A New Outlook

I'd like to begin by saying if you have a son, whether you are a mom or a dad, you must read Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson. It is essential. I daresay it is even more important for fathers to read than mothers. In addition to an insightful discussion about boys' behavior and the culture they're being brought up in today, Dobson offers much support and encouragement for the stay-at-home mom too. Bringing Up Boys also sheds light on many feminist notions that had gotten into my head by osmosis, just by being born into this generation, and on how much the deck is stacked against the white male, which both of my boys are!



I realize the last time I blogged it was a scary description of how impossible my days can be at times. That is not the legacy I want to leave though. I truly love staying home with my children and raising them, loving and nurturing them, teaching and correcting them. The work of a full-time mom and homemaker is probably among the hardest there is, but I would not trade it for the world. I believe with all my heart that I am doing what is best for my children and for my husband as well. My goal is to raise children of the highest moral character, of honor and integrity, who love the Lord and live to serve Him, who are not so concerned with their own "to-do" list that they miss the needs of the very people to their left and to their right. I desire to create a warm, loving home environment in which such lofty goals are within reach, or at least have a shot! This outlook is what I would prefer to leave my readers with. I'm not saying I'll never post about the "challenges" of my days ever again, because I know that in itself can be encouraging to other moms, just to know they're not the only ones out there going through the same thing. However, I would like my blog to be more of a ministry to other moms than a means for me to just "sound off."



My darling Elizabeth, who we've lately dubbed ebeth.boof (sounds like ebeth-dot-boof, like a web address), is grabbing at toys, putting them in her mouth, and trying to sit up on her own. She has not yet rolled over from back to front, and I blame that mostly on her being in that Pavlick harness for her first 5 months of life, but she is trying to make up for lost time. Also, after sleeping through the night for a solid 2 months or so, she just decided to start waking up through the night a couple of weeks ago. Finally, on Monday night I decided to see if she could sort of cry it out and get herself back to sleep. It worked! Albeit, it's not like she was ever wailing. She was just sort of fussing, whimpering. She slept through the night again without making a peep last night!



While still fully breastfed, she has added some purees to her repetoire (sp?): applesauce, rice cereal, carrots, and pears. I also gave her a little vanilla yogurt while she was on an antibiotic for bilateral ear infections. The antibiotics definitely affected her gut in a bad way. She also likes raspberries...blowing them, that is! She is so vocal. It seems she can mimic so many different sounds already. All in all, she is still the sweet, calm, peaceful baby she was at birth.



One of my favorite parts of the day happens at dusk. I'm sitting in the nursery rocking chair at the end of the day, rocking back and forth feeding my precious baby girl, looking out the window and watching the boughs of the pine trees in our backyard sway in the breeze. It's one of those moments that gives me the "warm fuzzies" every time. This phase of my life will be but a fleeting glimpse, gone in the blink of an eye. I hope I never forget it. It makes me cry for all of my kids to be babies again. Such a crime that we can't go back in time. I'd give anything to have baby Isaac and baby Josiah all over again. To say that they grow up too fast is a massive understatement.

Back to breastfeeding, Elizabeth is back to screaming her head off when I try to nurse her. I just can't figure it out. She's either bothered by everything I eat, or nothing. Or maybe it has nothing to do with my diet at all. She goes through this cycle of hating the breast about every other week. Josiah went through this very thing early on and I gave up and switched to bottles, but he didn't like bottles either. So I'm being stubborn and sticking to my guns this time. If she is to be my last baby I hope to nurse her for her entire first year. I've done breast and bottle before and I can tell you bottle feeding is for the birds. Nothing is more economical or convenient than breastfeeding, though I know it isn't easy, at least not for me. Isaac is the only one who never put up a fight for me when it came time to eat. Josiah and Elizabeth have both fought it for reasons I can't figure out. I've also had trouble with clogged milk ducts with all 3 kids, and even got mastitis with Isaac. Keith always reminds me if breastfeeding were easy then nobody would go through the hassle of having to wash bottles everyday, or the expense of buying formula. It worth the effort though, which is why I'm sticking with breastfeeding.

