Letting Go….

I sit here tonight, listening to the sounds of my husband giving Weeble Wobble his bath, I can hear them sing silly songs, count, talk about letters and colors. I hear Greg tell him that he needs to wash his belly and behind his ears, I hear them talk about brushing teeth, rinse, gargle and spit. Soon I know I’ll hear the sounds of bedtime stories, last kisses good night and Greg closing the bedroom door. I’m not part of it, and it’s breaking my heart. Greg has taken over Greyson’s night time routine, mostly in an effort to cut out that bedtime nursing session, and because Greyson does need to be put to bed by more than just mommy. I know that in a week or so once he’s adjusted I’ll be able to step back in and take my turns at the night night routine, and that for now I just need to stay out of sight or Greyson will want me and it makes it worse, but it’s literally killing me. It’s one of those moments where as a mother you are proud and happy that your child is growing and taking the necessary steps to his own independence, but that act of letting go makes you feel helpless, like part of you is missing. I ache to go in and hold him, I go to sleep at night hoping that he’ll wake up (after months of praying he’d sleep through the night!!!) so that I can go in and do what I do best – comfort, hold, cuddle, soothe. My arms literally ache, I can feel them twitch with the need to hold my son. I hate this. I hate letting go and I know it’s just the beginning…

Good night sweet boy, mommy will see you in the morning, when I’ll hug you a little tighter and snuggle you a little longer and probably throw in a couple of extra kisses too!

Photo Shoot!

Yesterday was a cool, crisp (ok, it was like 75) Florida fall day. Greyson and I played outside and he finally got to wear jeans and a long sleeve shirt!! Enjoy the photo's!!




We were trying to find shapes in the clouds, we think we may have seen Mickey Mouse and Pluto too!!

Still in your PJ's? We are too!!

Unless we have some place to be, Greyson tends to run around in his PJ's for a big part of the day (ok - until after his nap, which tends to last until 3:30ish!!). I'm not sure what it is about me and PJ's but if we're home, we're in them. I do it too! We go out, we get dressed up, we come home and PJ's it is! But then again, when his PJ's are as cute as these adorable organic cotton (love it) set I found, why change him - he's SOOOO cute in them!

Say It Right.....

I’ve noticed that the little weeble wobble (aka: Greyson) has a bit of a perfectionist attitude, or maybe it’s more that he is just very intent on doing things correctly. It shows the most with his talking. We will introduce a new word to him and you can literally watch him process the word before he says it, practice the word silently as if to just get the mouth motion right and then when no one is looking he will attempt it. It’s as if he thinks if I get it right they will notice, but if I don’t they’ll just think I’m babbling. It’s so funny!! Today we were looking at a picture that had 2 boats and 3 fish in a line, fish, boat, fish, boat, fish. He says fish (ishhhhhh) all the time, but has yet to say boat.

So I went through the process of teaching him boat, “ba ba ba – ooouuuut, ba ooouuuut, boat! Say boat for mommy, say boat.”

He was in my lap and I could see his profile, I watched as his little lips puckered and moved, I waited as he processed the word boat in his mind.

Again we started down the line,

“What’s this Greyson?”

“isshhhhh!!”

“Very Good! Now, what’s this?”

(nothing)

“It’s a boat, can you say boat? Ba – ooouuuuuuut, Boat!”

(nothing – moving on)

“What’s this?”

“issssshhhh!!”

“Very Good! What’s next?”

(nothing)

“That is a boat, What’s next?”

“issshhhh!!”

“Oh so good, thanks for helping mommy figure this out, what else can we see today?”

Pause…. Pause….. pause….

“Booooaat!!”

Ta da!!! When you least expect it, he figures he’s had enough practice time and out pops boat!! He’s such a goober, and later ran from the room singing "boat, boat, boat!"

Video!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Stats...

Yesterday was Greyson’s 2 year check-up. He is weighing in at 30.5 lbs (a 4.5 pound gain in the last 6 months) putting him in the 85th percentile for weight, and is WAY off the charts in height at 37 inches!! (That’s a 2 inch gain in the last 6 months) So, needless to say he’s growing just fine.

The doctor was very impressed with his language skills and how very smart he is, super impressed with his toilet training progress, and amazingly impressed by his handsome good looks. Everything looks great and we don’t have to go back for a year unless something comes up! Whew!

Mommy was very impressed with Greyson’s behavior at the Doctor this time around, the last few appointments have been full of fear and tears and not letting the Dr. even get close. Yesterday, Greyson fully cooperated, letting the Dr. look in his eyes, ears, nose and throat. Letting the Dr. listen to his lungs and heart and completely check him over. He didn’t cry (well, not until the shot) didn’t fuss and was not at all clingy. I was so proud of his bravery. He’s becoming quite the little man.

Have you ever....

been this tired?

Yes, Greyson Lee fell asleep while eating lunch today..... is that cute or what?

Video!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What's Up?

I’ve always made an effort to keep track of the things Greyson is doing at different stages of his life, it seems to get harder and harder with the older he gets to take the time to make lists and keep everything organized of each new word, phrase, sentence he says, each new milestone, silly moment, or brilliant thing he does. So, I’m taking some time today to list the things he’s doing at 2. (I still can’t believe that he’s two!!)

