Ren Wearing

Stephanie over at Adventures in Babywearing asked to see our favorite babywearing photos....
I don't have very many of Ren and I but this one....
is easily one of my favorites so far (Ren is 7 months old). This is a Baby K'tan carrier...and my carrier of choice for wearing Ren. It is comfortable, easy to put on and take off and Ren loves it. Here is a picture of me wearing Ren when he was 5 days old his first time in the Baby K'tan...
Goodness he was so little....He slept for 4 hours in there and I LOVED it! I am so glad that there are comfortable carriers out there and I intend to wear Ren as long as he loves it too!

Perspective

I'm sure you have had them...THOSE days that just happen to come along and something is not right...at least not right with yourself...the rest of the house and everyone in it are just humming right along and you are left standing there wondering 'What the heck? and WHY?'
Well that day was today for me...not wanting to get out of bed at 6:30 to nurse Ren, not wanting to get up and dressed so he can play at 7:15. Twice hoping to lay down and nap when he napped and he only slept for 15-20 minutes. Hubs had a big final paper due today so I couldn't ask him for too much help so I felt like I was on my own for most of the day (which is not a big deal because I am on my own almost everyday it was just that today was Sunday and I wanted a small break). So I ended up crying over the kitchen sink...for no apparent reason...ha...I can think of a million reasons but none of them are good ones that merit me salting the dishwater. So I sniffed back the annoying tears and gave Ren to Ed...a small escape to the grocery store alone would be good....and then I got a cart with the wonky wheel...guess it was just not my day at all....and while I could go on and on about the "stuff" from today but I don't want to re-hash it and I am sure you don't want to read all my complaining.


After the tears and complaining that was going on in my head...the fact (and it is a fact) that I hate my house...I really do...I could list all the things about it that drive me crazy....but then I feel selfish and ungrateful and spoiled. There are lots of people in this world with out...With out running water, electricity, a kitchen, counters, carpet on the floor...a floor at all..
...all the things that made me want to scream about today...there is so many people with out those same things that would love what I have. It's all about perspective right?

So, I hope to go to bed and wake up tomorrow to a much better day....Cheers to Monday!

Pumpkin Time!

Being a Christian; "It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then he cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc., and then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

What a wonderful poem....I don't know who wrote it but I like it!

We took Ren to his first Pumpkin Patch this past weekend.
I can't say he loved it....he could have cared less...hahaha..the things we do....
He did eat some grass and choked on a pumpkin stem...freaked me out to say the least (hubs was on baby duty btw, he did not think it was THAT BIG!). I do want to buy a wagon for Ren now, he really enjoyed the little wagon ride....just sat there all big boy like and took the world in.
We also had our first swing (sitting on Mama's lap) the other day and Ren loved that too. I was hoping to take him back to the park but the weather has not been that great.

Ren's sleep is getting much better (his nights) we have settled into a nice routine for the evening and he is sleeping through the night...YAY!!! Naps however are are a whole different story round here. So, that is what we are working on.....getting Ren to nap in his bed....the last two days have involved a lot of crying (Ren) and massive amounts of frustration and stress (me). But he did nap for 30 minutes (much much much crying) this morning and 45 this afternoon (a lot less crying). So I just have to be consistent and persistent with him and I believe that he will start napping much better.

We are still gearing up for the big move to SC and hubs is preparing for training and deployment. Keeping the house clean, organizing "stuff" and preparing lists of what Ren and I will need to take with us is what is keeping me busy busy around here.

Big breath in....the holiday season that is almost here...Loving on my hubs and spending as much family time around here as possible is what occupies my mind and time....and that is a good thing!
Can you believe we are more that half way through October? Where oh where is the time going?

6 Have Flown

It's been a while...once again. Just finding time to sit down and put some thoughts together has proven itself a challenge around here. Ren is keeping me on my toes, Mama work is weary work, but a good weary (weary weary weary weary weary...say that a couple times in a row and see if you don't sound like Bugs Bunny).

My little fighter is sleeping better, we have adjusted his night time routine...dinner at 6, then bath, then a little play time, prayers with Dada, then off to his room for a book, nursing, rocking and singing...I am out of the room by 8:20 (we are hoping to push this up a little so he is asleep by 7:30ish but considering he was going to bed 9:30-10ish, we are doing good) He is not crying very long (thank the Lord in heaven) and is waking about 5:30 in the morning for nursing and then back to sleep until 7 something. So YAY...I am a little less stressed.

