Wanted to share...

on one of the "mommy sites" i am on someone posted this and i just thought it was so great i had to share...christmas really is not about the gifts!!

I've been reading the posts and hearing lots of frustration regarding bills overdue, financial crisis and stress over not being able to provide the gifts you had hoped for your children this holiday season. Its frustrating, I know. I CHARGED Christmas gifts last year and should not have. The doll that my daughter HAD to have Chou Chou teething doll was AWESOME on christmas morning... and for about 2 weeks.... and then the novelty wore off and she gets picked up maybe once a month...
Momma's WE HAVE A CHOICE !!!! We can get stressed, feel bad, cry, compare ourselves and "our pile of gifts under the tree" to other peoples, etc..... or we can CHOOSE to have the best Christmas we can and fill it with love, making memories and giving of OURSELVES to our children. My mom said "the best gift you can give your children this season is a calm and loving mother"
Christmas is literally a celebration of Jesus birth. Jesus would not feel honored by all the materialism placed on this holiday. Our culture has drastically changed what Christmas is all about.
My baby is too young to know or care about the gift stuff. She's still happy to play with the wrapping paper and bows. My big girls are 6 and 8 years old and this year for Christmas I am going to give them ME !!! MY love and MY time. Sure they will get a toy present or two .... but instead of going in debt further- I am going to let them unwrap simple gifts like a box of brownie mix and a wooden spoon and a cooking lesson. A disposable camera that THEY can take photos with when they get mom's photography lesson and later the thrill of seeing their own photos when they are developed.
I would just encourage each of you, when you find yourself stressing and feeling bad, sit back and think about your childs personality and what kind of life lessons you can turn into a gift. Find the positive and work with that. And remember its not just you, most of us are struggling this season, your holiday will be what you make it, it doesnt have to be lots of expensive toys and presents this year.

Terrible two's

When i used to hear people talk about the "terrible two's" i would say "yeah, okay...it can't be THAT bad" well i am here to tell you that it is...well with MY SON it is! This boy is so stubborn and it takes A LOT to get through to him, but we are working on it. It is hard because i always wonder "what am i doing wrong?" "why is he acting this way?" but i've learned that it is normal and most children go through this...but it's hard when it's your first child and you have nothing to compare the behavior to..and i will be the first one to tell you that i should have started disciplining him a lot sooner..but i didn't so here we are...and let me tell you, he is not THAT bad...he is still so loving & sweet but he wants his way 100% of the time and that just can't happen. Some days i think, wow we must be over the hump but then the next day he is right back at it...i know it will soon pass (hopefully) but until then, we are where we are.
but, i sure do love this sweet face!!

this pic is from before we moved but i really don't have any recent ones since halloween
i read this article online and it made me feel a little better, although i hope this behavior doesn't last until he starts SCHOOL!!! YIKES!

When you are a parent for the first time and your little one gets to the terrible twos stage, it can be hard for both the parents and the toddler. Toddlers reach this stage at different ages but mostly when they hit the two year old mark. Some start a little earlier and others a little later and the length they stay in the terrible twos varies as well.

Some signs that your toddler is in the terrible twos are temper tantrums, screaming for no reason, banging head on things and plain old not listening.

There are different ways to handle a toddler going through the terrible two stage and sometimes how the parents and rest of the family react can determine if it will continue or stop. One thing to try to do is ignore the temper tantrum and screaming and throwing of toys. This does not always do much good though as many will continue to throw the toys and keep on screaming as well. But sometimes not doing anything does stop the tantrum for the time being so it doesn't hurt to give it a try.

Yelling back at the toddler is something that is not affective and just makes the toddler think that yelling and screaming is ok and usually just makes them do it all the more. When speaking to a toddler that is having a temper tantrum, try to be calm and keep your voice at a normal level. Raising your voice a little bit is ok but refrain from screaming and yelling back at the toddler.

Another thing to try is the time out chair. Putting a child in a time out chair can be started anywhere from about 18 months old and up. Starting it early on helps them learn what it all means. At first the time out doesn't have to be long, only a few seconds or as long as the toddler will sit in the chair. As time goes on and more time outs are given, longer periods of sitting should be given. The more they are repeatedly put in time out for doing something, the more they will learn that it is something they should not be doing. It may take time and many time outs before a toddler gets the idea but they do get the idea in the long run.

Get advice from friends and family that have already gone through the terrible twos and temper tantums with their children. Sometimes advice is good and other times it isn't but any help through this hard toddler time for the parents can be helpful and for a new parent.

Try everything you can to help you and your toddler make it through the terrible twos without much stress to your family or the toddler. Sometimes nothing works and you just have to try your hardest to relax and not get stressed out over nothing working. They do outgrow the terrible twos, sometimes quickly and other times not until they go to school.

Most important, remember that your toddler is learning every day and your reactions will factor in how they will react to things as well. And remember to tell that toddler that you love them very much even when punishing them with a time out.

WOW! Looks like everyone is thinking this baby is a girl. We shall see.

Forgot to share...

i have started to feel the baby move ALREADY! such a neat feeling.

Christmas Shopping...

Sooooo....i have decided we need to start Christmas shopping! We had Riley pretty much done by this time last year! I'm not sure what happened this year but we are behind..oh well, we will get it done...i really want to save a lot of the shopping for Black Friday (my favorite time to shop!!!) but maybe we will go out this weekend and pick up a few things just to get started...I LOVE this time of year...and no I am not forgetting about Thanksgiving, we love it too!
Anyway, i am just at a loss as to what to get Riley...he has everything..we were thinking something like this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3106139 or this http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3755964 as his "big" gift ..i know he would love either. I guess we will just have to see what we decide on....did i mention i love christmas :)

In other news, Riley has an ear infection in both ears which explains why he has been SO cranky for 2 weeks straight...he is taking amoxicillin and should be back to normal soon :)

14 week appointment

the baby's heart rate was 150 bpm and everything is looking good!

Halloween!

That is the best picture we could get of riley in his costume- ha...he wouldn't have anything to do with the camera..we took him out trick or treating and he had a lot of fun and got tons of candy, it was so fun, i can't wait to do it next year!

I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday- can't wait to hear the baby's heartbeat again! I will update when i get home :) --14 weeks already, time is flying!

How your baby's growing:
This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Potty training day 1

Went horrible...he messed in every pair of underwear i put on him and he is not interested in the potty at all, i think i may have to go with the Dr. Phil method (you can find it on his website Drphil.com) but i certainly don't want to push him into doing something he isn't ready to do...his pediatrician says that most boys aren't trained or even act interested until they are closer to three but i know when the new baby gets here he isn't going to want to go through the potty training...that is why i am trying to start early...we will keep trying and see what happens.