A Few Little Changes

Kaleb has had a rough year at preschool...to say the least. He had a lot of things going on that were new and he had to learn how to adjust. I'm not making excuses for the bad behavior my child had over this last year, but there may be some explanations. He got a new baby, a new house, a new preschool, a new church, new friends (for the first time he was around boys), etc. He learned SO much at preschool this year and there's no way I would have traded the experiences he had. I always say I'd rather he go through this phase now than when he first starts kindergarten. Yeah, so throughout this year he has been in trouble for roughhousing, kicking, spitting, hitting, throwing, yelling, saying bad words, and a host of other things. Part of his problem is that he is such an emotional child and when he gets angry about something he acts without thinking. So Eric and I implemented a few things that really seemed to help for us.

1. We only have 2 rules in our house: Love God. and Love each other. Everything else kind of stems from that. Having only 2 rules really cuts down on the confusion for us.
2. We have 1 main focus: respect. Everything he does (or doesn't do) we tie back to being respectful or disrespectful. We tell him that it is respectful to obey adults the first time, say yes ma'am and yes sir, put his dishes away, things like that.
3. He is rewarded for good behavior. When he was potty training he got a sticker for going to the bathroom. Now he gets a popsicle or sucker for being respectful at preschool. I don't consider it bribery. It's a reward system. And it works.
4. He has more responsibility thereby enforcing that he is a big boy. And big boys are respectful. He makes his bed in the morning, picks up his toys at night, puts his bowl/plate/silverware/cups in the sink, throws away wrappers, helps fold and hang up clothes, and gets his own snacks. We started giving him an allowance of a nickle every time he made his bed or helped with a chore. This way, he can buy his own gumballs when we go out to eat if he has done enough chores. It's not enough that he assumes he has to get paid to do chores, but it's enough that he is learning about money.

It's not perfect, but he did it on his own!

I painted this owl bank for him and it's where he puts his nickels.

I'm not going to say everything his perfect, but it is SOOOO much better.

7 Month Comparison

The most noticeable difference betwen Kaleb at Peyton at this point in the amount of hair Peyton has that Kaleb didn't have. Also, as you can tell, I was still helping Kaleb sit up some.

Kaleb at 7 months

Peyton at 7 months

7 Month Update

Age: 7 months
Weight:  19.1 lbs
Length: 29 inches
Sleep: Yep, he's basically sleeping through the night....most nights. Sometimes we have to get up and put his paci back in, but for the most part he's down for the night. Still napping pretty well during the day but not really on a schedule.
Likes: LOVES his brother more and more. He's also really liking getting a lot of attention, blowing raspberries on his tummy after diaper changes, eating, and his paci, of course.
Dislikes: Ear infections, being sleepy, and those little teeth trying to come in.
News: He is still in size 3 diapers, but is definitely in the 9 month clothes and sometimes in the 12 months. He can now sit up by himself, roll all over the place, and babble. He hasn't said his first actual word yet, but he babbles with a lot of b sounds. His first word may be buh-buh for brother. He is also starting to learn to wave (to himself of course). Along with that he has been teething like a crazy dude for the last, oh, say, 3 months! That tooth is bound to come in this month. If not, we may need to build a mini ark in preparation for the flood of drool we'll be surrounded in. You're welcome for that mental image.

Oh The Things They Say...

This week's installment:

• "I have an oyster in my mouth."  "You know. Those bumps in your mouth." Ohhhhh an ulcer!
• "My side's been hurting. My mom says it's probably my independence acting up. I might have to get my independence taken out." You do that, dear.

April Goals Update

Daily:
Read the Bible - This hasn't been as great at January, but I'd say it's my second most successful month so far. I devised a plan to read through the New Testament so now I don't have any excuses about not knowing what to read. It's come in handy recently because we keep having trouble with Kaleb. We decided we needed to revamp our house rules and decisions. We now have 2 rules - based on the Bible. We love God and we love each other. Everything else comes from that.
Thank someone - I've been much more intentional about thanking Eric specifically when he does something. I make sure to let him know how much I appreciate him.

Weekly:
Kaleb time - We've had fun playing outside and going to get ice cream together. We went to the park just the two of us and mowed the yard together.
Exercise - I walked around the track some this month. I wish I was more motivated and consistent with it though. I also did Jillian Michael's workout again. Phew!
Recipes - Well, I managed to get 3 of my 4 goal recipes done. The tomato basil pasta was just so complicated that I skipped it. Crockpot lemon chicken was a success! And it was SO easy. I tweaked the recipe a little bit and I think next time it will be even better. Eric liked it a lot and Kaleb even ate it. Pair it with rice and green beans and it's an actual adult meal.

Of course I tried both desserts. The white chocolate raspberry recipe didn't exactly work out because I couldn't find raspberries anywhere! I improvised and made white chocolate strawberries instead. Pretty tasty. They were better when the chocolate was still warm because once it hardened it was pretty hard. Still good though.

