We have decided to go on our family vacation this month. I am so excited, but a little nervous about it! Shea and I have been on vacation alone, but never alone with our kids. We've always either gone with his parents or mine. I guess the only reason I'm nervous about it now is because Drew is so young. I hope hope hope that he isn't fussy the whole time we're gone. If he is, I know I will be stuck in the room with him and I will be miserable. As long as the other two have a good time, that is all that matters this year. Maybe Shea will take turns with me playing with Dakota and Dillon. Shea is more of a "get up and play" kind of parent, and I am a more "capture the moment THEN get up and play" kind. I take five thousand pictures of everything my kids do. OK, maybe not five thousand, but I do take tons! I just want to be able to look back years from now and say "Oh yeah! I forgot about that! That was a fun day!"
And I have learned that the more pictures you take, the better
chances you have at getting one good picture. People often tell me that I am a great photographer, but if you only knew how many pictures I delete...and my pictures aren't really that special, it's just that I take time with them cropping and editing them. For instance, the picture on the left, becomes the picture on the right! Not a great example, but maybe you get the gist. Anyway, Gulf Shores, here we come!
I am so proud of my little Drew-baby! I put him in his crib last night and that little stinker slept ten hours! I woke up in a panic at 7:00 this morning because he hadn't been awake yet and went running into his room. There he was, lying there sound asleep, sucking his thumb! I'm very bad about checking to make sure they're still breathing - even now with the older two - but I could see his little thumb in his mouth so I turned right back around and got back in bed! He ended up waking up about ten minutes later.
Yesterday while in the car, he figured out how to spin the little toys we have attached to his car seat! He was squealing and laughing and spinning! Dakota was really cracking up at him! I can't believe he is already ten weeks old! Almost three months old! Every day he is more alert and learns something new. I love to see him gaining control over his body to be able to put his hands where he wants them. It's just the coolest thing ever. He is just getting so big!
On a sad note, I discovered yesterday that my sweet baby is losing his hair! I was rubbing his head and when I moved my hand, I had a handful of hair! Oh well, I guess it won't be long, I'll have another cute little blond headed boy!
One of the perks of having boys is the ease of access to their....plumbing, so to speak. When they have to go, they can find somewhere to go pretty much anywhere. Some moms don't let their boys go outside, but I do. It made potty training so much easier and more convenient for Dillon- especially since we're always at the ball park! I only ask (require) that they HIDE somewhere when they have to go. AND it's only in an emergency situation when a restroom is not immediately available. Well a few weeks ago, I regretted this "pee outside" policy with Dillon. We were watching a baseball game at the park and the game had just gotten over. I was rounding up the kids and Shea and getting everything together when Shea said, "Look at your son!" I turned around and to my horrible disbelief, Dillon had his pants all the way to his ankles and was peeing right there in the middle of everybody! I dropped everything and ran over to him and pulled his pants up and spanked him! I think I scared him half to death, because he didn't think he was doing anything wrong and he didn't see me coming! After it was all over with, I felt bad for spanking him, because after all, I do let him go outside from time to time. I later explained to him that if he has to use the potty, he is to always come tell me or his daddy first! I was SO embarrassed that he did that! But at least he didn't potty in his pants.
It has been quite the day with Dakota. He has always been so good and polite, so these few smart-mouth episodes are killing me! Yesterday we did battle over his back talking at my mom's house. Today, he told me that the reason he did something was "because I wanted to." What am I going to do with that boy? I guess it is just something that Shea and I are going to have to deal with very sternly so that it stops as quickly as it started. I don't buy into the "it's just a phase" garbage. Yes, phases start, when they see other kids do it, but the parent is in charge of these "phases". I refuse to have a child who talks back to adults in any situation. When he said to me what he said today, about "because I want to", he got a spanking. I normally am not the spanker of the house, but since Shea is no longer working from home, I have had to step up in that area. I can't tell you how badly I hate it, but it has to be done! It's either that, or my children lose all that has been instilled in them and become brats that no one can stand to see coming! I know that now days it isn't politically correct to spank your children, but I was spanked as a child, and I think I turned out OK! Children should be disciplined - not out of anger, but out of love. Any time Dakota is spanked, we explain to him that we have to spank him because we love him. Proverbs 13:24 says: He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. The best place to look for parenting advice is the Bible. There are several verses that instruct parents to spank their children when they disobey. Shea and I think that it is important to not only correct your children when they are bad, but to then sit them down and explain to them why they have been corrected and what to expect if this happens again. Dakota knows that he is not to be disrespectful, but we also understand that he is a child, and doesn't always make the best decisions. It is our job to teach him how to make those decisions - a job that we take very seriously.
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