Happy Mother's Day

You may not know this about me, but I was baptized on Mother's Day. It was before I was a mom, so you might think that it should hold no special significance, but it is important enough to me that I remember it was Mother's Day. When baptism symbolizes outwardly that one was reborn inwardly, I was reborn on Mother's Day.

A lot of men don't get Mother's Day, and a lot of women think it's overrated. This is not so with me. I don't think they understand what happens to a mom on Mother's Day. It's a day where you think, you remember, you envision. I look at my baby and I think about where we've come from and where we're going. I remember holding my son for the first time after carrying him inside my body for 9 months. I envision him at the ages of my older nieces and nephews, drawing me pictures and burning my breakfast in bed. I envision him calling me on Mother's Day when he is grown, and him having his children call me when he has his own. It's a day of reflection, a day of appreciation. EVERY MOM DESERVES A HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. Show your mom you love her. Spoil your wife rotten. Wish every mother in your life a happy mother's day. Because she deserves it.

I was reborn again on another Mother's Day, this time 22 months ago. My own personal Mother's Day when I gave birth to Dane Thomas. My life was forever changed on that day, the day he made me a mommy. It's no secret to anyone that has ever known me that this is all I have ever wanted in life: to be a mom. Nothing has and nothing could ever bring me such joy and satisfaction. There's not a day that goes by that I don't tell my son how very much I love him or how proud I am of him and there will be no question in his mind as he grows that he is loved. I am grateful to him and for him, for reminding me every day of the gift of being a mommy.

Happy Birthday, ME!

I am now the big 26. My birthday has just passed and I want to thank all of you who called/texted/left messages on my phone or Facebook/emailed/sent cards/ or wound up at my surprise birthday dinner.

I have only spent the last 5 years as a wife, and the past 2 as a mom. But at heart, it's always been who I am. It feels as though I have been DT's mom for the past 26 years and I am so thankful that God had him in the works even though MY plans fell through. Without question, Dane is the greatest part of my every day and for the rest of my life, if I get a card and a hug from my baby, each birthday will be better than the last. So happy late birthday, me. A very happy birthday indeed.

Don't Call It A Comeback

Okay, call off the search party; we are alive. So much has gone on in the past couple of months, and we've been working on sorting things out.

We are sad to report that Daniel and I are officially separated and on our way to divorce. I keep retyping sentences to explain or talk about the circumstances, but I suppose it's meant to be a private matter because no words seem appropriate. I will say that we are attempting to be civil about it, and for now, that will have to do. I don't want anyone thinking that they have to stay away from Dan, me, or DT because you are on the "other side". If you're reading this blog entry, then you're on Dane's side. We want you in his life.

So thanks for allowing us the time and space to grieve and heal. Continue to watch the blog because we've returned. But don't call it a comeback. :)

Weekend Wrap-Up

What a fantastic weekend we had! Thanksgiving was amazing - great food and good times with the family. After dinner, we threw everyone out and Jackie started planning her Black Friday excursion. She was in line to shop by 10 o'clock pm. She didn't return home until 7 am Friday morning. Got some super deals and DT's shopping is covered!
We got a tree and lazed around on Friday, ignoring much of the cleanup that went un-cleaned-up from our turkey (and ham!) feast. Friday night DT spent the night at Camp Gramps, and as rumor has it, he actually slept in there! More lazing and more Christmas prep took over the remainder of our lovely long weekend.

By the way, THIS is what that Howard photo SHOULD have looked like:

Apple Picking Pictures

Here's some proof of the fun we had at the apple orchard last weekend. Again, on the trip was Ben, Granny K, Dane, Daniel, and Jackie.The boys size up the pumpkins.Daddy and Dane.

Dane and Our Apples.Hussafuss.No Caption Needed.

Fun feeding Mommy!Busted! Dane steals a picked apple!

Moseying along...

Dane actually picked this apple off the tree!

The boys enjoying the fruits of their labor!

Dane's thiiiis tall!

Men Who Stare At Goats.

Easy. Eeeeeasy....

Spotlight On: Dane's Room

Now that Dane has a new room, we thought we would show it to you. And having never showed you his room at the old house, we thought we'd show you that too!

Old Room
The stripes are turquoise on white with a lime accent stripe on either side. Jackie painted the room entirely on her own, and it took around 40 hours of labor. The lamp and letters were painted by Jackie and the crib bedding, valance and changing pad cover were Jackie's first sewing projects. Monkey accessories scattered the room, matching the bedding, and maybe causing Dane's later obsession.

