BAY BEAR AT 2 MONTHS

Baylor is two months old today! Wow! The time is just going by too fast. These two months have flown by but at the same time I feel like he has always been part of our family.

Baylor's two month check-up was on Friday. He did great. The weigh in and measurments were a new type of experience for me. Unlike his older brother who was always in the less than 3rd percentile for weight and around 10th-25th for length, Baylor is in the 50th for weight at 11 lbs, 13 ounces and 80th for length at 24 inches. Yep, 80th!!! I don't even understand what it is like to be on this side of the curve.

He is a little on the lazy side when it comes to holding his head up high during tummy time, but he is strong enough and can do it. He is very close to rolling over and is meeting all of his milestones just perfectly. He has an amazing smile that reveals the sweetest dimples. Some people say that dimples are from angel kisses. Baylor has one on each side. If they are really angel kisses then I like to say they came from his big sisters. He is not giggling on purpose yet, but will laugh out loud in his sleep which is too cute.

Baylor is definitely Mr. Social. If there is something going on, he wants to be a part. If he can hear the action, but can't see anyone, then he gets mad. He doesn't even like to take naps on the days that we go into my office. He is so afraid he is going to miss out on something. Baylor loves to be talked to and the instant you start chatting him up you will get a giant grin. I think he is going to be a charmer, just like his big brother. Speaking of brothers, Grayson is Baylor's favorite person. There are times when Grayson's voice is the only thing that makes Baylor happy. That melts my heart.

Happy two month birthday Bay Bear. We love you very much, but please stop growing up so fast.

YOU NEED A JOB!

Some people find the way we are raising our children different or interesting. I feel like we are raising our children the way God has called us to. A lot of what I am referring to comes from the book "Sheperding a Child's Heart". It is a great book on parenting God's way and I recommend it to all parents. I have read it twice and will probably read it again in another 6 months or so. It motivates me to be a better parent.

As parents we are working to bring up children who seek God's heart and will for their lives. Part of living in God's will is following His commandments and striving to live in a way that is pleasing to Him. When Grayson requires discipline we explain why what he has done is wrong and we always try to base our expectations on biblical principles.

Grayson has also started to ask "why?" after EVERY statement I make. Our parenting goals and all of the why questions have led us into a lot of teaching moments lately. Even though I know that he doesn't have a firm unerstanding of all the words, we use terms like obedient, kindness, generousity, truth, etc. with Grayson. I want him to have heard these terms all along so that he understands them as soon as his sweet mind can wrap around those big concepts. So yes, we say things like "God expects children to obey their parents" when we discipline Grayson for not listening (that is the part that some people find different or interesting).

Today Grayson was eating his lunch. Today I worked from home. While Grayson was eating he announces, "Mommy, you need a job!" What?!?!? I look over and see that he is very serious. I respond with, "Mommy has a job" to which he replies, "My job pick up my toys. What you job?" Ah ha!!! It is sticking. He IS understanding. I can't tell you how many times I have said to Grayson that it is his job to pick up his toys. That conversation goes something like this,
Me: Grayson, pick up your toys.
Grayson: Mommy why?
Me: Because it is your job?
Grayson: Why me job mommy?
Me: Because we all have jobs and responsibilities and God expects for us to do those jobs with a glad heart. You should be thankful that God has blessed you with these toys and you need to take good care of them. It is your job to take care of your toys and clean them us when Mommy asks.

I have always assumed that the concept of a job might be over his head. Not at all! I responded today by saying, "Some of Mommy's jobs are here at home like making your lunch and washing your clothes. Mommy also works a job at her office and sometimes on the computer here at home." After I explained that I did indeed have a job Grayson looked over into the kitchen that had yet to be cleaned up from making lunch, pointed to the mess, and said, "Mommy, you need to clean you job". Oh boy, what are we getting into?

BAD BLOGGER AWARD

If there is such a thing, then I should get it. I have not blogged in ages. How funny that my last post was about keeping the interest of my readers and then I just took a hiatus. Well, I am back for those of you who have decided to stick around.