He loves, loves, loves the color blue. Everything is Blue, Blue and Blue. “What would you like to wear today Greyson?” “BLUE!!” “Which cup would you like to use Greyson?” “BLUE!!” “What color is this banana Greyson?” “BLUE!!!” It’s quite funny, the boy loves his blue!

He’s also pretty crazy about the number 3. Everything is three, “How many ice cubes in your Sippy?” “THREE!!”

He thinks “Please” is the magic word. (ok, ok, most times it is.) “No baby, you can’t have that.” “Please?” “No” “Please, Please” “No” “PLEEEEAAAAASSSSEEE” “Oh, all right.”

When he needs help with something (his shoes put on, or a puzzle piece that’s stuck, etc..) He says, “Momma – Meeeeeeaaaa” sounds like he’s calling me Momma-Mia but I think it’s “Momma” and then he skips the word help and says “me.”

He now calls me, Mommy and Greg, Daddy. It’s so cute. He attempts to say Love You back at night but it comes out like, “Lub Lu” He’s crazy about stories at bedtime. We always end up reading at least six. He fights to stay awake so I’ll keep reading, it’s pretty funny.

He talks a ton now, and will wake up in the middle of the night and just babble all of his words, “Me Mommy Daddy Blue Ball More Home Outside Coke No Yeah Go Down Walk Stuck, and on and on and on…” It’s so funny to hear him in there at 3:00a.m. just practicing and practicing his words.

He’s still pretty crazy about the Backyardigans, and he’s over the moon for Diego and will run around the house yelling “GO GO!!”

He loves to be outside most of all, he’d sleep outside if we let him. He pushes his little mower, he rides his tricycle, and he’ll play with bubbles and sidewalk chalk, or chip golf balls. He just loves to be outside.

His sense of humor is developing everyday more and more, he laughs at things that are truly funny, he goes out of his way to do something silly to get a laugh, or will copy something that made us laugh earlier in the day. He’s still crazy about music and he still loves to dance.

I know there are million other things he’s doing, but these are the things that stand out tonight, they’re the everyday little things that I know if I don’t write them down, they’ll fade overtime, and they are moments that I definitely don’t want to fade…

Two...

And then he was two…..

I’m told to be ready for the terrible twos. When babies become toddlers, toddlers become kids and independence and the ability to throw tantrums is at an all time high. Everyone has a story or a tale of the frightful and often funny (of course only now in retrospect) things their terrible two year olds tried, started, accomplished, etc… I’m told to be prepared, decide upon and stick to your discipline techniques now, be prepared to not recognize your child!!

I’m scared.

So, here is my plan. I’m going to go into the “terrible twos” firmly believing that they are not all that terrible. I’m going to focus everyday on the awesome things that two brings, like, actual conversations with my son, time to do a few more things for myself as he’s now able to keep himself busy playing, the fun adventures we can now have because he’s old enough to go out and explore, the simple fact that he still likes his mommy to rock him to sleep at night, the fact that he still likes to cuddle up and watch cartoons, watching him laugh at something that truly is funny, the excitement we both feel as he learns colors, numbers, letters and shapes and all the little things he does each and every day that make me smile. I hope that I can really focus on these things each day, remembering more of the good things, rather than the tantrums, messes and tears.

So maybe I’m not so scared of the “terrible twos” after all, because really, I think they will be the “terrific twos”!!! Seriously – how can they not be when your little one is this cute?!!

It seems to be the question.... so here is my answer.

As we close in on the 2 year mark, I’m forced to think on one major question: To wean or not to wean?

If you would have told me 2 years ago that I would still be nursing Greyson, I would have laughed until my sides hurt and told you that you were crazy! I never in a million trillion years thought that I would turn out to be this mom, this nursing fiend of a mom. But, I am – and am I so very proud of myself for it.

I guess there really isn’t that much of a question in my mind as far as to wean or not to wean; I’ve decided that Greyson and I will follow what’s known as child-lead-weaning or CLW. However, I do feel that it’s time to lead Greyson, towards the final goal of being completely weaned – I have no set date or time, that will just come as it does. It does seem to be though, that every single soul I meet has a different opinion, and they are oh so happy to share it.

It’s disheartening to know that I am in the minority when it comes to breastfeeding. Through my experiences I am shocked, and sadly enough, mostly by other mothers opinions of breastfeeding. Between 0-6 months I was pleased to find that 95% of the people I told that Greyson was nursing were supportive, between 6-12 months that number dropped to probably close to 80%, still not bad. After that though it has been just plain sad, by 18 months the percentage of supportive people had dropped to probably less than 30% and at 2 years, the percentage of supportive people is less than 5%. I don’t understand this thinking, especially when it comes from other mothers. How could anyone, deny the benefits of breast milk. How could anyone choose to deny their child, or tell me that I should deny my child the comfort of nursing, the bonding time that nursing still provides for Greyson and me? Why is it that our country is the only country in the world where its “abnormal” to breast feed your child over a year? Why would any woman, mother, sister, or daughter cast a dirty look, make a rude comment, or place judgment on another woman for simply feeding her baby in the way that was intended, after all that is what our breast’s are for. I think as a society we often forget that women’s bodies were created to grow, nurture, and provide for our children, not fill out low cut sweaters and fit into skinny jeans.

All I ask is this, I won’t tell you how to feed your child, please don’t make judgments on how I feed mine.