Weathering the storm (the one in the sky and the one that comes each night)

Nights have been "exciting" in our house for the last year (11 months, actually), and to be honest, I'm over it.  Last night was no exception, but with an extra twist.

Jackson has been waking up 2-3 times each night.  I've tried to let him "cry it out" about 8 times in the past 11 months, but either I'm terrible at it, or it just doesn't work on Jackson...maybe both.  In the past month, I've basically conceited defeat, knowing that at SOME point, he'll get better, but after a tough night two nights ago, tough mommy came out and after getting up and feeding Jackson at midnight last night, I vowed to let him cry himself to sleep the next time he woke up.  He woke at 4 am and after 30 minutes of crying and no signs of stopping, this tired mommy caved in.  I went into his bed, tried to just rock him and give him a paci (vs nursing him) and his screams rose to a new level, which I knew they would.  But at least I tried.

I fed him and the rain began to fall outside.  I experienced a rare moment when I actually looked down at him and got sort of nostalgic knowing that these days are (hopefully) nearing an end, and I actually enjoyed the quiet moment.  It could have had something to do with the fact that I'd been awake for 30 minutes, was wide awake, so was not in my usual sleepy stupor.  It was short-lived, and I wanted back in my bed, so put Jackson back in his crib.  He'd gotten so worked up, though, that he wasn't happy and was crying as I shut his door and (our door) and tried not to hear him (I knew he'd give in pretty quickly).

A few minutes later, at 4:45 am, I was startled by the blasting of "ALERT CAROLINA" coming from Eric and my phones.  Not as startled as Eric who literally jumped out of the bed (but whose snores will not be impacted when Jackson is screaming in the room down the hall).  It's an alarm that's about 12 decibels higher than necessary alerting us to a tornado warning in our area and telling us to seek shelter.  The good news is that I didn't have to disrupt Jackson from his slumber, the bad news was I'd been up since 4 and it looked like the next 30 minutes or so would be spent in our (quite small) bathroom downstairs with two children.

I grabbed Jackson and Eric lined the bathroom floor with pillows and blankets before waking up Brady.  We spent 20 or 30 minutes in the bathroom and shockingly, both boys managed to fall asleep.  Jackson had finally got what he wanted (sleeping next to me) so he was quite content.  Brady was out of it, but asked about 3 times, "What bed is this?"  When I answered "the bathroom bed," that seemed to satisfy him, like that made perfectly good sense.

Here are our cozy quarters.  I'm thankful for the blurry picture.

 

At 5:30, when I was putting Brady back in his bed, he told me that he wanted to tell grandma about his bathroom bed and was slightly upset when I told him yes, but not right at this moment.  And tonight, when he was heading up to bed, he asked if he could sleep in the potty again tonight.

 

Most people who sleep by the toilet either drank too much or are sick, so I guess I should be thankful for my reason, and that ultimately, it proved to be unnecessary.

 

Brady lasted 30 minutes in his bed, Jackson lasted zero minutes in his crib, and we all woke up in our bed as one big happy, sleepy family.

Today in videos

I finally updated my phone and transferred all my pictures/videos, which means I now have the green light to take as many videos and pictures as I want.  I don't usually take so many,  but here are three from today.

 

The first is Brady's every day ritual of putting on daddy's socks and shoes and going to play his "game."  The video is from this morning.  This evening, he managed to get four pair of socks on his feet.  His dad has a shoe fetish and for Brady, it somehow has morphed into a sock fetish.

 

 

 

And yes, I guess play for Duke.  How terrible. 



 

Jackson has been watching his brother play basketball for a year.  He's pretty excited to finally be able to join in....as long as the hoop stays low.

 

 

When Brady gets really excited, he wants to get physical.  Before I turned the camera on, I explained that he didn't need to tackle his brother every time he laughed.  You'll see how well Brady listens to me.

