Ready for the Real World?

One quick "Bryce story"... about 10:30 this morning Bryce asked "Where is Daddy anyway?" When I told him he was at work, he said "yeah but it takes a long day to get there so he is not there yet." Since Bryce went to work with Josh yesterday before school and left "before the sun was awake" which was utterly astounding to him, I knew he knew how long it took to get there. I said "well, remember Daddy leaves before the sun comes up so he has been there for awhile." Bryce said "well, you know, you pass my school on the way to mine and Daddy's work." And I said "so, you work there too now?" to which Bryce replied "yes, but you never let me go there!" Only 6 weeks of preschool and he is ready for the workforce!

This is what "4" looks like for Bryce! Never a dull moment!

Birthdays and Bugs - Again!

Well, it happened, my little guy turned 4! It doesn't seem like it is even possible for it to have been 4 years ago since I spent 28 hours in labor bringing this little guy into the world! The last four years have been filled with ups and downs, easy days and hard days but such is the life with kids, I quickly learned from this fellow!! It is hard to believe someone when they tell you how much you will love your kids until that first one comes and you get a good look at them for the first time, it is a love that you have never had before but amazingly can feel over and over because when the next one comes you love them just as much! God has blessed Mommies and Daddies with that ability to love each and every kid 100%, and that gift could only come from God because it is hard to comprehend until you feel it and you just know!

Anyway, Bryce got to have his special day. We took him to lunch and to Petland and purchased him an aquarium and 4 fish (since he was 4 and all). He was absolutely thrilled! But the excitement didn't end there, he got to have his party. He had a great party with a houseful - literally - of friends and family. His friends Ben and Anna Kate even got to come from South Point (thanks guys - it made his birthday really special)! There were kids and babies all over the place! It was a great party and he had a great time!

The next day he got to take birthday snack to school. He took Ohio State cupcakes to the kids in his class and thought that was great! He was a little whiny from just recovering from his bug and being up late from his party but he still thought it was a big deal!

But Tuesday night, I got the dreaded bug! I lost a whole day being in bed. It was like Wednesday never happened! I have been so blessed with a wonderful husband who saw to things and an awesome Mom who took care of my boys while Josh was at work! God has given me a wonderful family who is willing to help in any way that they can! Thanks Mom!!! I am on my way to getting better but the bug took with it my energy and appetite (not the best way to lose baby weight)! We are praying that it stops with me, this house has become the Clorox wipe and Lysol capital of the world, I have sprayed and wiped everything, hopefully stopping the bug in its tracks. Josh has his fishing trip coming up and Collin is too little to handle such a bug! Keep praying with us that it stops with me!

Bryce and his fish tank! He named the fish Dorothy, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow. He is his mother's son!!

Bugs and Birthday Bummers!

Well, I am supposed to be preparing to welcome party guests in just about an hour and a half but instead I am sitting at the computer in pajama pants and a t-shirt and hoping that no one else starts throwing up! Bryce started yesterday morning/early afternoon with a stomach bug. He threw up 4 times before we made him lay down for a nap. After he woke up from that and an unplanned nap in the floor, he said he felt better and wanted to eat so he ate toast and Sprite and then asked for a Popsicle so he ate that too, then went to bed. At about 11 pm, I heard him in the bathroom throwing up again, bummer. He threw up 2 more times before 9:30 am, so we decided to postpone his party and have it on Monday, given no one else in our house is sick. It absolutely broke my heart to have to do that, he was very much looking forward to his party. I am praying round the clock that God will protect all of the rest of us, my baby just wants to celebrate turning 4! We are especially praying that Collin doesn't get it, at such a young age, a bug like this can be very dangerous! Just keep us in your prayers and hopefully I will be posting on Tuesday about the wonderful 4Th birthday party. Regardless, my first baby will be 4 on Monday, that seems like such a big boy age! I can't believe how the last 4 years has zoomed by!

Why can't it always be like this?

Look at that face...is there anything sweeter? Bryce has such potential to be a sweet and easy kid and the reason I know that is that he used to be that way...and sometimes still is! It has been a rough 6-8 months with him! I have a lot of people tell me it is his age but that does not make it any less frustrating! He is disobedient, defiant, and just generally difficult much of the time. After his big accomplishment of no crying on Thursday at school, today he decided to throw a screaming, wailing fit! It is frustrating because I am where I feel God wants me, at home with my babies, but now I am questioning that choice with this one. Would he be better adjusted if he had to stay with someone else? Am I doing him harm by staying with him all of the time? Even though I know it is not true these questions swirl through my head every time we have problems with him! He will be 4 in 6 days, that is so hard to believe! And I know "this too shall pass" and in 2 years when I have to send him to kindergarten I will be wishing for the days when he could be home most of the time! And then in 10 years when I send him to high school, I will wish for the time when he wanted to be with me!

This is just an example of the drama that surrounds Bryce though, last night he could not go to sleep and had to keep worrying about where he and his future wife were going to live when they got married, why couldn't they just stay here with me and Daddy? Even far off "problems" cause issues...

