Life Goes On...

It's March 20, 2011...and my boys are growing so fast.
So much has happened since the last post. Rowan is 6 1/2 months and Micah will be 6 years old on April 14. I just can't believe how fast time goes. I am finding it bittersweet to watch Rowan grow. Having a 5 1/2 year age difference b/w children allows me to see two truly independent children and how they interact with the world. Overall, I feel so incredibly fortunate to have such happy, healthy children.

Micah has had some struggles this year with kindergarten. We removed him two weeks ago from the private school he was attending b/c after much soul searching and prayer, we felt we needed to. Micah was in a class of 5 and while in the beginning we found it ideal for a learning environment, it proved to be stifling for Micah. He was in trouble every day, and after multiple conferences, a recommendation that he be held back in kindergarten next year (RIDICULOUS...the teacher apparently said it in the heat of them moment bc he is excelling academically) and a few conversations that got very personal, I knew it was time to do something. His light was going out, so to speak. I am not making excuses for his behavior, but at some point a child will grow to BECOME the "expected" or anticipated behavior and I saw it coming...Micah was, in a nutshell, BORED. He needs more activity, more people to be around, more to do. We enrolled him in the public school down the street and I was SICK about it. It just wasn't where I ever intended him to go...but then, God seems to have a way of directing me down paths I NEVER thought I'd go down. I prayed endlessly - as soon as we knew we were going to remove him - b/c for about 24 hours, I thought I was going to be homeschooling him through the end of the school year.

To our surprise, Micah was not the odd man out...the children all welcomed him...all 24 of them:), to their class and Micah was comfortable immediately. I visited for a day with him before we made our decision and I didn't leave feeling great about the school, but mostly b/c I was so nervous about the transition to public school more than mid way. Micah has been there two weeks and seems to fit right in. I haven't heard from his teacher yet, so I assume he's just one of the crowd...and that his behavior is acceptable - that HE is accepted. Academically the school he was attending prepared him VERY well. He seems to be ahead of the game and I am glad about that and irritated at the same time. Bft County does NOT have the best school system...

Micah had his first karate tournament earlier this month. He was SOOO very scared...I was nervous for him. None of us were sure what to expect...but he was basically asked to show his "stuff" to some teachers, which he did, very sheepishly, but I could see how PALE his face was and I wanted to run out and hug him...but I didn't. I knew he had to do this on his own...and he did...and as SOON as he did, he smiled a HUGE smile and laughed. Then he had a ball with the rest of the tournament b/c it involved a partner and all the kids had fun!



Rowan is a delight. I think about the next day with him as I'm going to bed every night. He is a BEAUTIFUL baby...and I can't believe how blessed I am. He is so very happy and seems to love us all so very much...he just lights up when we are all together and everyone comments on how happy he is.

Things he does:)

*PHYSICAL: Crawls around the ENTIRE house. He began really crawling just before he turned 5 months. Month 5 he began crawling short distances...and now...he crawls EVERYWHERE. He crawls on one knee and one foot...it's the CUTEST thing I've ever seen...

Pulls up to standing on anything and everything he can.

Attempts to balance himself and stand alone. He lets go of whatever
he's holding on to, smiles and just waits to fall back down on his
bottom. It's so sweet!

Rolls over on the changing table. HATES to be on his back. Changing his
diaper is HARD...I literally have to hold him down with my left arm and
try to tackle putting the diaper on in a way that does not hurt him b/c
I have to REALLY hold him down.


Babbles, makes an "s" sound, blows bubbles (or so he thinks, more like

spits)

Recognizes the dogs and loves them. When I ask "where is Summer? Where
is Uno?" He looks around for them!

* EATING: He LOVES his bottles now. Go figure. HOwever getting him to sit still long enough to eat is a feat! I am usually not one to nurse or feed a baby to sleep but I literally time his feedings just before his naps so I can sit and rock him and get him in teh zone to actually take in the bottle! He takes about 20 - 26 ounces (I think ) a day in addition to baby food. We started formula about a month ago on a regular basis and again, he just took it! Right now he takes about 50% breastmilk, 50% formula. We started this b/c he wouldn't eat enough by nursing and I KNOW it's b/c he couldn't SEE. This monkey has to be hanging halfway down my legs like a slide when he's eating or ready for sleep. He has had the following foods, homemade: apples, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, rice cereal, peas, avocado, banana whole milk yogurt (the only thing he really opens his mouth for) and teething biscuits. He does NOT love to eat solids and flips out if we try to feed him when he's the least bit cranky or tired. I try hard to get him two feedings of food b/c I know he needs the calories to get him thru the night w/out being hungry.

General Likes and Loves: Bath time, though we no longer can use the infant to toddler tub b/c he launches himself out of it. I literally have to bend over the tub w/ my arm around his waist the entire time and wash him one handed. It takes preparation to be able to do this!

* SLEEPING: He sleeps pretty well. It could be a LOT worse. His is asleep by 7 p.m. most nights, maybe 7:30 p.m. depending on when he wakes from a late afternoon nap.

He's JUST now become more scheduled and able to be tracked:) He usually wakes b/w 6-7 p.m, sleeps from 9 - 10am ish, then again from 12:30 - 2:30is and then about 4:30 - 5:15pm or so. At night he is out cold very quickly and has thankfully stopped waking more than twice. It is rare that he wakes twice. Usually he wakes b/w 2:30 -4 for a feeding and then goes right back down.

I can put him down wide awake and tell him "night night" and he will soothe himself. He cries sometimes, but I just let him. I have become much more comfortable w/ a crying baby..as awful as that sounds...but I think it's b/c I spend a day watching him cry in his crib...when I was trying to get him to nap i NEEDED to see that he was ok through all those tears so I just stayed with him...and realized he WAS ok...:) And so did he:

*STRANGER DANGER: If he doesn't know you, he will NOT allow you to hold him. He will SCREAM immediately. Can't say I blame him

* He hates his bouncer, his playpen and his jonny jumper - basically anything that restrains him. He is great in all of those things for our sitter...but not for us. Little MONKEY!

ME:

I just ran my very first race yesterday, a 5K. My husband was so incredible and ran w me, totally supportive and loving. He knew how nervous I was, especially since I am a very slow runner and have only been able to run maybe 10 x since the baby was born. I finished and felt AMAZING. I truly see how it can become addictive...I signed up for my next 5K today:)

Work is going very well, I feel very blessed.

I feel like I have so much more to say, but am pretty exhausted as I type this, so I'll save it for the next one! :)