My Three Loves

Happy Valentine's Day! These are my three loves. Next year there will be four.
Well, I guess there are four now, I just can't get her picture just yet.

"We love because he first loved us."

.change.

A Few of Nora's LOVES These Days

Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, I thought I would do a little interview with my resident three-year-old to find out what things she LOVES these days.  She is growing and changing and becoming her own little person more and more each day, so I am certain that what she loves right now won't be the things she loves next Valentine's Day or even next month.  So, here's what my girlie girl has to say:


What's your name:  Nora.

How old are you:  Three.

What's your favorite color:  I love white.

What's your favorite Princess:  Um, I love, um.  I love Ariel.

What's your favorite thing to eat:  Um, I like chicken and fries.  (Translation: Chick-fil-a)

What's your favorite special treat:  I love suckers.  From trick or treating sometimes.

What place do you LOVE to go to:  I like Music Class.  I like story time.

Who is your favorite person:  I love Mommy.  Um, no, I love "******"  (The baby's name).  No, I love Layla.

What is your favorite book:  I love Berenstein Bears' Trick or Treating book.

What is your favorite television show right now:  Backyardigans.

What is your favorite movie:  I love Madagascar.

Who do you LOVE to dress up as:  Um, I like to dress up like Ariel.

"This is fun," she says.

What would you LOVE to be when you grow up?  I wanna be, um, I wanna be Snow White.

What will you LOVE to do when you grow up?  I'm going to sit on my hiney and bounce on the bed.

Who do you LOVE the most?  I love Mommy.  (No pressure as I sit here interviewing you).

What Bible story is your favorite right now?  Um, I love Jonah because it's learn about God and it's about family and it's about a family who loves God.   (????)

What do you LOVE about Mommy?  I like how you say, "Nora, you're so cute."  I like how you play with me.

What do you LOVE about Daddy?  I love how he reads with me.

What do you LOVE about Liam?  I love him to say, "Nora, I want to play with you."

What's your favorite thing to play with Liam?  I like to bounce on the couch cushions with him.

What do you LOVE about Baby Girl?  I'm going to bounce in her bed.  She's going to have a crib.

What is your favorite thing to wear:  I like to wear white shirts.  (???)  I like to wear dresses and tights.

 Okay, she's over it.  Apparently she has an obsession with bouncing and Ariel and the color white.  She really enjoyed being interviewed, but to be honest, I am quite surprised by a few of her answers.  Silly, sweet girl.  She's my favorite!!!

Paci Boot Camp: UPDATE

Last week I mentioned that Liam was the Paci Boot Camp Champ of 2011.  Well, today makes a week since Liam has gone pacifier-free, so I thought I would post an update for all of you out there waiting on the edges of your seats.

I am so happy to say that the paci still remains a distant memory.  We have not brought it out or given it to him since last Tuesday during naptime, so according to the pediatrician, we should be home-free.  The first few days were, surprisingly, the easiest in the adjustment.  I mentioned in the previous post that Liam started sleeping without it as if he had never even had a paci.  That lasted for a few days as he continued to nap really well during the day and sleep really great throughout the night.

After about three days, bedtime became more of an issue.  I don't think Liam knows how to soothe himself to sleep fully since he's always....ALWAYS....had a paci.  So, Saturday evening we had some trouble getting him to settle down.  Jonathan and I had to each go into his room several times telling him to lay down, covering him back up and saying "night night."  Eventually, I was OVER going in, so we just let him fuss it out.  Not too long later, he was out cold for the remainder of the evening.

The next night we experienced the same thing.  So, we put on an episode of FRINGE, turned down the monitor, and within a few minutes, he was out.  One night (I can't remember which one), we were laughing so hard at him.  We could hear him whining through the monitor saying, "Momma! Momma!"  A few minutes later he'd be quiet, then we'd hear him laughing to himself and talking to his bear and Elmo.  Then he'd cry, then he'd stop and start playing.  Then we were just confused and couldn't tell it apart.

All in all, bedtime is great.  No complaints.  However, I have noticed that in the past 4-5 days, naps are going downhill.  He is just not napping as long, which is more along the lines of the pains of paci boot camp I was expecting.  He has slept about 1 hour and 15 minutes for each nap the past several days.  (I should also mention that the day I took the paci away officially is also the day we dropped down permanently to just nap.  Until then, he was still taking two naps most days).  He slept great for naps those first few days, but now he's not napping as long.  I pray that he will adjust with time, and I'm sure he will.  This is just part of learning to cope without that comfort.

Speaking of comfort, since the paci is gone, Liam has quickly decided to adopt Elmo and Bear as his new companions for sleep.  He has them both with him in the crib, along with about three blankets.  Suddenly having a blanket is very important to this boy, even in the car and walking around.  I think it's precious!!!