New Room
These are pictures without the furniture, to show off the paint job. We did not do this, it was a perk of the house. Dane loves waving at the monkeys, and he likes to touch random animals. The fourth wall is mainly two giant windows. It's an adorable room, but a little hard to furnish with bedding, curtains, nursery letters and the like. We're still working on situating the furniture just right to maximize space and the mural visibility - of key importance!

Picture of the Week/ Favorite Things: New Game

Yeah, that's right. A PoW slash Fave Things.

It's my blog, I'll do what I want.

This is a video of Dane's new favorite game and one of our favorite videos of Dane thus far. I think it's something like 2 minutes long and again, Mommy is very loud and muffles out Dane's giggles (Someone please show her how to hold the camera away from her mouth when videographing...).

The game takes place this time in the pool with Jackie and Dane. "You take it, I take it" is a hot potato of sorts, where Dane passes an item to you and you pass it back as long as he desires. I counted 29 passes in this video. He loves loves loves this game right now, and we just wanted to share this with you. Enjoy.

Lesson from a Vet

It's no secret that Dane is a very active child; he needs to be doing something at all times. He is also at the age where separation anxiety begins to rear its ugly head. This means Mommy has to be in sight at all times or Dane must be engaged in a non-destructive activity long enough to do dishes, laundry, cook, etc. Sometimes it's easier to have him right there with me so that I can ensure Dane is not ripping the dogs' hair out, climbing the bookcase, tearing the blinds apart, banging on our television screen, searching for electrical sockets to shove things into, and so on.

So when Dane makes his way over to the kitchen gate, he isn't shy to let me know he'd rather be in there helping me cook. A problem many moms have faced, no doubt. One mom in particular has given me some insight into a fix. I've heard stories of her doing this with her son, Danny. Yes, Dane has certainly inherited his activeness from his Daddy, and so who better to get tips from than the mom who dealt with Dane, Senior?!

Here's vet mom, Cindy's lesson. He wants to help out in the kitchen? Let him! She used to give Danny common kitchen items to play with on the floor out of the way to entertain him while keeping an eye on him, long enough to get things done. So Dane will sit down with a bowl, a spoon, tupperware, a silicone spatula, a rolling pin, and the like. The new "toys" are always a hit, promising several minutes of fun. He's close to Mommy, happy and safe while she gets things done. Everybody wins!

Wait a minute! You don't think Dane's early exposure to kitchen things will cause him to lick knives as a kid like Danny, do you?!

Mother's Day Wrap-Up

Our weekend was spent, in large part, celebrating Mother's Day. We surprised Granny K at work on Friday with flowers and a lunch trip. Saturday we met Nana for dinner and gave her a lovely picture frame. Sunday we celebrated Jackie and her first Mother's Day, and that evening we were able to spend time with Dane's Great-Grandma. We are still tired here, so I'm not writing much more, but I think you're in it for the pictures anyway. =)
Without further ado, Dane and his "mothers".

Picture of the [Happy Mother's] Week

When asked what it's like to have children, our pastor always says "It will ruin your life in the best possible way". Ten months in, and I see that's true. It's all I have ever wanted and, remarkably, everything I ever imagined. Having Dane and becoming a mother has absolutely turned my life upside down. And I definitely like it better this way.

So thanks for ruining my life, Dane. And making every day a happy mother's day.

Happy Mother's Week - Day 2

Because one day just isn't enough!

As part of the Mother's Day celebration at our church, our pastor's wife will be preaching and she plans to open with some jokes about motherhood. On her blog this week, she asked moms to write in and finish this line: "You know you're a mom when...". The first 6 below are Jackie's submissions, and the rest are some of my favorite finishings.

