Pain

This little guy is having a rough time.



Last night was bad. Dayson has been on and off fussy for a while due to having four teeth trying to make their presence known. Things escalated though last night and he wouldn't stop crying. Not you're typical "I'm tired and cranky cry", it was an all out wail with high pitched screams thrown in. The on-call doc said to take him in since we had no way of knowing if it was just his teeth or something else.

So, for the second time in his young life, we went to the ER. I really hope this doesn't become a habit, it's not my favorite place. Turns out, we have our very first ear infection in this household. We were very fortunate with Iyana to never experience one and so of course I had no idea as to what to look for. With Dayson... I have a feeling he's going to go through all the childhood illnesses that we skipped over with Iyana. Not the funnest thing to look forward to but now we can at least say we've been there, done that. Oh, and Dayson's ear infection isn't just one. You see, he likes to do things to the max. His other ear is well on its way to being infected too.

Today is going to be a stay at home and relax kind of day. Gonna pick up some meds for him and try to get some sleep. Not sure how long these things normally last, but on with the new experience!

Games

On Saturday, Iyana had her yearly AWANA games which has always been something to look forward to. This year though she was a little nervous because now she's up with the big kids. She did great, gave it her all and had a fun time. The pictures didn't turn out as good as I would like since it was inside the gym. I've also cropped them in to just showing Iyana as I don't like to post pictures with other children unless I have permission from their parents.

Bean bag toss

 Relay race

Running like the wind!!

Waiting for her next turn

This little guy did great at the games. He liked all the activity going on around him and all the attention that everyone was giving him. He even got a short nap in! Not sure how one can do that when it was so loud there, but he did.

This past week has gone really well with getting more sleep. Dayson started out with sleeping about three hours solid and progressed up to almost six hours by Saturday night. Things were really starting to look up. But as with many times in the past, it just wasn't meant to last. This poor little guy is miserable right now. He's got four teeth trying to come in at once. Last night was worse than he's had in a while. He was up crying every hour and would only take comfort in my arms. I'm praying that these teeth break through soon. I guess it's good to have them all come at once to get it over with, but I can't imagine how his little mouth feels right now.

Day 28, 29 and 30 of "30 Days of Blogging"

I've finally done it! I got all 30 days done! It only took me almost two months but hey, sometimes it's nice to draw things out a little. ☺

day 28- cruise a thesaurus and pick out 10 words you like the sound of

1. Truckle 
2. quaff
3. blandishment
4. fanfaronade 
5. gimcrack
6. rubicund
7. inkhorn
8. inveigle
9. daedal
10. verdant

day 29 - favorite tv shows and why you like them

We have a TV but it's not hooked up to any cable so we don't really watch anything but movies or TV shows that we have on DVD. One of my favorites though which we watch frequently is M*A*S*H. I used to watch it a lot when I was younger and I still to this day really like watching it. BJ and I have all 11 seasons on DVD.

day 30 - movies you can watch again and again

There a lot of the Disney ones that I like but don't want to take time to put down, I like the Veggie Tales movies (can you tell I'm a parent?), Facing the Giants, Fireproof and when it comes out on DVD, I'll be adding Soul Surfer to this list.

What a Mess - Dad's Disclaimer

This is Dayson's dad... I know I don't chime in too often but after the previous post, I feel I should say something. In case there are any potential lifemates for my son monitoring this blog, please don't be turned away by the pictures of meals that failed to make it into his mouth. Like every other guy that has ever walked on the surface of earth, it may take awhile for him to properly learn how to feed himself, clothe himself, and eventually put the toilet seat down. His father is still working on that last one...

What a Mess

  Dayson has really been getting into the solid foods of late. He definitely has his likes and dislikes and is more than ready to let you know. Dislike means lots of screaming (were working on that) and like means lots of bouncing around in his seat and slamming his hands on the tray.
  Since his teeth have really been bothering him again, he's gotten into the habit of putting his hands in his mouth after every bite. He's also gotten really good at grabbing the spoon right before it enters his mouth and getting food all over. Needless to say, things have been getting a bit messy lately. Here is pictures of how our meals have been going. He's had a few baths because of them.

And had to throw in this one. It's his new favorite sleep position. Love the classic pose of rear in the air.

Blanket

Wow, I've done three posts in one day and that day has barely even started. Gotta love this time when everyone else is still asleep and I have the place to myself. I realized that I have had many posts of late with no pictures. I took some pictures a few days ago and never posted them, so I thought now is as good of time as any.

