An overdue update

Grady is now 9 months old (as of the 16th... I'm a little late). We had his check-up about a week ago. He weighed in at 19 pounds 2 ounces and was 27 3/4 inches long. He had a finger stick to check his iron levels. It was just a little low, so he's taking iron daily now. We'll have it rechecked when I take Elle for her check-up in a few weeks. He continues to be a great sleeper, except for the occasional cranky, fussy day (Don't we all have those days?). Both bottom teeth are in and he has begun to spurn baby food. He wants what you are eating and he wants it now! He is cruising like a champ and will even stand for a few seconds without holding on to anything. I'm sure it won't be long and he'll be taking a few steps. He loves anything that makes a loud noise (which is in direct contrast to his sister) and will make a beeline for the vacuum, door stoppers, dust-buster, lawn mower, you name it. The louder and more dangerous, the better. I've almost vacuumed him a time or two?! He gets so excited when his Daddy comes home at night. It's really fun to see. We love our Grady and are so thankful he's with us.

I don't know if you can see that mark beside his nose. You can see it better in the second picture. I did that with my fingernail a few days ago. I was trying to pick him up and just got the wrong angle, I guess. That will make a momma feel pretty bad when she rakes a layer of skin off her baby's face?! You can see his tooth in this one! I know these aren't the best pictures, but they are the best I could do?!

Here's a few pictures of our Memorial Day weekend and other happenings around the Salter household. We replanted our flower pots and put new mulch in the beds over the weekend. We had a backyard slide-into-the-pool party on Sunday and a cookout with our neighbors. On Monday, our neighbors took Elle with them to Oak Mountain for a few hours. Grady and I were able to get out and buy some birthday stuff for Elle. She turns THREE tomorrow--and my sister turns 12--they have the same birthday! We are flying to Mom's for a week tomorrow afternoon but I'll try to post some of our birthday festivities before we leave.

Elle "helping" do yardwork

Lastly, the 2 hour season finale of Lost is tonight. And while I am extremely excited to watch it, I am sad that I will have to wait a whole 6 months or so for new episodes. What am I going to do on Thursday nights?

The Elephant Sleeps

Since I got such overwhelming support in my cry to resume normal sleeping in the Salter household, I thought I would let you all know that it was just a crazy night. She has done great since and hasn't come out of her room except in the morning, past 6:30 AM. What I failed to mention was that Steven and I had gone to a marriage conference over the weekend (which I've been wanting to write about because it was fabulous!) and were gone from Elle more than we have been in the past year. Two sets of grandparents traded babysitting duties, so I think she was just coming down from all that craziness. We do have a bedtime routine with a little brushing of the teeth, potty, reading stories, singing and praying. Sometimes Daddy does get her revved up with dance parties when he gets home, but we try to keep enough time for winding and calming down. But thank you all for your suggestions and advice. I'm not sure if you heard about Steven Curtis Chapman's 5 year-old daughter who was tragically killed this week. The Lord is continuing to remind me that my time with my kids is precious and I don't know what tomorrow will bring. There really is no reason to worry or get frustrated over the small stuff. I know I do that so much, whether it's from another spill I have to clean up in the kitchen, or tee-tee on the bathroom rug because we didn't quite make it to the potty, or the inability to have 5 minutes of quiet time during the day to have complete thoughts or a phone conversation. I just want to enjoy my kids and life and them to enjoy me and their lives. It's just too short. So if she wants to come out of her room 4 times in the middle of the night, so be it. I'd rather her do that than go to her empty room in the middle of the night and wish she were still here. Be encouraged and don't worry about the little things. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend!

Sleepless in Calera

Elle goes to bed around 8 PM each night. Not unreasonable for a not-quite 3 year old. She has always been extremely good about going to bed, staying in her room, and not employing the stereotypical bedtime stalling tactics. She would stay in her room until we came in to get her in the mornings, usually around 7 AM. Something is seriously disrupting the bedtime peace we have enjoyed for a few years. For about a week now, she has been getting up EARLY, like before 6 AM, and coming in to our room. She's not tired, not sleepy, ready to get up. But last night took the cake. Steven came out of her room around 8 and we sat down in the den to talk. The TV was on Dateline but we weren't really watching it. About 15 minutes later, Elle comes bopping around the corner: "I need to go potty." Okay. Back to bed. About 15 minutes later (8:30 now), I go in to the kitchen to get something and she is laying in the hallway, watching Dateline: "I'm not tired." I'm really trying not to laugh because I thought it was pretty funny that she was just sitting there quietly without us knowing, not to mention how scarred she was going to be from watching Dateline. We go back to her room and in order to diffuse an all-out fit, I turn her lamp on and tell her she can read some books for about 15 minutes and I'll come turn the light off. After the 15 minutes, Steven and I go stand by her door and we hear her turn the light off. It's 9:00 PM.