You know you're a mom when:

1. You can identify any toy aisles over in a store based solely on song and sound quality.
2. Clipping coupons counts as “me time”.
3. No one but you understands the absolute need for your son’s and husband’s outfits to match.
4. You look forward all day to your favorite PBS kids program.
5. Showers are the new baths, and baby wipe rub-downs are the new showers.
6. Your job is laughingly referred to as “staying at home” while you take on full responsibility for all functions, events, appointments, meetings, errands, and occasions as well as being the “home maker”.
7. Your goal is not only to make friends but passionate disciples who follow Jesus whatever the cost.
8. You wish that the baby monitor had a snooze button.
9. Your perfume is "O de Pancake Syrup".
10. When your days start at 6:15 a.m. and ends at 11:45pm.
11. You open your mouth and your mother comes out.
12. When your 2 year old friends call you "hey/bye, Kendal's mom!" or "Kendal's mom, I've got to go potty!".
13. You arrange your long distance travel time around nap time!
14. People ask you what you do for a living - and your response is " pediatric logistics specialist".
15. You refer to ANY of your sweatpants as your "nice" sweatpants.
16. You know that corn, lima beans, and raisins all come out whole.
17. You know what I mean by "come out whole."
18. You are fluent in Babble and Wild Hand Gestures.
19. You recount your day's events in terms of what cup of coffee you were on.
20. You know you're a mom when you realize you've developed super-human senses. You grow EYES in the back of your head, you can SMELL a dirty diaper from a mile away, you can HEAR even the softest whimper in a house full of noise, you can sense even the slightest fever with the TOUCH of your human thermometer hand, and you can now bear the TASTE of any food without flinching ("see...mommy likes it!"). In addition, mom's develop the mystical "sixth sense," meaning we can sense trouble or danger through our "GUT FEELING." I guess SuperMom is real, after all.

Goodnight Sweetheart

When Jackie was little and it was time for bed, her parents and Pop Pop would unanimously begin singing an all too familiar tune. "Ba-da-da-da-da. Goodnight Sweetheart. Well, it's time to go... I hate to leave you but I really must say 'Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight.'"

Sometimes when they've together had a rough day, or either one in particular, Jackie will dance Dane around the room slowly before bed and softly serenade him with this soothing oldie. As she did this tonight, she drifted off into dream herself. As she held him close, she thought about all that she had been through with him; all that he had been through. She thought about dancing with him when he got big enough to lead. And then ultimately, she thought about who would lead when they were to dance together at his wedding. Every mom wishes that someday her son be married happily (although it may be painful to relinquish title of the woman in his life). She cried thinking about all that they will go through together between now and Dane's wedding day. Boo boos, bad grades, back talk, broken hearts. And she thought about how she would cry dancing with her son at his reception. She thought about how only she would know what Dane was whispering in her ear as the world watched on. "I hate to leave you but I really must say, Goodnight Mom, Goodnight".

She thought about how she loved him. And then, how she'd love him to go to sleep.

Goodnight Sweetheart.

First Teething Biscuit

Dane just had his very first teething biscuit. Jackie found a simple recipe and decided to try it. All that's in them is flour, apple sauce and maple syrup. They hold up really well and the shape (cut with an inverted cup and a bottle cap) makes them super-easy to hold. Dane seems to like them and they smell like graham crackers. We put him in his chair, gave him a biscuit and let him have at it.

Thanks, Mom!

Picture of the Week

A picture from the park this past weekend of Dane on the big boy slide. Look at that face; FINALLY, a picture of Dane that somewhat resembles Jackie!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Another good weekend for us. We spent most of it packing up things Dane has outgrown (didn't we just do that?...), cleaning up (what's the point?) and fixing things. When we bought our house, the doorbell did not work and this weekend Danny fixed it. We have lived in our house for almost three years now. =)

We played with Christmas toys, spent time outside, and relaxed. Jackie got to read some -and no, not Dr. Seuss- and even got a nap herself! Danny got to go out and paint the town red with the guys. Dane got to do whatever he pleased, as usual. It isn't normal for such a productive weekend to leave us feeling so rested. Ready now for a busy week.

FOOD!

Dane got his first taste of solid food on Christmas. We skipped cereal and Dane has been exclusively breastfed up until now. At feeding time, sweet potatoes beat pears by one vote and our little man loved his sweet potato, as we expected he would. A good typical first feeding for an infant is about half a tablespoon. Dane gobbled three tablespoons easily and would have kept going had we let him. The meal went beautifully and Dane was a natural. His excitement made for a little mess, as he moved too quickly into the spoon or decided we moved too slowly and grabbed at the food.We fed him sweet potato once a day for four days (as recommended to watch for negative reactions) and then moved on to pear sauce. He loves that too. We are not surprised.

Jackie's making all of Dane's baby food and she's hooked on this site: www.wholesomebabyfood.com/. It's got recipes, nutritional information, storage tips and more. Check it out if you're looking to make food for your little one.