Nap time however is now the battle we are fighting, Ren sleeps a couple times a day (3 to 4) about 30 to 45 minutes each...and in his swing....so I would like to get him to two long naps (ya know one morning, one afternoon and in his bed) (so I can get some stuff done around here)). Oh and my sweet boy had his six month appointment....he is 16pds 13 oz and 26 1/2 inches long. In his 6 to 9 (or to 12) size clothes. He is sitting up like a champ, loves his jumpy and has the best giggles! We started him on solids and he is eating; sweet potatoes, pears, avocado, banana, mango and cereal...we are trying new things every 4 days. No teeth budding up just yet and he always has his fingers in his mouth.

Ren's 6 month appointment photo

We are getting some stuff done around here...going through closets and organizing spaces to prepare for a move (to SC) and possibly a pack-out and move (to a new base) this coming year. I can hardly believe that half a year has flown by, when the nurse was weighing Ren I could not help but think about our first appointment with them and how little Ren was and how tired I was and worried. Worried that I was doing something wrong, not nursing enough, holding him too much or too little...and a dozen other thoughts swirling in my head and heart.

How did you tackle naps with your little ones?

Wonderment

Today my heart
it spilled
wet tears of joy
down my cheeks.

I can't believe that I have a son!
One of my very own to love and nurture,
to watch him grow and
guide him as he discovers the world.

I am so blessed and filled
with the wonder of being
his Mama.

Just around the bend

Big changes just around the bend here in my paradise. Hubs is headed to Afghanistan in March but has an almost 3 month training starting the beginning of January...he will be gone until October sometime. So Ren, Elliot, Austin and I are moving to South Carolina while he is gone. This whole time is bittersweet as I am looking forward to seeing my sisters (I have 7 of them), their families, my parents and all my friends back home...but will miss my Hubs achingly while we are apart. I never really understood the sacrifice that our military men, women and their families make for our freedoms until I become one of those families. Hubs is going to miss a great deal of wonder-filled firsts with Ren and that makes my heart hurt just thinking about it. Ren will probably not really know his daddy when he returns although we have quite a few plans up our sleeves so that he will "see" his daddy everyday.

I am planning on taking a few creative classes while I am in SC, a cake decorating class, a pottery class and if I can find it a stained glass or blowing glass class, I am looking forward to tapping into my creative side and learn new things. I also have lots of fabric for a quilt (yes the very same fabric from sometime last summer) and I am taking all my beading and jewelry making stuff. With this move looming in the near future and lots to do to prepare for it. I am not sure about what to do for the holidays round here.

I'm ready to decorate for Fall, but do I get all the stuff out for it and then transition to Thanksgiving and Christmas? I just can't decide. A part of me just wants to keep the next thirteen weeks (oh.my.gosh.only.thirteen.weeks) as simple as possible and another part of me wants to go all out...this is Ren's firsts after all.

On top of everything else we might be selling the house while we are away so I need to make it ready to "show" and make sure everything is in its proper place so if we are packed out (the movers come) while we are away I won't have too many surprise boxes (nothing like opening a box that has kitchen written on it and there is nothing in it that should ever go in the kitchen). We are going to have to go through our storage room and attic and give/sale/donate the "stuff" that has accumulated in the past 2.5 years (not to mention the boxes that we tote around from house to house but never open to use the contents).

I don't know if I am ready for all the work ahead...I know that I am going to have to use my time very wisely the next couple months so I can get everything done and not be stressed when we are ready to move.
We don't know where we might move to next year...I am anticipating something good (I hope) and just trying to take all these changes in stride.

Sleep oh please sleep...

Oh my sweet baby is a fighter. This boy does not want to go to sleep. We got back from a week vacation and every time I put him down after he has fallen asleep from nursing he wakes right up and starts crying. So last night DH put him down and the poor thing cried all night(with us checking on him every 15 minutes)....I cried too. When he woke from finally sleeping around 4:45am I got up and got him, nursed and let him sleep with me, I simply couldn't imagine him crying the morning away. So DH is checking on him every 15 minutes and tells him he is loved and rubs his tummy....and still he cries and cries and cries. Tonight he went down at 8:34pm it's 9pm and he is still crying....Oh my Lord....I do not like this. I don't want him to depend on me to go to sleep and I do not want him sleeping with us but I do not like for him to cry like this. Everything we have read tells us that this will take a week or less...I sure hope so, I don't know if my lil mama heart can take much more of this crying.
So, any advice? Did you let your little ones cry to sleep? How long did it take?