Sneaky Jonah

 Guess how sneaky I am?  Whenever Mom is making dinner and has her back turned, I can sprint past the pantry, grab a packet of fruit snacks and make a dash for my favorite little niche in the mud room.  Mom doesn't suspect a thing!  She can't even hear the wrapper crinkling or my satisfied eating noises. Most of the time I forget to throw away the small pile of garbage I make back here, but somehow it mysteriously disappears.  And if she does come looking for me, I just flash my charming smile to which she rolls her eyes and lets me finish my fruit snacks anyway.  Yep, I've got a good thing going.  I'm sure I can keep this jig up for at least a year or two until I lose my "cute factor."

Babies Don't Keep

"Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth, Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing and butter the bread,

Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

I love this poem.  My sister just posted it on her blog.  The words echoed through my mind the other day when I had a unique quiet moment with Nathan.  Jacob was at school, Sarah was playing at a friend's house and Jonah was asleep.  I thought of the piles of bills waiting to be paid on my counter, the piles of dirty dishes in the sink, the piles of laundry upstairs in my room waiting to be folded, and the piles of dust on every surface and in every corner I glanced at.  Instead of tackling those chores, I looked at my darling baby, held him in my arms, kissed his soft cheeks, smelled his sweet breath, basked in the twinkle of his big, brown eyes, enjoyed every ticklish giggle, loved every slobbery, wet kiss he gave me, laughed at his toothy grin, and marveled at his strength as he grabbed my fingers with his chubby little fist.  I kept wanting to take pictures in my mind so that when he's older and pushing my buttons I'll remember that precious moment.  Because just like the poem says those chores will always be there waiting for me but for right now "I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep."

Sarah, The 2-Wheel Rider

Here's the proof! Sarah can now join the ranks of 2-wheel riders! Jacob was determined a couple of weeks ago that Sarah learn to ride her bike. Brandon did a great job teaching her. I'm glad he got this father moment because he missed it with Jacob, who taught himself to ride his bike in about 5 minutes. Way to go, Sarah! Here's to family bike rides this summer! Yahoo!

Cure For the Recipe Blahs!

These Reese's Peanut Butter Bars were AMAZING!!! To quote Brandon, ". . . even better than the real Reese's Butter Cups!" That's pretty good when they're better than the real thing! I'm in love with this new recipe blog I found by 2 Mormon moms. They just won the Better Homes and Gardens bake-off. I've also made their creamy chicken taquitos with the lime-cilantro dressing, the chocolate mousse crunch cake, the chocolate chip cookie pie, and the chicken-bacon stuffed pizza rolls! It's been just the recipe revitalization I needed! Check it out: http://www.ourbestbites.com/

Happy Birthday Justin!!!

My little brother is 30!!! Wow! When did we get so old? I swear he just barely got home from his mission! Happy Birthday, Justin! (And doesn't his cute wife, Amy, look so darling and pregnant?)

Jonah's Sleep Study

This is what we've resorted to in our desperate attempts to help Jonah sleep at night. Sad, isn't it?

We took Jonah to see a pediatric pulmonologist (thanks, Jen, for the recommendation), who recommended that we bring Jonah in for a sleep study. The doctor thought we would have a simple case of obstructive sleep apnea due to Jonah's large tonsils. We just needed the proof that a sleep study would provide to take to an Ears, Nose, Throat Specialist. Great, we thought! What a simple fix! Brandon took Jonah to the sleep clinic and spent the night with him. The technician said the 45 minutes it took to hook Jonah up to all the equipment was one of his easiest and fastest jobs yet! Wow! We expected a lot of resistance from Jonah. I guess when the technicians are used to dealing with kids with a lot of behavior problems they become pretty good at their job. That and the Toy Story 3 movie Jonah got to watch during the hook up process helped immensely. When it was time to go to sleep, Brandon could see that Jonah wasn't going to sleep well in the crib they provided, so he put Jonah in bed with him so he could soothe him throughout the night. The doctor said it was a beautiful sleep study. Yeah!

Unfortunately it wasn't the slam-dunk case she originally thought. There were awakenings, and there were some obstructions, but they didn't correspond at the same time. There was a little more than normal limb movement, so maybe some Restless Leg Syndrome? We're going to get a blood test to check on that, but it doesn't look to be THE problem. We started a little Melatonin, but that only helps him go to sleep faster at night. He still wakes up in the middle of the night. And we're still going to see an ENT, but that appointment is a ways away. The doctor said Jonah is a puzzle. He's spending only 13% of his night in stages 3 & 4 deep sleep instead of the 28% he should have. Less than half? That's a concern. He looks tired too. He's had dark circles under his eyes for so long.

So there it is! It's pretty inconclusive. It's a long process. The doctor says everything we learn is another piece of the puzzle. I'm anxious to potty train and move him to a big bed. After the doctor told us stories of parents who take turns staying up with their children all night long to make sure they're safe because they're out of their cribs, I'm trying to be more patient. So, do we look into meds? They terrify me. They're not FDA approved. They haven't been tested in children. What's worse . . . the effects of long-term sleep deprivation or side effects of medication? I don't know. Advice, anyone?

Drooling Nathan

See? You can drool all over your self and still be super cute! I'm guessing tooth #8 is soon on it's way!