What's a Mama to do!

What is a Mama to do when her now one year old decides he does not want to nap anymore? Well, at least not as often, or as long!

I had gotten into a nice little routine with Joshua taking two good two hour naps a day. He used to go down easy for both, and was very predictable. Now, not so much. Now he has decided, he likes getting up at 5am instead of 6am and then he's tired right after breakfast, so he naps for about an hour around 6:30am most days, then usually he will nap again around 10 or 11 for maybe two hours (tops).

I know a lot of people have told me that this is around the age when kids sometimes don't need more than one nap a day anymore. So it may just be a matter of adjusting nap time to fit the day better. But he seems soooo tired in the afternoon and just won't have it. And I am soooo tired in the afternoon, and have so much to do, I think I miss his afternoon nap more than he does! Our house is such, that when he is awake, I can't take my eyes off of him for long. Where we are during the day is open concept so the living room, kitchen, office, and dining room, are the same space. And he is very sneaky. I think he waits for that one second that I look away so he can try to climb down the stairs (bad mama, leaving the gate open... woops), eat a small rock, bite the cats tail, or do whatever else tickles his fancy in that moment.

But I must say. I do not enjoy having to stay up way late at night to get my work done, only to wake up way early in the morning with Joshua. I am not a fan. 

Thank goodness for German Chocolate Cake flavored coffee this morning. Rant complete. :-)

Happy First Birthday, Joshua!

Dear Joshua;

It's been one fast, fun year since you made your grand entrance into the world. And I just want you to know. It was the best year of my life and I love you more than I think you will ever understand. And even though I know as you grow, there will be times where we test each other's patience, and argue, and you won't like what I have to say, no matter what, you will always be my best boy.

I hope, even though you won't remember this birthday, one day, you will be able to look back at these posts, and pictures, and see just how special you have always been to everyone around you.

Thank you for making my world more than I ever thought it could be.

Mama loves you.

A year in photos

Sappy birthday post, check! Now, time for a flashback. A year in photos of Joshua. Hard to believe how fast it's gone, and how much he's grown. Sometimes I don't notice how big he has gotten until I look back at some of the old photos of him. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Last year at this time . . . part 2

So where was I. 

Ah yes, February 18th, 2010. It was a couple days before my due date (2/20) And I was feeling pretty normal, for the most part. My feet and ankles had grown larger than any person's feet and ankles should, but I can't complain because I only had that lovely side effect for a couple of weeks, at the very end, and I know people who have had much worse!

So 5:15ish in the morning I wake up to the call of nature, as many very pregnant women do I think. So I rolled . . . literally, rolled myself out of bed to go to the bathroom so I could hurry up and go back to sleep. Much to my surprise, not only was nature calling, so was the baby. My water broke. I think I stayed in the bathroom for about 15 minutes trying to figure out if it was real or not before I finally decided it was and I should wake up Jay, and my mother, who had stated the night before, that if I wanted to have the baby before she left, that would be great! :)

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It's the one year anniversary of the Living Like the Kings blog, and this is the celebration! :)

Last year at this time . . . part 1

I've decided, since I didn't start this blog until Joshua was four months old, I am going to share the story of Joshua's arrival into this world.

The story shall begin on February 15th of 2010. Last year, February 15th was a Monday. The previous Friday was my last day in the office until Joshua came since my due date was the 20th, and I work a half an hour away from home on a good day. I felt better not driving too far close to the due date. I decided that I needed a manicure and pedicure, because, clearly, my toes and fingers should be pretty while the rest of me couldn't be haha. And also, I had been told the old wives tale that getting a pedicure close to your due date could induce labor. My mom was planning to come up later in the week for a couple of days to help me finalize things at home, and keep me company since Jay was still working.

Tuesday (16th) Mom came up... and nothing eventful happened.

Wednesday (17th) was Ash wednesday. So we went to church. Rewind back to the day time, I felt kinda funny, and thought maybe I was "leaking." I was scheduled to have a checkup on the 18th so I called to see if I could switch it, and they did. My mom and I anxiously went to the Dr. hoping she'd say...hooray! go to the hospital and have a baby! But, alas, she did not. Nothing unusual, and I was only dilated a "fingertip." So we went home. Fast forward back to post-church and dinner time. I decided I needed to try fish again (note... I strongly dislike fish of all kinds. Except for tuna.) So we went to the grocery store and got the fixin's to make salmon with... something else. I realized I still did not like salmon.

yuck!

Thursday (18th)  to be continued in part 2 . . . 

The things Joshua did today to make me laugh.

Joshua's been a bit of a terror (on and off) for a few days know... I am pretty sure he has his one-year molars working their way out. But in between temper tantrums I must say, I have a pretty hilarious child. I think he just knows how to work it so we don't go totally nuts when he's having mental breakdowns. As he is getting bigger, as all kids do, he is learning new things. For example. This morning, I went to put on my boots to run and start my car so we could go to the gym, and what should stab me in the bottom of my foot? A triangle and a square. From Joshua's shape sorter. I didn't see him do that one, but all the rest of the day he's been thoroughly enjoying putting things on or in other things. This is a change because he has kinda been trying (I think) to work his shape sorter, and put the rings back on the ring stacky thing, but he never can do it and eventually just throws whatever he is holding and moves onto the next thing. Not sure if this can be considered a milestone? I don't think so. But I think it's progress none the less. Here is what we found around the house today:

Dog dish on Daddy's desk chair.

Stacking rings in the basket with the remote controls

Plastic ball in Daddy's boot

Sharp shapes in Mommy's boot

a spoon wedged under the cushion of the chair

and blocks in the laundry

I think that was all for today. We'll see what tomorrow brings on that front.

The other thing he is doing though, which is HYSTERICAL, I need to get a video of it, but I need an assistant, you'll know why in a minute. Just to preface this story, Joshua loves our animals, he loves to pull their tails, give them sloppy kisses and hugs, and "pat" (hit) them. I sit on the couch when I give him his bottles, and the cat is usually down the opposite end of the couch on "his" spot. Every time Joshua finishes his bottle, and spots the cat, all bets are off. He squeals like he has never seen him before and it's his long lost best friend. So I usually let him crawl across the couch (keeping an eye and hand on him of course) and say hello to his furry friend. But recently, he is less interested in the cat, and more interested in the couch. He will pet the cat for a second, then he stands up against the back cushion and hops and squeals and laughs. And today, he decided that wasn't quite enough entertainment and decided to stiffen himself up and completely free-fall backwards. Thankfully I stay right with him when he's pulling these shenanigans and  put my arm behind him so he wouldn't fall on his head on the floor. Then he realized if he stood at the end of the couch, by the armrest, he could hop back when he fell and bounce more. I am telling you, it is the funniest thing I have ever seen! I am just praying now that he doesn't decide to try that when he is on the floor. Hopefully he remembers how much it hurts to smack his head on the hardwood from when he was learning to sit up!

Once I manage to video tape this hilarity, I'll share :-)