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JDaniel4s Mom

growing & learning with him

Could a Huge Kite Signal Naptime?

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JDaniel is a pretty good napper in the afternoon. He tends to be a very light sleeper though. Some afternoons the neighbors don’t seem to realize that it is nap time. They start mowing their lawns or trimming trees with chainsaws. The mailperson has to let me know that she has a package for me by banging on the door and ringing the doorbell. The special garbage truck that picks up branches and grass clipping has to slowly gather up things on both sides of the street outside our house. It is like the whole world has decided to make noise.

 

I have come up with a solution to the problem. Batman had a signal that he could shine up in the sky to signal trouble. Do you think it would work for me to fly a huge kite over my house during naptime to signal that I needed the outside world to be really really quiet?

 

 

Hooray! Mom Loop Community on BlogFrog Officially Launches Today!

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Mom Loop is officially celebrating the opening of its fantastic community on BlogFrog today! I am so excited to be a part of it with Rachel from Quirky Momma, Liz from A Belle, A Bean and A Chicago Dog, Nicole from Activity Mom, and Shannon from Milk and Cuddles. I love to visit each of these ladies blogs and look forward to hearing what they have to say on a variety of topics on Mom Loop.

If you haven’t been on BlogFrog to check out the communities on it, you are in for a treat. There are a wide variety of blogs that have strong and thriving communities where you can post questions, read answers from others on a wide variety of topics. Some topics are serious and others are just fun. When JDaniel first had allergy symptoms this spring, I spent time on several BlogFrog communities finding out from others how they had handled allergies at their house.

You may have been to each of the blogs I listed above. If you haven’t had a chance to yet, please visit the links I have place below to a great blog post on each site. While you are there look for giveaways and other treats they may have set out to celebrate the launch of Mom Loop.
Here are wonderful posts from the other Mom Loop Moms:

Activity Mom has a great post called Buttons, Buttons, Buttons.

A Belle, A Bean, and a Chicago Dog has a post called Mommy Maneuvers that will make you laugh, cry, and make you think about going to the bathroom.

Milk and Cuddles will show you in a cool video: How do you find a good foundation that matches your skin tone?

Quirky Momma will help you Make Your Own Moon Sand – Aka Moldable Mess! in her latest post.

I would love it if you would join us on the official opening on Mom Loop today.


The Living Life to the Fullest, Cottage Ladies Reusable Lunch/Snack Bags, and Eat, Nap, and Play Giveaways on this site have ways to gain extra entries by joining Mom Loop.

Mom Loop is planning to give away 10 free premium Blog Frog memberships to the people most active in the community during the month of May!

Mommy Tears Rain Down

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During my brief time as a mommy, there have been many different types of tears that have fallen.
There are tears of happiness that fell when for the first time I got to hold him at the hospital.
There have been tears of exhaustion when JDaniel didn’t sleep much as a baby. I used to hold him to my chest with tears rolling down face questioning why God didn’t give a non-sleeping baby to a younger mom. There have been long days when my husband had to work late, JDaniel was fussing about something or other and a simple thing that goes wrong can lead to a few tears. I know those are tears of exhaustion.
There are tears of sadness that rain down when I have seen JDaniel cry at something he has seen on one of his PBS shows. Toddler’s tears are contagious. They also rain down when he gets hurt. (I don’t cry right there in front of him. They seem to hit later on.)
There are tears of joy that fall when he does something for the first time. When he climbed a ladder at the playground or took his first step, I have to admit there were small drops falling from my eyes.

 

Finally, there are tears that come from writing a blog post about a simple everyday event that has happened in our lives. There isn’t a particular reason for those tears they just seem to come. Maybe it is just because I am so grateful to have him be a part of my life and be his mom.

 

 

Learning To Be A Butterfly While You Are A Caterpillar

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JDaniel is still learning so much about everything in his world. He would love to fly freely and explore the world on his own terms much like a butterfly. There are times during the day that we need to crawl like a caterpillar through the lessons needed to grow into a beautiful butterfly. They are not always his favorite times of the day. Some lessons require time outs while others are teachable moments, learning from books or building on skills he has already acquired. These times can be frustrating for both of us. Learning isn’t always easy. Sometimes the same lessons need to be crawled through over and over again. Not all these times are tough. During some caterpillar times, JDaniel and I rejoice in lessons learned and concepts understood with loud cheers and flitting around the room.

Some day he will fly freely into the world. I hope he will remember the lessons he learned from his caterpillar moments.

Pollen! Pollen! Go Away! JDaniel wants to go out and play!

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On Sunday as we got in the car to go to my mothers-in-law in Georgia JDaniel must have touched a little of the green pollen that coated my husband’s car. He started rubbing his eyes within minutes of getting in the car. I washed his hands and face with Cetaphil to clean them off. (I carry small bottles on Cetaphil in his diaper bag.) He continued to rub his face and cry, “Eyes hurt.” I sit in the backseat with him when we go on road trips. It was breaking my heart to see him in pain. So, I did what I thought was best. I took him illegally out of his car seat and held him. Yes, he should have stayed in his seat. Did he stop rubbing? Yes, he wrapped his arms around me, put his head on my shoulder, and rubbed only every so often.

He was fine traveling in the car around Augusta. JDaniel started rubbing his neck on the way back home last night. This morning he woke up with a rash on his face and puffy eyes. I gave him a bath and thankfully had lotion left from an allergic reaction to grass last summer along with his daily dose of Claritin. The dermatologist can see him tomorrow. I hope we get a good rain soon. Until we do we will be playing inside.

