The Rays of Sunshine

The month of January has flown by, and our kids are growing up right in front of us. Derek is at such a fun age and he is saying the funniest things. At age 4, what kid doesn't love race cars. Derek sure does. He can't get enough Lightening McQueen, and is constantly racing around the house, and the walls are an endless racetrack. Little kids tend to make up their own words, and Derek is no exception, his race cars have tail pops, instead of tail pipes, and when the wind is blowing the "steam comes out of the tires, instead of the tail pops," so cute. We always try to reward good behavior, so Derek knows that if he is a good boy then he will get a treat after supper, and it not just any treat, it Bessert. He also loves to eat his "surprise" later in the evening which consist of grapes with a few marshmallows. Not matter what he is playing with or watching on TV, at that moment, it is his favorite one. If there is an episode on TV, its his favorite. If ...

It's 9:50pm, and as I am sitting here rocking a sweet baby, who I have tried to lay down several times,  I am reminded that these small moments like this will not last. I am beyond tired! The kitchen is a mess, but all I want to do is crawl into bed. There are mounds of laundry that seem to be never-ending. So many things on my To-Do list that never seem to get done. My oldest son is now sleeping and the house is quite. I know these moments won't come that often, and I need to catch them while I can. The mess in the kitchen will have to wait. The Christmas decorations will stay up another day. The laundry will go undone once again, because it's snuggle baby time that will be gone before you know it. Before to long, he won't need me to help him fall asleep, he won't need me to wrap him safe in his blanket. It's moments like this, when you see your whole world in the eyes of your child. To them, you are their world, their safe net. I should not feel ...

The time sure is flying by. We have had Dylan for 3 months now, and we are starting to get things figured out. Here is what happened this month.  Breast feeding: We are going strong. Dylan is taking a bottle good, when he needs to, and still needs me at nighttime. Going to work: I started back to work full time this month, and its hard leaving your little one with someone else, but I am very passionate about my job, and it allows me to be me. Evey one needs a reminder of who they are and what they love to do, outside of being a parent and my job is a part of that. Traveling: Riding in the car is getting so much better. He usually falls asleep within 10 minutes of being in the car, so that has made travel a lot easier. Sleeping: For the most part, sleeping is going really well. We have some nights where we are up twice in one night, but we quickly go back to sleep. Dylan is getting to the age where he is relying on us to put him to sleep at night, so I plan to start ...

December 1st has been a day I have had so much anxiety about since Dylan was born. I knew I was not ready to put Dylan in daycare at 2 months old and for only 3 weeks before Christmas break, so I was able to work out an arrangement with my boss, to bring Dylan with me as I worked part time, this past month. Days leading up to December 1st were very stressful for me. How was Dylan going to be, how many upset people would we encounter, what if he was fussy while I was with a student, and the list continued. I did as much preparation as possible and even though it started a little rocky, Dylan quickly became the star of the Success Center. I believe God had his hands all over this situation, as Dylan is a baby that likes to sleep most of the morning. Which happens to be the same time that I have been working. Everyone in my office has been so supportive with me bring Dylan to work.      December is also the month that registration is in full swing, but Dylan neve...

Well Another month has passed. We now have a 2 month old. Here is a look at the last month with Dylan. Breastfeeding: We are still going strong, and Dylan weights 10lbs. I am feeling pretty good about myself. This is an amazing thing for my baby, and am glad we are doing it. I am providing all he needs. With that being said, it's also tough. A lot of times I am all he wants, and sometimes when he is really sleepy, we can walk him, bounce him for 20-30 minutes, and he will continue to cry, but 3 minutes on the boob, he is sound asleep! It's good that he needs me, but it does make it tough. I can't help but worry about how he is going to be at daycare, when I am not there. I am hoping he will learn to adjust with other sleeping methods.  And on that topic... Sleeping: We have had some really good nights. On average he will sleep between 3-5 hours, wake up, and is usually back asleep within an hour. Just like his daddy, he likes to sleep in the morning., which has been...

The beginning of December, we kicked off the Christmas season with a Winter Wonderland event at the university. I knew Derek would have a blast, and it gave us something fun to do. The weather was cold and raining so making that walk up to the college was cold. Once inside, we got to see Santa, and decorate cookies, which was Derek's favorite part. It got crowded pretty quick so we didn't stay as long as we had planned, but still had a great time. How precious is this:  The next day we attended Derek's best friends birthday party. These two are the best of friends. Sometimes I wonder if their friendship is insides, but as soon as we walked into the party room, Ben lit up! He was so happy to see Derek! Before we got to the party, Derek wasn't too thrilled to go to the party, but once he saw this, his mood changed. Ben and Derek were off to play, and had the best time. I was so thrilled to see the boys happy and playing together. There were together the ...

WOW it has been one month with baby Dylan. Here's whats been going on with us as a family of four. Breastfeeding Success: We are adjusting to the late nights and early mornings. As soon as Dylan was born, he latched and we are successfully breastfeeding. I am so happy to be able to do this for him. I wish I knew this much about breastfeeding with Derek, but it was not in the cards for us. With Dylan, we clicked from the beginning. The first few weeks consisted of us trying to find the new normal. Uncle Vernon, and Aunt Jessica came to visit, and I got to experience my first "cluster feeding". At first, I was not sure what was going on, but after a little research, I learned about it. All I will say is cluster feeding is tough!!! This lasted a few nights, each week, but I learned to go with it, and take naps during the day to balance out the sleep I was missing. I was not able to do that with Derek, so I knew how important it would be to get as much sleep as possibl...