Why I love being a Mother

I wanted to stop amidst the scattered feelings of frustration and gratitude, and focus on why am I grateful to be a Mother:
I am needed
I learn
I receive and give love all day long
I get hugs and give kisses
I am surrounded by little ones who live in-the-moment
I witness a 2 year old becoming over-joyed by a rock in the midst of the mulch at the playground
I get to go to the library and be a part of a really fun story time and puppet show
I get to stop and play in the toy ice cream truck and Elmo car at the grocery store
I get to teach someone how to eat
I get to breast feed a newborn baby...nothing is sweeter
I get to see my husband help in a most selfless and Christ-like way
Someone else does most of my grocery shopping because we have a newborn
I get to go to the park
I get to take my 2 year old daughter to "nurseries" and, afterwards, see how excited she is to show me what she made
I get to see and hear my daughter sing along with simple, cute nursery rhymes
I get to play in a toy closet under the stairs
I appreciate two hours in the middle of the day to study my scriptures, eat lunch, take a nap and watch HGTV or Foodnetwork (while feeding my newborn a couple times during those 2 hours)
I get to see my parents light up when they see their grandchildren
I get to see my nieces and nephew go into baby-talk mode when they see my children
I feel much fulfillment because we have had children added to our family
I get to stop at the children's club at my gym...and see how excited my daughter is to see me!
Someone wants to sit on my lap to watch Caillou
I know what channel Sprout is on, and I know the time that Barenstein bears and Caillou are on
I have little clothes hanging out to try. So little you can't believe a human can fit into the newborn clothes, and so big, you can't believe your 2 year old can seriously wear those jeggings
The smell of a new baby
The feeling of being needed in the night by Parker (my newborn)
It's funny to see my husband's pillow and blanket on the couch in the mornings (because he can't sleep when Parker needs me in the night)
Cutting crusts off of pb&js and making them into finger shaped strips
2 carseats in my car and toys and books scattered all over the floor
Sippy cups and zip-lock bags of crackers
Posting new pictures of the family
A tiny Santa hat
Watching a baby fall asleep on your lap (and how their eyes roll straight up!)
The sounds of little voices in the house
Being called "Momma" or now she says "Mawwwwwwm". I love that
Watching her stop whatever she's doing to run (full speed) to the front door when "Papa" (Greg) comes home
I'm so thankful we can be together forever, because of Jesus Christ

I'm so thankful I took the time to write this. The stresses I felt this morning are all worth it and it's just little bumps in the grand scheme of things.
There's SOOOOO much to be grateful for. So many things I'll miss when they stop happening-as the children grow older. It actually makes me emotional to think that these things won't always be. Especially with Kate. I think appreciating that, will help me to look past the times when her behavior isn't what I'd like it to be. As a very wise woman once said; When you wish away one thing, you'll also loose all of the other great things that come with that point in their life...I'm VERY grateful to be a Mother.

Hooray!

Kate's eating lunch!
1st:
I took my friend's advice and gave Kate some other choices for lunch.
2nd:
I make sure I'm home 30 minutes before her nap, and offer her some food then.
3rd:
I offer her more food when she wakes up from her nap.

This has helped so much! I'm so thankful for this blog, when friends give their advice. It always seems to help. Thank you =)

Lunch Challenge

Okay, so Kate is a GREAT breakfast eater.
For Breakfast she eats: A healthy cereal (such as wheat Chex, Raisin Bran, or Cheerios with sliced bananas), some yogurt, 8 oz. 2% milk, and sometimes a little whole wheat toast.
I couldn't feel better about it or more proud of what she's eating.

Then for a snack: she will have: some crackers, some of a banana, or string cheese. Of corse she's drinking water from her sipping throughout the day too.

Her nap is before she's hungry for lunch...

PROBLEM:
So after she wakes up from her nap (around 3:00pm) I try to think of something she'll want to eat.

I offer her: a peanut butter and honey/or jelly sandwhich, more yogurt, and her water. She usually doesn't want her sandwhich (or not very much of it). She's totally disinterested and would rather play.

WHAT SHOULD I DO? Any suggestions based on everything I've said?

So Funny

Kate is asleep in her pack n' play right now. (We went out of town for a week, and were so grateful that Kate slept well in her pack n' play. Since we got home, she's had a hard time staying asleep in her crib) I put her pack n' play in her room, and she's sawing logs... Isn't that so funny!? Well, if anyone needs me to watch their newborn or toddler for a night or two, I have a crib they can stay in! haha :)

Traveling

How do you travel with a baby? We brought the pack n' play with us to the motel. We were so hopeful that Kate would just LOVE it and not notice she wasn't in her soft, cozy crib.

The sides are mesh, so she could see us. When she could see us, she cried more. Even when she couldn't see us, b/c we were on the other end of the room, it still took her a long time to fall asleep. When she did fall asleep, she didn't sleep very long (nap:30 minutes, night time: 4 hour stretches).
Since we were in a motel, the walls were kinda thin, and someone pounded on the wall when Kate cried in the middle of the night. It made me feel so bad. I was trying to let her cry a little, so she could fall back to sleep. She cried again about an hour later, and the punched the wall again. :( So then I was so worried people would be upset, so I held her anytime she cried. (Kate sometimes needs to fuss a little bit before she falls asleep.) It was really hard. She was so tired. I felt so bad for her, and I also felt bad that I had become so upset. Any advice?
How could someone ever feel frustrated with this little lamb?

This was our room at the Econo Lodge. Greg slept in one bed, I slept in the other, and Kate's crib was next to me. I feel tired just remembering those 5 nights.

Naps in the Crib

Kate is starting to take longer naps again! She had a 2 hour nap on Tuesday and Thursday! She has not had one of those since her swing. She loves her crib. It's comfy and cozy. Sometimes she still cries for a little while before she goes to sleep, though. The HUGE thing, is that she's waking up from her nap and falling back asleep! That is HUGE! Hooray for Kate and hooray for Sleep Sense. Nights are going well too. She usually only wakes up once. She went 9 hours, the other night! :) I KNOW she'll wake up 4 times tonight, just because I am gloating!

Hooray for Cribs!

Kate is loving her crib. As long as she's fed really well, she doesn't mind being in her crib. I realized that the other day. We read stories, and I fed her some of her bottle, but she didn't want to eat anymore. So I put her in her crib. She got really sad, so after a couple minutes, I actually took her out of the crib and gave her the bottle again. She chugged it down. Then I put her back in the crib (Awake of course - Sleep Sense Theory) and she was just fine. So, that's what I do now when she fusses a lot for naps or bedtime.

We were at my aunts and Kate needed a nap. My aunt had a crib and Kate went to sleep right away. She didn't seem to know that it was someone else's crib. Hooray for cribs! :)