Sleep Training: Round 2

In Dane's early weeks, he'd only sleep if we held him. We could eternally alternate sleeping while the other held Dane, or we would have to condition him to sleep in his bassinet. So we turned to sleep training. It took only a couple of nights (a couple of the longest nights of our lives) and we used a modified cry-it-out method called the Ferber method (Google it). It goes like this:
Get him drowsy and put him down. When he cries, wait 5 minutes to console him. Get him drowsy (but awake) and put him down again. Next time wait 6 minutes, then 7... until he's asleep. It took about 4 days and he learned how to put himself to sleep and back to sleep.

He started sleeping through the night at 10 weeks. When he turned 4 months old, and we were good and spoiled with sleep, he began waking again. He gradually woke more as the days progressed and before we knew it he was waking to nurse every hour and a half. He isn't hungry; he eats for a minute and passes out. Mommy is not a pacifier! And so begins our second round of sleep training. He will be fed once in a specific time window a night, should he need, and that's it. This time, we're going cry-it-out all the way. We have one of those super cool video baby monitors, so we don't have to worry about whether he is all right or not. We get to watch him kick and scream and pull at his crib bumper and push himself sideways in the crib without having to go in his room.

We've actually been sleep-training him for a couple of days before Jackie screwed it up. It was going very well until last night. We put Dane down as normal and when he awoke 30 minutes later Jackie figured "well, if I feed him now and get him full, he won't wake to eat later...". Whoa, wrong! He was up all night yelling. It was the worst it's ever been! So all that you hear about consistency being key is TRUE, as well as the fact that once you screw it up, the "sleep training week" resets itself. We'll stick to it (We will, we will, we will...) and hopefully we'll get some sleep in a week. Root for us. We'll keep you posted.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are geared up for Christmas. Here's a few words about Turkey Day before this blog becomes entirely about Christmas.

We went to Uncle Brian and Aunt Jeannie's in the morning. Sophie is really getting to be something. She gets cuter by the minute and she's definitely got spunk. I think we'll all be in for it when she and Dane start getting into stuff together. Dane was surprisingly mellow there, and for the rest of the day actually. Maybe he was just out of his element.

We next headed to Aunt Jenny's. It was pretty much a fiasco with a million kids in the (HOT) house and adults running in between trying to set things up. Dane did NOT have Mountain Dew (despite that it was diet. Somehow that makes it better for infants? No.), but this is why you may see a post soon about how WE are not feeding OUR child food yet. By the way, Danny and Bobby were both sick this weekend, Jen. Did you poison the turkey? I'm suspecting fowl play...

And then Jackie broke out at 3am to get in line at Wal-Mart for the sale. Her hurdling shopping carts and aisle navigational skills would have made you proud. She got what she wanted, then went home to find Danny desperate for the sleep he'd lost while Dane kept him up all night. Maybe someday, Danny.

That was Thanksgiving. It was fine. Now can we move on to Christmas already?!

Turkey Tomorrow

The Howards have big plans for eating tomorrow. Two meals. Jealous? We're trekking out to Uncle Brian and Aunt Jeannie's to enjoy a Thanksgiving breakfast. We'll see Sophie, Cindy and Larry, Uncle Marcus and Aunt Trina. Then we're heading out to Aunt Jenny and Uncle Travis' to eat dinner (at lunchtime) with the Spicer cousins, J-Pa, Uncle Jeff, Bobby Pops, Granny K, Great-Grandma, Aunt Linda and Uncle Joe. We Howards have overtaken Jackie's family's Thanksgiving!

We'll probably head out early as we have big plans for the following day as well. Jackie is leaving Dane to play with his daddy as she braves the cold and crowds at the Black Friday sales with her sister. So while the boys are snug in their beds at 4 am, Jackie will be waiting in lines are running through aisles. Hopefully she will be home in time to join Danny and Dane at Uncle Mike and Aunt Joanne's for brunch. And this is the day we start celebrating the Christmas season, so I suspect there may be decorating of some degree. Gotta teach Dane the holiday spirit. Yay!

7 Years and 13 Weeks

On this day 7 years ago, Daniel and Jackie went on their first date.
First came love, then came marriage, then came Dane in the baby carriage. On this day 13 weeks ago, our beautiful son was brought into this world.13 weeks ago we became parents. 13 weeks ago we became a family.
So at least for the Howards, and at least for today, 7 and 13: not so unlucky.