Now for my beautiful Josiah. I just can't put my finger on what makes this bouncing baby boy (who isn't such a baby anymore) so special to me. His personality is so unique. He's got the confidence of an entire NFL team, yet he's such a cuddly little momma's boy at the same time. He knows he's cute and he can work it.

He seems so advanced to me. He already knows his colors. He sings lots of songs like Happy Birthday, ABC's, Row Row Row Your Boat, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star-though he doesn't articulate them very clearly ;-). He can also count to ten. We always refer to him as a black man trapped inside of a white man's body because my boy can bust a move! You've never seen a little boy dance like my JoJo. He's recently learned how to jump too. He really gets both feet off of the ground! Best of all, now that Isaac is potty trained (I'll get to that in a second) and using big-boy cups (no more sippies) Josiah shows interest in using the potty and big boy cups too. I may have 2 out of 3 potty trained by the end of the year!

Josiah is so precious to me. He's my little Keith. He looks just like his daddy. I just started teaching him the Lord's prayer and songs like This Little Light of Mine. My heart just melts when he pulls out the little Beginner's Bible and asks me, in his little JoZo way, to read about Jesus. You've also got to see him fold his little hands to pray. There's something so mysterious about Josiah that neither Keith nor I have figured out yet, like we still don't fully know this little boy. In spite of the fact that we believe his "terrible two's" have begun, he is still a wonderful little boy. He will be 2 officially in 2 more months, and I'm planning a Handy Manny birthday for him!

Finally, my precious firstborn son, Isaac. It seems like only yesterday Isaac was a baby and now he's like 10! I'm exaggerating obviously, but he's really become a big boy in the last month or so. As I mentioned before, something finally clicked about pooping on the potty and Isaac is now fully potty-trained. We even drove to Michigan and back without a single accident. Along with pooping on the potty Isaac also has no desire to use sippy cups anymore. He is so much bigger than he was just 3 months ago. He also seems to have gotten past that "terrible two" stage of total rebellion all day everyday. He still has his moments of course, but the phase I hope has passed.

Along with all of these developments he has become a much rougher, tougher, noisier boy! Ever hear someone say something like, "Oh he's all boy." That's my Isaac. I will say that reading Bringing Up Boys has given me some peace of mind regarding some of this boy behavior. I mean, at least I have a better picture of what's normal, since I've been a girl my whole life. :-D

Isaac's latest accomplishments are becoming a master of puzzles and numbers, as well as beginning to learn his letters, letter sounds, and how to tell time. Most recently I've begun teaching him things like my phone number, our address, and where daddy works, you know, in case of certain emergencies.

Well, Keith just came home from work so I'm going to give him my full attention now. It sure is tough finding time for blogging! I hope that this blog encourages someone in some small way! I just want to conclude this blog with a quote from Bringing Up Boys, from the very last chapter entitled The Ultimate Priority.

"What will give you the greatest satisfaction as you lie there on your sickbed, thinking about the experiences of a lifetime? Will your heart thrill to the memory of honors, degrees, and professional accolades? Will fame be most highly prized, even if you manage to achieve it? Will you swell with pride over the money you've made, the books you have written, or the buildings and businesses that bear your name? I think not. Temporal successes and accomplishments will not be very gratifying in that moment of destiny. I believe the greatest sense of fulfillment as you prepare to close the final chapter will be in knowing that you lived by a consistent standard of holiness before God and that you invested yourself unselfishly in the lives of your family members and friends. Most important, knowing that you led your children to the Lord and will be with them in eternity will outrank every other achievement. All else will fade into insignificance. If that is a true representation of how you will feel when your days are growing short, why not determine to live according to that value system now, while you still have the opportunity to influence the impressionable kids who look up to you?"

I agree Dr. Dobson.