Are you having trouble with pollen now?

I know we need pollen and butterflies and bees love it. Right now I just want it to go away!

 

Kate and One Special Egg

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My mom loves to tell the story of my sister Kate and her one special egg. Mom and Kate were at an Easter egg hunt that featured one special golden egg. For some reason my mom decided that egg was going to be theirs. Kate must have been about two and at this hunt two year olds were allowed to have their moms accompany them on their hunt for eggs. My mom spotted the golden egg in the field and tried to guide Kate to the egg. Kate had another plan. She had noticed a plastic egg sitting in the grass that she really wanted. Once she reached the egg she had been focused on, she sat down and started playing with it. My mom could still see the golden egg out of the corner of her eye. She really wanted to go over and pick it up for Kate, but decided not to. If Kate had the one special egg she wanted, that would have to be enough.
The way my mom tells the story I don’t think she has fully gotten over Kate’s deciding not to go for the golden egg. I hope that I will let JDaniel find and appreciate the things he enjoys and not pushing him to go for my golden egg dreams.

Remembering Blessings Daily

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A few weeks ago the pastor of our church encouraged us to think about praying as he does. He starts by thanking God for all the blessings of the previous day. Then he prays for the things and people he will encounter on that day. Finally he prays for things that are coming up that week.
Here are some blessings from yesterday:
JDaniel and I had a wonderful time at playgroup. We are so blessed to have wonderful people to play and visit with each week.
JDaniel took a nice refreshing nap yesterday afternoon. He has been hit or miss with naps lately. It was refreshing that he took at great one yesterday.
We have house with a big backyard to play in. The weather warmed up and we had a great time playing.

My husband has a job to go to. Not everyone can say that. We have friends that have been out of work for several months. They have said Monday is the hardest day of the week for them.

Changes From One to Two

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JDaniel will turn two on Friday. When I think about what he was doing a year ago and compare it to what he is doing now, it is amazing.

There are some things that are the same. Books are still one of his favorite things in the world. He has always loved to sit by himself and look at books as well as being read to. JDaniel’s very best friends are still the friends he met through the library and play group. Being outside or as he says “ouside” is really where he loves to be. We still start the day with morning prayers and snuggling. He still loves to snuggle with his hand up my husband’s or my sleeve. During meals holding hands to pray is still something JDaniel does. Bathtime is very much something he has continued to love. Eating has also continued to be something he enjoys. Now he is a little pickier.

There are many things that are different. JDaniel didn’t start to walk until he was 15 month old. This time last year he was still low crawling. Now he runs everywhere. I love to hear the padding of his sneakers around the house. He didn’t used to like to feed himself. Now he doesn’t like to be fed. Coloring, painting with bingo markers, building towers, and exploring all of his toys fills his time inside the house. Outside he loves to blow bubbles, gather sticks, play soccer, and write with chalk. JDaniel talks a mile a minute and knows about 400 words now. (About 150 of the words are food related) He gives great hugs now. He used to just cling. He can now say, “I wub you”,blow kisses, and hug you.

I wonder what he will be like this time next year.

My Son Changed His Name To You

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For a very long time, JDaniel called himself Me. Everything was about a little boy named Me. A few weeks ago he changed his name to You. It was very confusing at first.

 

I would say, “ What would you like for lunch?”
He would say, “You cheese, bagel, gapes.”

 

I would say, “I would eat them. How about you?”
He would say, “You! You!” Then he would point to himself.

 

I would say, “You would like them for lunch?”
He would say again, “ You! You! (This time frantically pointing to himself.)

 

I would finally say, “ JDaniel would like cheese, bagel, and gapes.”
Finally, he would say, “Yes!” with an exasperated sigh.

 

How did I get into this mess? It started with my saying:
Are you ready to go upstairs?

 

Would you like to go to the park?

 

Are you the most beautiful toddler in the world?

 

You did a wonderful job.

 

You can play with bubbles.

 

I guess he decided that his name was now You.

 

At playgroup yesterday I found out that two of the other children in the group have changed their names too. They are also now named You.

 

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My Little Valentine’s Head Was On Fire

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JDaniel seemed to be over his cold early in the week so; we went to playground and mom’s group events at church on Monday and Tuesday. When I went to get him after his nap on Tuesday, his little head was on fire. I held him of a couple minutes to comfort him and cuddle before using the thermometer on him to see how hot he was. The thermometer read 104 degrees. Despite his pleading to not be placed in the tub, he went into a tub of lukewarm water and had his hair wetted down. The only way he would cooperate was if he could keep his pacifier. Then he got some fever reducing medicine and a cup of water with a little jello mixed in. He drank the whole cup.
We then spent the next several hours reading books and watching a marathon on children’s shows on PBS. His temperature seemed to drop every time I checked it which was every forty five minutes. I was so thankful.
JDaniel didn’t want dinner. He sat in his highchair with his head on his tray while I tried to ply him with him favorite foods. (As many of you know he is always hungry. JDaniel’s lack of interest in food was alarming for my husband and me.) Finally before bedtime he drank some watered down juice.
The next morning his appetite hadn’t totally returned, but he did eat and was interested in playing and not being attached to mom like spider monkey. He did rebound at lunch and ate an almost normal dinner. JDaniel’s desire to run and play hide and seek after dinner was seen as a joyous event.
Today he is fussy and whining a lot, but he was doing that before the fever. I guess he is back to normal.

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