Things are going well here. My lack of blogging has been due to our continued struggle with a routine. We have one. It just changes pretty regularly. In the beginning I just couldn't get everything in and I was frustrated. That is not the case these days. I still struggle to get EVERYTHING in, but the ever-changing schedule we have now is because each day is just a little different. We are getting most everything done these days. Grayson is on summer break from preschool, our nanny hasn't started yet, work is insanely busy for both me and Justin, and we are just kind of making it work as we go. This is only until the beginning of September so I am okay with a couple more weeks of things being a little less routine each day than I would prefer.

Yes, we finally found a nanny and we are really excited about brining her into our family. As it turns out, some very good friends of ours had a family member that was looking for a new family to nanny for part-time. Her schedule worked with ours and the rest is just the perfect plan of God working out in front of us once again. I was so stressed about a stranger coming into our home. This woman feels like a friend since I know her sister so well. God is so good! She starts when we return from our beach vacation in September.

In the mean time we have been piecing together childcare as we go. Some days I can take them both with me to work, but this past week I had WAY too much going on in the office to make that work. It has been wonderful for the boys because for the last week they got to spend some time with people who don't typically get to see them on week days. On Monday Justin stayed home with the boys. They had a boys day and I am certain Grayson enjoyed his day with daddy. Although, when I left for work and Justin explained that he would be staying home while I worked Grayson said, "Uh-oh Daddy". On Wednesday my dad came up and spent a Grandpa's Day with the boys. Yes, he had both all on his own. They had a great day and even made it out to play at the mall playground. On Thursday evening Grammie and Aunt Ret arrived to spend all day Friday and Friday evening with the boys so that we could work during the day and have a date night Friday night. I am certain Grayson kept his Aunt Ret on her toes between the train and puzzles and my amazing mom (with the help of Grayson and Ret) did all of our laundry. That was a HUGE blessing. We are so fortunate to have grandparents and other family close enough to help us when we need them. Grayson always has the best time when his grandparents come to visit.

Baylor is doing well. He is still getting up once during the night, but that isn't bad for a 7-weeker. He will be two months old this coming week and has his check-up Friday. That is the first shot appointment. I am dreading it.

Well, I have about 20 minutes before it is time for Baylor to eat again and Grayson is down for a nap. Time for my power nap before we get into our busy afternoon routine.

READER INTEREST

I found it very interesting after posting my mommy question about shcedules that many people read my blog that I was unaware of. I know that our family checks in often to see what is going on. After all, I started blogging to keep family updated. I also know that my Aunt Ret is my most committed reader. She checks our blog daily for updates. I guess lately she has been greatly disappointed by my lack of blogging. Anyway, I have some friends following and then the followers that are listed on my page. I was pleasantly surprised to receive emails, FB messages, and comments about scheduling from lots of moms and even one friend who isn't a mom yet but sent a message just to offer help when I need it. The icing on the cake was that I didn't know most of those people followed. It was so awesome to see that something I wrote at some point sparked the interest of someone else enough for them to continue reading along. That same fact initially prompted a little extra pressure about what I write. For a couple of days I was a little stressed about keeping things interesting, but I have since decided that I will just keep chugging along as I have been. After all, you all have been somewhat interested so far, I didn't really know you were there reading along, and if you stop I probably won't know either. I am excited to know that there are more people I thought that I can go to for advice and more people than I realized praying with us when we ask.

So there, that is what has been on my mind. We haven't plugged in our new schedule yet. This week has been a little chaotic and the new routine fell apart before I even got started. No biggie! I have made some adjustments and we will go at it again next week with a trial run scheduled for tomorrow. It also made less sense to start this week because this is Grayson's last week of preschool. He will be out until the second week in September. A schedule this week would have just needed to be adjusted for the next several weeks.

This week I have been interviewing potential candidates for a part-time nanny position. Grayson and Baylor will both be attending the Mom's Morning Out Program in the Fall. Grayson begins at the beginning of September and Baylor will start at the beginning of October. They will will go there Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a half-day. So, we are looking for someone to keep them from 12:30 when they get out until 4:30 or 5 when I can get home. That will give me 3 full days in the office and 2 days working from home/spending time with the boys. I have interviewed a few people so far and have one really good looking candidate left to interview. I praying God will send the right person who will love our children and care for them the way I would if I could be home with them those afternoons.