One other major accomplishment regarding being paci-free.  On Sunday, we put Liam into Children's Ministry for the first time without his paci.  He had a time months back where he was having major separation anxiety at church, and having his paci with him as always helped him adjust to being away from us while at church.  Knowing that we would have to put him in class without it made me nervous, but he did awesome on Sunday.  He didn't even ask for it!  Praise the Lord!

So, to sum it all up, we have had a few small growing pains during paci boot camp, but I am still so proud of my boy.  I am so thankful that the transition has and is going as smoothly as it is.  Everytime I tell someone about Liam's experience all I can say is:  "IT'S A MIRACLE!"  God has been quite kind to us!!!!

Flashback

Jonathan and I have been doing some cleaning and organizing around our house this past weekend, and yesterday while going through some things in our bedroom, Jonathan came across a very old, but very special picture.

This is a picture of me the night of my Candlelight.  For those of you who went to college with us, you are probably very familiar with what a Candlelight or Stringing is, but in case you didn't, let me explain.  At Mississippi College, we didn't have true Greek life with Fraternities and Sororities.  It is a Baptist College, so instead of the more traditional social life, we had what were called Ladie's Social Tribes and Men's Service Clubs.  I was a member of Swannanoa Social Tribe all four years of college, and I loved it!  It was a great way to get involved on campus, meet tons of people, and have a blast.

Anyway, whenever a girl in a tribe got engaged, she was to contact a particular person in the social tribe---the President, perhaps? I can't quite remember--so that a Candlelight could be set up.  What would happen next is that the President would then send out a massive voicemail or email to everyone in the tribe and flyers would be hung up around campus that a Candlelight was scheduled.  Everyone would then know that SOMEONE in the tribe had gotten engaged, but they wouldn't find out WHO until the unveiling at the Candlelight ceremony. 

So, late in the evening on the night of the designated Candlelight, everyone would meet in the quad (the huge, green field in the center of campus).  We would gather in a circle, a candle would be lit, and as the whole group of girls began to sing "Going to the Chapel," a lit candle would be passed around from girl to girl.  The candle would make the swoop at least once, and once the new bride-to-be received the candle for the second time, she would blow out the candle!  That's how everyone knew that SHE was the one engaged!

Then, as you can imagine, everyone would shriek and squeal and hug and rush up to see the beautiful ring.  After it all settled down, the bride-to-be would get to tell the story of how her man proposed!  It was such a special time of sharing such exciting news with friends.  And, the bride got to keep the special candle as a keepsake of the night.  The picture above is of me sharing the story of how Jonathan proposed.  I have no idea who took the picture, but I am so glad that I have it as a keepsake to remember such a fun night!

Paci Boot Camp.....Sort Of

You have heard me say before how my boy LOVES his paci.  Or his "pappi" as he calls it.

We've had the "pappi" with us since Day One with Liam Piper.  They go together like beans and cornbread.  Like white on rice.  Like hotdogs and chili.

Over the past six months or so, we have tried to decrease Liam's dependency on the paci strictly to nighttime and naptimes.  Also, he is allowed to have it with him in Children's Ministry at church and at Care Group.  Otherwise, however, we keep it away if possible.  Not always easy, especially when the little booger can now reach it from the wee corners of his crib, but we do try.

So, ever since Liam's last dr. appointment, I've had it in my head that we need to think about THE BIG DAY.  You know, the DAY when we TAKE AWAY the paci.  I think I've been dreading this day since the beginning.  I had a paci as a child and don't have any horrible memories of being deprived of it, but I do remember both of my little sisters having it past the age of 2 or 3 and that is was quite a difficult and dramatic process for my mother.  I think we ended up going to the zoo and "giving" it away to the baby monkeys.  It seemed to work for them.

Anyway, for several months, Jonathan and I have been going back and forth, back and forth.  Do we just bite the bullet and take it away now?  He's not even two, is it really necessary to do it this early?  I have noticed for a LONG time that his teeth and bite have been majorly affected by this particular type of paci, but Jonathan (Daddy the Dentist) doesn't seem concerned with that at all and says it can "be fixed."  However, the pediatrician did say that his mouth is still in the formative stages so there is time for his bite to correct itself IF we take the paci away sooner rather than later.  UGH. Decisions.

I tend to make mountains out of mole hills when it comes to things like this, so I have really been trying to just relax about the BIG DAY.  Jonathan and I had a discussion this past weekend about it, and after weighing our options, we both felt it makes the most sense for us right to at least try to wean him from the paci.  First of all, both Nora and Liam are currently in separate rooms.  If he is going to have a hard time letting go, he will at least be isolated in his own room.  We plan to put them together in Nora's room before Baby Girl arrives, so we thought it would be best to go through with it while they are separated so that Nora's sleep won't be affected too.  We considered just putting them in the same room and waiting until Baby Girl #3 is here, settled, and sleeping through the night, but it still doesn't change the inevitable.

