Chaos!

Ofta.

At the end of every evening, as I am climbing into bed, I find myself letting out a huge sigh. I know that most people have more than one child. And I know that I really want at least one more. But, at this point, two is more than I can handle!

I know that this is just a stage for our family. Even in just a few more months things are going to feel a little less chaotic. I KNOW IT and am totally hanging on to that little bit of information. Life in our house isn’t terrible at all. In fact, I keep telling myself to not wish away these precious moments. So let me just let you in on some of those moments (before I forget them all!)….

Jackson:

Two weekends ago we went to a rodeo in Verndale. To say that Jackson had a blast would be a complete understatement. He literally couldn’t stop talking about it. He sat on Papa Neal’s lap the majority of the time. Each time he would see a bull come out into the arena he would yell TOOOOOOOOWWWWs (cows). He also got to climb on the fence, see ‘sheeeeps’ and kick in the dirt. The entire drive home, Jackson could not stop talking with Papa about everything he saw. The conversation went a little like this:

“Tows, Tows, Tows,”

Neal: Yes Jackson, you saw cows. What were the cows doing?

“Butting, butting.”

You are right, they were bucking. What else did…

“Sheeeps, Sheeps, Sheeeeps”

Yes we saw sheep

“Runnin, Runnin”

The sheep were running.

 “kick, Kick”

You kicked the dirt.

“sit, Sit”

We sat in the bleachers.

Before you could get one sentence out, Jack was on to the next thought and ready to tell you about everything he did/saw! I am so glad he had such a good time.

Jackson is starting to talk so much. It has been really fun to hear all of his words. He will pretty much repeat every word someone says. He is starting to put a few words together. One of my favorite sayings of his is “Taint You…much” which is Thank you very much. Seriously melts my heart every time he says it.

One night as we were cleaning up from dinner, Mark came up to me and said “Kiss Me”. So I did and then went over to Jackson to start cleaning up his highchair. Then Jack, who had witnessed the whole thing, looked up at me and said “Mama, Tisss Me.” Ha! What a goof.

Yesterday Jackson fell down the stairs. He is starting to walk up and down them like a big boy, but yesterday something went very wrong. I am thinking he missed a step, because I only saw him heading straight down the steps head first. He has his first shiner around his left eye. Poor little lamb. He cried really hard after this fall.

We still struggle with punishment for this child. It seems that nothing phases him. Time-outs have become really fun for him, and he just starts to play in his room. Spanking only teaches him to hit us when he is frustrated, and I am not able to flick hard enough for it to hurt (I am just to pure of heart J). I am trying to just be consistent, and hope that that in itself will pay off soon.  I will take any suggestions you all may have on this matter!

Benaiah:

Ben has been struggling a bit on getting his sleep schedule down. He likes to wake up wailing every three hrs. during the night, only to nurse for about 5 minutes before conking out so hard that I can’t wake him up. Snack Feeding. So annoying, and sleep depriving for me.

However, last night he slept for over 5.5 hrs after his 11:30 dream feed. How great is that?! I felt like a new woman this morning. Seriously. I forgot how wonderful that much sleep is!

Ben does have a cold, which is not helping his sleep situation. The poor little lamb can hardly breathe at times. He is also having a hard time not spitting up large amounts due to choking on snot going down the back of his throat. What a mess! I did just get a humidifier in his room, and am hoping that will help him sleep more soundly.

A couple of Sundays ago (02.05.11) Benaiah started willfully smiling at Mark and I. It has been really precious. I love those smiles. His whole face will light up when he starts ‘talking.’ He also has started to get really excited when Jack is playing around him. I can already tell they are going to be great play buddies.

Benaiah is such a little cuddle bug. He loves nothing more than to be snuggled into our arms while sleeping. I love it.

Benaiah eats like a champ. He has three little thigh rolls on his right thigh, and two on his left. He has crazy neck rolls that I have to explore during each bath. I always wonder what treasures I will find in them!

Well, the babe is crying so I best go tend to him. It has been almost a month since my last post, and there is no telling how long in between for the next, but I will try to do better at at least posting pictures of my little fellas.