 

Letters to Jackson: 11 months

Jackson,

11 months old!  That means one more letter and (mercifully) only one more photo session. 

As your mom, I've learned a lot about you the past year.  You're a routine guy and you like knowing what is coming.  A few weeks ago, we came home from a trip to Newton.  It was 9 pm when we walked in the door and watching you kick your legs and squeal at being home was adorable -- a little fatigue didn't squash your excitement.  I wouldn't have been surprised if you kissed the floor (you do like to eat off of it, after all).  Of course, it makes traveling a challenge, since you're not keen on sleeping anywhere but your own crib (and sometimes not even there), but we've never been ones to back down from a challenge, so get used to the traveling! 

But yes, you like your space, your crib, your predictable life.  Also, you like your mom, and don't like when she goes far.  You're charming, and you'll smile at strangers, just as long as those strangers don't try to take you away from me. You've gotten better, and now they don't always have to come interrupt my workouts at the gym because you won't stop crying.  But whatever, I don't really like working out anyway and being skinny is overrated!

You're not even one year old yet, but you certainly have your quirks.  After 11 months of knowing you, I'm really getting to know them (although I don't always understand them).  85% of the time, you don't like being put down.   That doesn't mean you don't like being down, just not the act of being let go of.  So, instead of dropping you in the playroom and walking away, sometimes it takes sitting with you, getting you distracted, and leaving.  I'm trying to train your dad to STOP PICKING YOU UP in the morning when he wants to say good-bye.  You'll be perfectly content, he'll scoop you to give you a hug, and you'll cry the moment he puts you back down.  He'll get it, one of these days.

 

You continue to infuriate me during the night, but delight me during the day.  Your cry at night burns through my soul but your laughter warms it.  Honestly, your laugh is so wonderful.  There have been many times Brady is doing something I'd never let him do otherwise, but since its cracking you up, I just can't say no. 

Some well-intentioned mom suggested I turn off the monitor at night so I could sleep better.  Monitor?  Little did she know that my cold heart has taken to not only shutting your door at night, but our door as well.  But still, you cry and still, I hear you.  I won't go into specifics, but lets just say, improvement could be made in this area.

You wake up smiling though, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.  I love you buddy, sleep deprived and all.

Love,
Mom

PIctures lately

 

 

 

Near misses

If you have children, you know that life is a series of near misses.  Almost cracked your head open?  Great!  So glad you didn't.  I can't tell you how many times during the day I'll hear a "thunk" and close my eyes waiting to hear what follows.  Silence is the best case scenario, that means no one is severely hurt.  Of course, when my kids get older and smarter, silence may mean a cover-up is in place, but for now, I appreciate that their limbs are in tact.

Jackson is generally on the other end of the "thunks" and the cries in this house, and thank the Lord for 2-year-old honestly.  "What's happened to Jackson?" I ask and Brady is quick to turn himself in.  He'll tell me that he tackled Jackson or something of the sort.  Its often followed by, "I gave him a ball and he's not sad," and then we have a talk about how balls don't cure past transgressions, a concept Brady struggles to grasp.

Sometimes dangers come about when you least suspect them, which is frustrating for parents that work so hard to avoid obvious dangers.  I experienced last week when I was walking out of our house with the two kids.  As we were walking out the door to the garage, Brady bounded out the door first as the garage door was opening.  With Jackson in my arms, I turned to close the door to the house and when I turned back around, I was terrified to see my child holding on to the bottom rung of the garage as it rose.  I saw my child elevating, a sight that would be comical if not for that fact that it was frightening.  Brady's pretty strong, and I'm not sure how long he would have held on, but I'm glad I had only turned for a brief moment, so I could yell to Brady to let go, which thankfully, he did.

Much progress has been made in the way of garage doors to make sure they don't crush children, but I'm not sure they account for kids who want to take a joy ride up.  That, of course, is my child.

Tonight, my children are sleeping safely in their beds.  We will see what tomorrow holds.