So, we decided that since Jonathan isn't working in the clinic on Friday, Thursday night is going to be THE BIG NIGHT where we put Liam to bed without the paci.

Now, I titled this blog "Paci Boot Camp....Sort Of" because something miraculous has happened in the past 24 hours.  Last night, Jonathan's parents took the kids for the night because I had a very early and long doctor appointment scheduled.  I had mentioned previously to Ms. Joyce that Thursday was Boot Camp, so when I was leaving she told me she was thinking of trying to put Liam down for bed last night without the "pappi" just to see how he did.  She made it very clear that she wasn't going to let him cry it out.  (They hate for the child to cry even for two seconds).  I smiled, said "Go for it!" and left.

This morning as I was getting ready for the day, my phone rang and it was Jonathan's dad.  He told me that he had "news" which at first made me think they had been throwing up all night with a stomach flu or something, but I was wrong.  APPARENTLY, some little boy went to bed last night WITHOUT his beloved paci.  Ms. Joyce said he asked for it as she was about to put him in bed, she told him she didn't have it, and he said "Sing," so she sang him to sleep like normal.  She put him to bed with his blanket and a bear, and she said he went to sleep without a fuss.  He did wake up around 3:00 am, so she went in to check on him.  She didn't give him the paci, but she said she could see his little hand searching all around the crib for it.  He settled back down and slept until after 8:00 am.


I was floored!  So shocked!  That is, in my opinion, simply miraculous!

Since he could handle all night, I was not about to turn back, so I very cautiously laid him down for his nap this afternoon without the paci.  I didn't even mention it to him.  As soon as I left the room, he started to fuss, which got me anxious.  But, about two minutes later he settled down and is still sleeping (1 hour, 45 minutes later).  I guess we are going cold turkey from here on out.

So, basically, Liam is a BOOT CAMP CHAMP!  And, for the record, I have had NOTHING to do with the whole weaning process.  My in-laws are officially invited to help with any other weaning issues we may have in the future, and if you would like to recruit them for your own purposes, feel free to contact me and I will forward you their information.

I am aware that the pacifier-weaning process is a long one, and I have heard plenty of nightmare stories from other parents.  So, I know that we will probably have some bad days intertwined with some good ones.  However, I am just blown away by God's kindness in this area.  I have been hoping to walk through this without anxiety, and I have been battling thoughts all week.  Trying to trust in God's provision in the rough and tough moments.  And here he goes and does something so kind and generous and loving.  THANK YOU! THANK YOU!  (Maybe he's cutting me a break since Liam is a maniac in so many other realms and is getting in trouble left and right.  I mean, there is only so much this preggo Momma can take, right!?)

Just kidding, God's grace is sufficient always.  I'll keep you posted on how the rest of Paci Boot Camp plays out.

Pregnancy Update: 21 Weeks

This morning I went bright and early for my 21-week check-up.  Jonathan's parents were so gracious to keep the kids overnight for us since my appointment was so early, which means that Jonathan and I were also able to go on a date.  We had a casual supper at Brixx's pizza, then we picked up a Redbox movie and curled up in bed to watch Inception.  Weird.  That's all I can say.  Good, but weird.

Anyway, I had the BIG ultrasound today where the anatomy scan is performed.  It lasts about 45 minutes, and it basically involves the tech checking every square inch of the baby's body.  She checked our girl's spine, heart, heart valves, brain, stomach, kidneys, umbilical cord and the placenta.  They also checked my cervical length (to be certain my cervix was closed, which it definitely should be at this point), and they checked to make sure that my placenta wasn't covering the cervix (which it wasn't). 

Praise the Lord, our baby girl seems very healthy!  It appears that all of her major organs have formed normally, and there were no indications of complications.  We also double-checked to be sure she was still a girl, and she is!  She weighs about 15 oz.---just shy of 1 lb.---and is about 50th percentile in everything.  Her measurements placed her right on track for how far along I am pregnancy-wise.  So, basically, we are blessed to have a healthy girl who seems to have developed just right and who just needs to stay inside to grow, grow, grow!

I absolutely LOVE seeing my babies on an ultrasound.  I could sit there for hours just watching her move and stretch and yawn.  It was wonderful!

Everything else at the appointment went well.  My blood pressure was low, and my weight gain is on track.  I can definitely tell that my belly is growing or has grown in the past few days.  It's getting more uncomfortable to bend over which wasn't really too bothersome before.  For my next appointment in four weeks I will have to have the 1 hour glucose test to check for gestational diabetes.  Yuck!  It's hard to believe that by that time I'll be 25 weeks. 

I plan to scan the ultrasound pics and show you our pretty girl's face (I even got one 4D shot), so look forward to that soon.