A Bedtime Story

Once upon a time, there was a very cute little girl. This little girl was 3 years old. She had recently learned how to use the potty. Every night when it was time to go to bed, her mommy would take her to the potty one last time. Then her mommy and daddy would pray with her and get her all tucked into bed.

Ten minutes later, the mommy and daddy would hear that familiar sound of the door opening, followed by the pitter patter of little three-year-old footsteps, and the words, "I have to go potty." The mommy and daddy were puzzled. "You just went to the potty; why do you need to go again?" But because the little girl was just in the beginning stages of learning to use the potty, they would let her go. And she usually did. And then she was sent back to bed.

If the mommy and daddy were lucky, the little girl didn't come out of her room anymore and fell asleep quickly. But usually the mommy and daddy were not so lucky. Time would go by and they would think the little girl was asleep. And just when they felt relieved that everyone was sleeping, the mommy and daddy would hear that familiar sound of the door opening, followed by the pitter patter of the three year old's footsteps, and the words: "I have to go potty!" And again, the little girl was given a chance to go to the potty.

This continued night after night. And the mommy and daddy wondered if the little girl was just trying to play them and look for ways to not have to go to sleep. But they wanted to believe their little girl. However, they were growing frustrated with their little girl taking up to two hours to fall asleep after being put to bed. And then the next morning, sometime before it was really a good time to get up, the little girl would come into mommy and daddy's room. "I need to go potty!" And mommy would get up and help her and when they were done, mommy would take her back to the little girl's room and tell her she needed to lay back down because it wasn't time to get up yet. And every morning, the little girl would lay back down in her bed, but wasn't able to fall back asleep.

The mommy and daddy wondered how long this phase would last. And they are still wondering...

to be continued...

(This is a picture of the cute little girl:

I Wish...

...Zane would realize he can take more than 3 steps at a time and just start going!

...that potty training Karys didn't mean that she would have a way to keep from going to bed. "Mommy, I have to go potty!"

...I wouldn't have to deal with weight. Why can't those extra pounds just fall off??

...everyone would believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the ONLY way to get into heaven.

...people wouldn't cuss at their kids (and on that note, teach their kids to cuss and think it's funny)

...I could take all of the kids that are being mistreated and bring them home to my house.

...we didn't have to deal with politics. Hearing everyone bash each other just gets annoying.

...I had a minivan!! Can't believe it, but it's true!

One Year Old

I started a blog last week about Christmas, and then what I was writing was boring me so I quit. :) So for now I'll just skip Christmas and go on to Zane's first birthday. It absolutely blows my mind that we're already talking about this boy being one!! Going from one kid to two has been so much fun and so much of an easier transition than going from zero to one, in my opinion. And I think that's what has made the year seem to fly by. This time around I had a lot more confidence in my abilities to take care of a newborn baby. Plus I already had one kid so it was like Zane just joined into our world..my world wasn't completely changed like it was when I went from having no kids to having one. No matter the reason, though, this year FLEW by!!

Since Zane's birthday falls right after Christmas (December 28), we didn't end up doing his party right away. On his actual birthday we were still at my parents' house so we just did a little family party. And when your birthday is so close to Christmas, it doesn't take any time for you to remember how to open presents!!

Zane did not disappoint us eating his cake! He did just as a one-year-old should do...he went for it! When it was all said and done he was sent straight up to the bath. :) Once the holidays had cleared out we still wanted to do a birthday party for Zane that involved friends who are important in our lives. As is becoming our "traditional" first birthday party, we did lunch for everyone, which this time consisted of hot dogs and chips. The most exciting part of lunch was that the night before the party I was setting out the food that didn't need to be refrigerated and I started telling Ryan, "Okay we'll do hot dogs here, chips and fruit here, drinks here, and cake here," and realized that with our new kitchen...there was enough room for everything!! Talk about a great feeling!! :)

Once again, Zane knew EXACTLY what to do with his cake! :)

At Zane's one year well-check he weighed in at 25.6 lbs. (84%) and 31.5 inches (91%). He still wears 18 month clothes, which is the longest amount of time he's spent in the same size in his whole life! He's been in 18 month clothes since about August and prior to that he'd been changing sizes every 6 weeks to 2 months! He did, however, move up to size 5 diapers!! Whew! Hope he stays in those for a long time!!! Just as a comparison, when Karys turned one she weighed a little over 17 lbs. and was still in 6-9 month clothes!!

At this point in life, Zane:

*loves the lights! He usually points at them first thing when you take him out of bed in the morning or at night.

*communicates most by pointing. For example, if I'm feeding him a couple of things for a meal, he'll point at which thing he wants a bite of! I'm sure words will follow eventually. ;)

*jabbers a lot!! He may not say real words yet, but he's definitely talking!!

*takes some steps independently. He'll take maybe 3 at a time and then get a little top heavy, or just get nervous and sit down!

*has 8 teeth!! Again, for a comparison: at this age, Karys had 2! I think he might be working on some one-year molars too. He sure does seem to keep sticking his finger in the back of his mouth and chewing on it.

*Just yesterday, he was playing "peek a boo" with my sister and instead of putting his hands over his eyes like she was, he was putting them behind his head!

*will hold up a phone to his ear (well, really it goes on his shoulder!)

*will clap his hands if you sing "If You're Happy and You Know It", or "Pat A Cake."

*thinks it's funny to be "wrestled." I'll play around with him on the couch and he thinks it's hilarious.

*has the most pitiful sad face and knows how to use it!! Likewise, he can be cuddly/clingy and knows how to make you feel sorry for him if you don't pick him up!

*Almost forgot! He got his first haircut the day after his birthday! Ryan said I had to wait until he was one. :) Poor guy isn't having as much luck with it growing on top, but the back was really growing out. Ryan said he had a baby mullett. :) So we got the back trimmed up and it's adorable!!

I had no idea what a joy a little boy would be to my life, but I sure am glad I know now!!