Three AM rolls around and I wake to the lightest sound of shuffling feet around my bed. "Elle?" "I'm not tired." Back to bed. Twenty minutes later (of course I'm not back to sleep yet), I heard the distinct sound of a little 2 year old in my room again. "Elle." "I need to go potty." Okay. Back to bed. Twenty minutes later (3:40 AM), I hear her crying in her room. I go to the door and walk in. The lamp is on and Elle has her shirt off. "I was hot and the covers are all bunchy." Shirt back on, covers straight. "Elle, if you get out of bed again, you will get a spanking. You need your sleep and so does Mommy. Good night. Love you." At this point, it's about 4 AM and I am wide awake. For those of you who don't know, I do not fall asleep or back asleep very easily. This is why I don't like night wakings. I don't mind getting up and taking care of what's going on, but I will be awake for the rest of the night. And who comes strolling in at 6:20 AM? You guessed it. ELLE!

So, if anyone has been through this, I welcome thoughts, ideas, advice, insights, etc. I'm sure it will pass even if it means we have many more sleepless nights before we get there. Thanks for the comments ahead of time.

One dear old dog

She was saved from the Humane Society 17 years ago. She lived with a loving family who took her for walks, gave her doggie treats, and only once left her for 8 days without food or water (due to a a miscommunication in English/German). She was a mutt, but had the qualities and character of a distinguished pure bred. She left this world last week. Savannah was a great dog and will be missed by many, especially Mom and Madison, since she was theirs. I'm not a big dog person, but this one had a little piece of my heart.

A Mother's Day Fantasy

I hope all you mothers' vacuums said this to you this weekend. I did manage to tackle a LOT of cleaning this weekend. I was feeling a little bit defeated by the fact that even Elle thought the house was dirty?!

Police, Picnic and a tooth

What would Mother's Day really be without some involvement with the Police? Yesterday, as we were enjoying the gale force winds in the backyard, we hear this extremely loud, sudden CRASH. Steven, whose employee-owned truck sat parked on the street, calmly said, "I bet somebody just backed in to the truck." And that is exactly what happened! The neighbor across the street backed in to the parked truck! We couldn't pass up the opportunity to take Elle's picture by the police car.

It really was a nice weekend and my husband gave me lots of breaks from my usual "mother" duties. He and Elle made breakfast and coffee, delivered with a sweet card and a gift certificate to a spa. We went out to a park for a picnic lunch, and with the exception of the 80 mph winds, had a nice time.



Grady's Mother's Day gift was his first tooth breaking through the gums, which translates in to a lot of crankiness, fussiness and night wakings?! Actually, he was awake a good bit Friday night but slept through Saturday night. And compared to Elle's first teeth, he's been a breeze. If it weren't for these two, I wouldn't have had such a fun two days of extra love and appreciation! I am extremely grateful for the privelege of being a mother, especially to the two miracles God has given me.

Puddles

Earlier in the week, I bought Elle some rain boots for singing, dancing and splashing in the rain. We went with the green frogs so both sister AND brother get to enjoy the rain and puddles. She had so much fun until she was soaked through. We literally poured water out of her boots!

Ideas?

In my efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle, I have saved all of the baby food jars from Grady's journey to solid foods. Does anyone have any creative ideas of what I could do with them?

I also wanted to try to use some cloth diapers to reduce some of my disposable diaper waste and wanted to know if anyone knew of a good brand to try.

I did purchase five reusable shopping bags from Wal-Mart and have felt so good each time I shop and come home with zero plastic bags. If you haven't done this yet, I encourage you to do so. Every little bit can help!

What does it mean?

What does it mean when you're trying to begin to get your abs back in shape after carrying and birthing two babies in 3 years and as you start doing sit-ups, your 8 month old begins to laugh like he's never laughed before?


What does it mean when your almost 3 year old daughter says, "Mom, your house is dirty."? I guess it means it's pretty funny to see me doing exercise and my house is dirty.

Have A Nice Day

I wanted to write a little about our trip to Atlanta this past weekend, but here we are, four days later and I can't seem to get to it. We had a wonderful time, starting with the Bon Jovi concert on Thursday night at the Philips Arena. On Friday, we went to the Center for Puppetry Arts to see a performance of Cinderella Della Circus. Saturday we visited the Georgia Aquarium and the New World of Coca-Cola musuem. We decided to check out the children's museum, Imagine It!, on Sunday before heading home. And throughout the stay, we spent several hours at Centennial Park on the playgrounds and debating the fountains. Elle's favorite thing about the entire trip: "Skittles!"








The best part was that everything (except the puppet show) borders Centennial Park. We were able to walk to all of these attractions, and very short distances too. It was an extremely fun, entertaining, and educational mini-vacation for us all. Thanks to Mom, Madison, Steph, BA, Rhonda & Luke for making it so special!