They Call Me "Mama"

It's cold and rainy this weekend. Friday afternoon we were over at my in-laws for a little bit and they gave us a box of Jordan's old stuff. We spent a good hour going through it and finding all sorts of interesting things... old love letters, song lyrics, action figures, graduation cards, a harmonica from the first time we hung out, a watch, beads, etc. Here is Jayden all dressed up in stuff he found!

This is my first parenting post.. and I'm sure it won't be my last!

Parenting is something I do 24 hours a day. You might say, "yeah right you're sleeping 8 of those 24 hours." And you would be wrong... ha! Gabriella still isn't sleeping through the night. I'm up at least once between the hours of 11pm-7am. Typically, she gets up at 3am-ish.

Anyways, I have a little boy who is entering his trying, terrible, terrific, boundary testing, food throwing, fit throwing, screaming, laughing, exploring two's. It's been an interesting time since Jayden turned one. I feel like everything I knew about parenting changed. We weaned him of formula, the bottle, pacifiers and baby food all by the time he was 13 months old, with the exception of the pacifiers he was weaned off those at 15 months. It's a big deal when all of those things change. For the first year of his life those things are what he lived off of. Not only that but he learned how to walk and has not slowed down. Jayden is 100% boy and loves to play in dirt, run cars over pillows, wrestle and just get down and dirty. I love it! He's an active boy and there is nothing wrong with that.. as long as he has boundaries.

Gabriella on the other hand, is very content sitting on a blanket with a few toys watching everyone around her. She's very quiet and reserved. She actually didn't laugh out loud until she was about 6 months. She loves to cuddle and just lay in our arms. Of course, she is only 7 months old and isn't quite to the stage of wanting to get out and explore the world.

This is Gabri's first time in a grocery cart..

I love Costco's carts because the kids can sit side by side.

I found out I was pregnant after only being married for 6 months. It still amazes me how much a marriage changes when kids enter the picture. It's a beautiful thing really. We now have these children that have come from us and were created by God, The Father... AMAZING! The process of how life starts is so incredible. I am always amazed when I hold a new baby fresh from the womb.

Parenting isn't always pretty or glamorous. There are times my kids have meltdowns in public and we as parents have to figure out the best solution without ruining our day or anyone else's. I'm sure more than once throughout the day I have drool, boogers, spit up and who knows what else on my clothes. There are days when I have had to put both my kids in their cribs shut their doors and walk outback and plug my ears because they are so cranky and I'm so cranky that I need to take a few minutes so I can regain my peace.

Last night a friend of mine threw a dinner party for one of our friend's who was turning 30. It was so much fun. It was ladies only so I was able to leave the kids and my husband at home so I could go out... 5 hours of not having to worry about anyone else but myself. It was incredible!!!!!!! But at the end of the night I was so happy to come home to my darling little girl who woke up and wanted mommy to feed her! It's just nice to have those refreshing times and feel like a normal 23 year old woman!

If there is one thing about parenting, it's that everyone does it differently! I have so many mom friends with completely opposite views as mine, but it doesn't mean that our kids can't be friends and that we can't learn from each other. The other night I was watching home videos of Jayden and I realized I have changed so much as mom since he was just a few months old. I do things differently with Gabriella than I did with Jayden... BECAUSE it works for us.

Here are some of the books or videos that I have found SOO helpful!

Babywise and Babywise 2 by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam

The Happiest Baby On The Block by Harvey Karp

To Train Up A Child by Michael and Debi Pearl

Super Nanny (the show) I've learned some pretty neat techniques from her show.

I don't always agree with everything these books have to say, but they all have great ideas and points about parenting.

Obviously, I don't have this whole thing figured out, but I'm learning what works and what doesn't. It's a process and I'm pretty sure I'll never completely understand everything about why my kids act the way they do and how I'm supposed to deal with it.

And this is the reason it's worth all the tears, screaming, tantrums, sleepless nights, etc......

(Jayden playing drums with Gabri's hands and beat boxing)