Just airing some frustrations...I love that kid more than anything and wouldn't trade him for 10 perfectly behaved children...he makes life interesting and challenges me everyday and is a reminder of God's grace...we are not born innocent and nobody teaches us to misbehave but God sent His Son to fix that and everyday it is a surrendering process to give God rule of my life...especially in parenting!

Celebrations and Smiles!

He did it, he did it, he did it, Yeah!! (Dora fans can sing it!) On Thursday, Bryce didn't cry at school!!!! When I dropped him off, he looked a little bit sad but didn't cry. Then, when Josh went to pick him up Miss Stacy said that he whined a little but no crying!! So, we had a celebration! He got to call Nana and Mamaw and tell them and invited them to his celebration. I made celebration brownies and he got all of the promised prizes! Nana and Uncle Josh and Mamaw and Grandpa came over to celebrate with him. It was a big accomplishment and we hope that this week goes just as well, maybe even better!

The little one has a new trick too! Collin is getting more and more smiley over the last few weeks. He loves to be talked to. If he wants to be talked to and you are not paying enough to him he has a fake cough that he does to make sure that he is getting your full and undivided attention! He loves to smile at his Daddy the most and smiles very easily at the word "daddy" too! He is growing like a weed and is changing everyday!

We are so blessed by God with these two little guys!

Side note: We now have high speed internet connection so it will be easier for me to make posts when I can get time!

Think on the positive

After a very difficult drop off at preschool today that ended with punishment, I have done nothing but think about where in the world I could have gone wrong with this one! What could we have done to cause this child to have the tantrums that he has, that talks back the way he does, to have the anger he displays...all at almost 4 years old? Then it came to my mind (oh, God's little reminders) that we are not causing these (thank you Adam and Eve) but we are responsible for teaching him that these things are not pleasing to us or God and that evidently is going to take a little time with this little fellow! Then I was also reminded that it is not always difficult and he has his wonderfully hilarious moments! So, here's to the good side of my oldest son. Enjoy the "Bryce stories."

First, since bringing Collin home from the hospital we have changed his diaper mostly in the living room. After finding out that his little brother can "shoot" pee when he is not diapered Bryce has not wanted to have much to do with the process. But Sunday evening he happened to be karate chopping his way through the room while Collin was getting a changing. While going by he looked down at his baby brother and said "Whoa, his pee pee guy is SMASHED!" Anyone who has changed a baby boy's diaper completely gets what he was referring to.

Lately Bryce has wanted to expand his horizons a little when it comes to TV shows and reluctantly we allow him to watch some "older kid" cartoons as long as an adult we trust is watching with him. Last night he had watched something that used the words "shut up", "stupid", and "hate" all of which he is not supposed to use. Well, while riding in the car he said "Mommy, can I tell you the bad words I heard on TV?", which he loves to do. Since I knew what had been said and knew that they were not really BAD words I told him he could. He then said, "Hmmm...what was it that they called Shhh?....Oh, yeah, they said shut up!"

And finally this one happened awhile back but I love it! We got a video baby monitor before Collin was born (Thanks Nana!) and had been trying it out in Bryce's room. He knew that we could watch him from the living room. One night as I was putting him to bed we were talking about how Jesus is everywhere all at the same time and Bryce was of course confused by this (aren't we all?) and earlier in the day he had gotten in trouble at Bob Evans, after the "wheel" turned in his head for awhile he said "I think Jesus might not know the way, he is walking to Bob Evans right now." Then, we talked about how God can see us even when no one else can and I told Bryce that God could see him even when I walked out of his room and shut the door and he very seriously looked at me and said, "He can see me on His monitor?", I tried to explain that God didn't need monitors to see us but, when a 3 year old comes to a "logical" conclusion, there is no arguing! So, in Bryce's mind Heaven is full of baby monitors for God to watch us all!

Here is too Bryce and to hoping and praying that school gets easier and we can figure out a way to make him understand the importance of good behavior!!

Shots and school!

Well, we are now into week 3 of preschool and the crying still has not stopped! But we have stopped talking about it, we have begun to think that Bryce has the idea of "even negative attention is extra attention". He has promised prizes waiting for him and the DVD player has been out of our car for a week and I told him that if he would not cry when I dropped him off he could have it back.(He lost it during a fit in which he screamed and talked horrible to me.) Nothing has seemed to help so we have decided ignoring the problem is the way to go with this kid who if it is not his idea it is not a good one! We are hoping he will get the idea soon that school is not too bad!


It is also hard to believe that he will be 4 in just 2 1/2 short weeks! He is quite excited about his birthday this year and especially for his "Lightning McQueen" party!

My little rock star is eight weeks old now! That is kind of hard to believe too but he fits into our family so well that it seems like he has always been there! It is amazing how God knows just what kid to give us! He had to go today to get his first round of baby shots. So far it seems to make him fussy when it is time for Tylenol but thankfully that seems to help. But the BIG news of his checkup was that he is continuing his growing spree. He weighed 16 pounds 5 ounces, clearly the biggest baby of his age in the waiting room!

Tomorrow is another day of school! Pray for Bryce as he goes and for us as we deal with him!! God is good... all the time!