knows, I have no idea how he'll act. I have a theory, but I'm trying hard to expect the best from Trey. We'll see.
Bedtime is an oddity these days. Trey is completely unpredictable. Maybe once in the last couple of weeks he has gone to bed without issue. The rest of the time he has either played till he fell asleep, protested until Brandon would lay with him in his room, or just pitched a royal fit. He's been refusing to sleep in his bed, preferring to sleep on a quilt on the floor.
We just shake our heads in bewilderment. Thus is the kid who, though he has always fought sleep, always did so on his own. Ever since he learned to talk and sing, Trey has loved to lay in his room and sing himself to sleep. Ah, the good old days.
Amid the discipline issues, potty training is going very well. We have had several underpants outings with no accidents. In fact, while we are home, Trey doesn't even like us to help him in the bathroom. Ever since we went out and got some Kandoo soap that he could pump himself, he's been flying solo with the potty. It's great!
Brandon went back to work today. What an incredible blessing it has been that we have all been home together this past summer. I would have lost my mind without Brandon here. He is such a great dad, and amazing husband.
Case in point: for my birthday, Brandon kept both kids so I could go shopping all by myself. I spent quite a bit of time at Once Upon a Child to buy some fall/winter clothes for Trey ($30 for 6 play outfits and 3 church outfits), and then headed to the mall to use birthday gift cards for some back-to-work clothes for me. Such a great day.
Today was my first day alone all day with both kids. I had a fairly pessimistic prediction of how it would go. The morning surprised me. Aden was active and jolly. Trey was as pleasant as he ever was, helping me with chores around the house, talking to Aden. Then came naptime, and the accompanying downward spiral. Sigh.
I hate wishing time away, especially not knowing what the next phase will bring, but this one stinks!
I go back to work Thursday. Not entirely unwillingly. Don't get me wrong, I love my boys and being a mom. It's been tough to find time to spend with each individually, which will only get worse as my paying job resumes. But things have been so crazy and unpredictable lately, that I believe it will do all of us some good to get back into a steady routine. And both boys could definitely use some time away from us, I believe.
Aden is now completely weaned to the bottle, and in this we have discovered that he is not allergic to milk. Yay! Weaning has been no fun, painful for me and frustrating for Aden. But he is doing great with the bottle. The kid eats very well. His cheeks, big ol' belly, and rolly-polly legs say it all.
He has moved into 3-6 month clothes. This is crazy to me - wasn't he just born?? It is kind of neat getting to revisit Trey's outfits, some of which he only wore one time. And it's neat to dress Aden in the few new things he has. AND it's odd and a little sad packing up Trey's 2T and 3T clothes, knowing that all too soon we'll be pulling them out again. Sniff.
Aden is growing interested in toys, and likes his floor gym and the musical attachment to his bouncy seat. Though he won't reach for the toys yet, he is pleasantly surprised when one of his arm-flails makes the toys move or make noise. He'll talk up a storm to the doggies on his bedroom wall, and just recently started smiling in response to the red-eye light on the camera. Hey, whatever works!
Brotherhood is getting a little better. Trey still has his moments of complaining over Aden's presence, or trying to pull his limbs off. But they can be sweet together too. Trey has even gone into babysitter mode a few times, talking, singing, or reading to Aden. These are precious moments, the ones I imagined while Aden was in my belly.
I hope to post some random pictures later in the week. (Sorry, Poppop, I'm sleepy right now!) Where does the time go?
Where has the time gone?? This is the last call for summer, an incredible and challenging summer that went by quicker than any other. Time is marching on. There are days we must try hard to stay sane - even some days we just hope to survive. Even so, life is grand. Blessed beyond measure indeed.
Comments