I'll obviously never have pictures on Pinterest because I can't get the plate clean enough. I did some chocolate filled and some chocolate dipped.

Lastly I made the caramel marshmallow popcorn. It was also really good, but pretty rich. I think next time I make it I'll use twice the popcorn. You almost had to eat it with a spoon!

Monthly:
Date Night - My parents took the boys one weekend so Eric and I got to go out to eat to celebrate him getting this summer internship. Sushi is so much better when you don't have to calm a crying baby or chase a rambunctious three year old.
Read - I read the Duck Dynasty book in a couple of days. Now I've moved on to Anna Karenina. It may take me more than a month to finish that one.
DIY - Goodbye DIY goal!

Yearly:
5k - Done and done! I say it twice because I've done two, obviously. I have to admit they're kind of addictive. They're not so hard you have to train a lot, but they're difficult enough to feel accomplished for finishing it. I want to do another one with Eric in November and maybe jog a good bit of it.

Kaleb Quotes: April 2013

• "Why does that old lady have old hair?" - referring to white hair
• "That cat doesn't know me so I'm a stranger to him. But I'm a good stranger."
• "Thank you for me and my family and for not letting Mommy fly up in the sky and crash." (Kaleb's prayer after I got back from WalMart)
• "I want it to be summer so I can play in the sprinkle."
• After I told him he was being selfish: "I am not a selfish. I don't live in the water."
• "I don't feel good. I think I need a haircut."
• "I got you a flower. Let me wash it first. It's been in the dirt."
• "No, it's a Tah-rad-i-dad-i-saur-us." (not a Tyrannasaurus - silly me)
• "I wish I was in the tv so I could be in Barney's class."

An Impromptu Beach Trip

Yesterday was a good day. It felt great outstide, the kids were in good moods, we didn't really have any plans for the day, and Eric and I felt up for anything. We decided to go on a day trip to the beach since it's only about 2 hours from our house. In order to make the trip bearable we thought it would be a good idea to drive during naptime. On our way out of Laurel we stopped to get lunch for us and Kaleb. McDonald's took so long that by the time we actually got the Happy Meal Kaleb was asleep. We asked him if he wanted to eat or continue with his nap and he indicated he wanted to eat. You know what's incredibly cute? A sleeping little boy trying to eat a chicken nugget. He would take a bite (eyes shut), chew it a little bit, and fall asleep. When we tried to take his chicken nugget away, he would lift it back to his mouth and take another sleepy bite. Needless to say, he didn't even make it through one chicken nugget before he was out for the count. We just saved his food for when he woke up. After we got through Hattiesburg, and close to Paul B., he woke up and ate his Happy Meal then he wanted to sing songs the rest of the way down there. You know the cliche of "Are we there yet?" Yeah, it's from a three and a half year old on his way to the beach for the first time in his memory. He's definitely been to the beach before...several times. He just doesn't quite remember it. Here's a little montage of his beach experiences:

This was Labor Day 2 years ago in Destin

He was about 10 months old in St. John

This was about 4 months old in Orange Beach

So there ya have it. He's been there and done that. But, like I said, he doesn't remember it. This was, however, Peyton's first trip to the beach. Once we got there we got the boys sunlotioned. (I'm not sure that's even a word)

The view and the water was very typical of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We didn't spend too much time in the water for obvious reasons.

Glove in the water

This wasn't the prettiest view, but since Kaleb's obsessed with excavators we picked it anyway.

The dirt that polluted the water. No blue waters here.

Kaleb had fun digging in the dirt, being buried, and making castles with Eric and me.

Playing with Daddy

Burying his legs

Playing with Mommy

He also enjoyed running around on the water's edge, filling up a tupperware container with water, and pouring that water all over the sand. To dry off he rolled around in the sand. Yep, we had to change him. Tip: Wear beach clothes and always bring a change. Maybe two.

Peyton had a good time, too for the most part. He loves watching his brother and since he's not crawling or walking he pretty much sat up or laid down and did that the whole time.

 

 

There was one point where he was sitting up and then reached for something and fell face first in the sand! It covered his whole head from his hairline to his chin. I would have taken a picture if I didn't think he was going to scratch his eyes with the sand. It took a lot of wiping but I finally got most of it off. It was harder to get it off his eyelids and eyelashes (poor baby!) butI fed him a bottle and while he was taking it I worked on his eyes. Tip: Keep some dry material with you. We used an extra pair of shorts this time.

While Peyton was taking his bottle, Kaleb decided he needed to go to the bathroom. Since there weren't any around us Eric had to drive him to a gas station or somewhere to go. While they were gone, Peyton and I just laid around and made silly faces. Soon after the two bigger boys got back, Peyton was ready for a nap so Eric and I took turns holding him by the water until he fell asleep. After that, he was out!

He has the silliest little grin when he sucks that bottom lip in.

Wearing brother's sunglasses for a bit

Ain't he sweet?

 

 

Like I said, it was a good day. I'm blessed to have my boys.