In these pictures, Dayson is playing with BJ. He loves having a blanket dropped down onto his face. He'll close his eyes with a really big smile, breath really heavy and then as soon as he's covered, start kicking his legs like crazy. He wants you to do it over and over again. If you stop and he's not ready, he'll grab the blanket and cover himself and play that way. It's kind of funny watching him do that since once he's covered, he throws his arms out to the side and kicks his legs up in the air. He sounds like he's panicking until he lowers the blanket and laughs. Very cute...I'm going to miss this age and these little things that he does now.

Day 26 and 27 of "30 Days of Blogging"

Day 26- list 10 things that you are thankful for

1. That Christ died for me and that I will some day see Him.
2. My family.
3. I have the freedom to worship Christ openly.
4. The Bible.
5. That I have a home to live in.
6. The jobs that God has provided for BJ and I.
7. My church family.
8. Our health...even though we've had a lot of sickness of late, it's nothing compared to some
9. No matter what trials I've been through, God has always been at my side and has provided.
10. Friends

Day 27- my day job verses my passion

My day job besides being a full time mommy is that I work part time for a ministry called Wordsower International. In my position, I do most of the administrative work that comes along with dealing with the finances. Three times a week, I get the mail, deposit it and when needing to, wire it out to our many different orphanages.

My passion would be to stay at home full time with my little ones and have a side photography business. I have a photography home course that I started a few years ago and never finished due to an extremely busy life. The sad thing is that I only made it to lesson 1 before putting it aside for another day. I'm hoping that once Dayson can be without me for longer periods of time and maybe things have settled down with work, I can get back into it. I'd love to do photography for missionaries as well to show others the work being done and maybe ways that they can help out instead of just hearing about it.

Pushing and Pulling

Dayson is slowly starting to figure out new ways to move around. His latest is when lying on his back, he pushes with his feet and it actually moves him a bit. You'd think he'd want to do this while on his stomach so  that he wouldn't give his head a rug burn. Of course, normally when he's doing this, he's screaming as well which I think helps give him the extra power that he needs to be pushing himself around ☺.

As for pulling, he's found that while sitting, if he grabs onto someones hands or shirt, he can pull himself up into a standing position all by himself. Needless to say, when he figured that one out, he did it over and over, each time with a big smile on his face. Now he just needs to figure out how to get in the sitting position first before he can continue here.

And once again, we have yet another cold bug floating through our home. So far, I'm the only one that it has gotten its hands on and I pray that it stays that way. Just when I was thinking that we had finally gotten through everything for this winter, it does a sneak attack...sigh...makes me wonder where I got this one at.

9 Years

My baby girl has turned 9! That just doesn't seem possible. Of course, she's been telling me that soon she will be 10. Can I not just deal with her turning 9 first before I have to hear about the next year?!?

This past year has brought a lot of changes for her. The biggest one being she finally became a sister. She has been  praying and asking God about that one for a long time. I think because of that, she's just that much more in love with her brother. She does have her times of being annoyed with him as all sibling go through, but for the most part, they share a pretty special bond with each other. I pray that they always have this closeness. Another big change is that she started homeschooling this year for 3rd grade. The timing for starting it was a little off of what we had wanted to do. And then three days into it, she got a week of vacation! That being due to Dayson being born (which she also got to witness). We also moved this past year again. She has moved more times in her young life than I ever did at her age. Of course, the first time I moved, I was twenty years old ☺.

She is growing and maturing in so many ways. No longer is she my little girl who still relies on me to take care of everything. Now, she is becoming a young lady who can do most things herself. She's so proud of herself when she can make her own lunch or take care of other things without help. It's hard to see her growing up but at the same time, I've been so blessed with the daughter that God has given me. She truly is a wonderful gift to us.

I was hoping to have pictures with this post but the weather hasn't been cooperating. We've had off and on snow the past couple of days. It should start warming up here soon and then we'll do her nine year old photo shoot. Can't wait!

Day 24 and 25 of "30 Days of Blogging"

Day 24- post your favorite quote or verse of scripture and why

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Christ is my rock and the one who strengthens me to get through each day. Without him, I can do nothing.
Day 25- what I would find in your bag
 
Well , lets see. I carry around a baby bag so you would definitely find a few diapers (clean ones), wipes, some baby toys, a plastic bag or two for the dirty diapers, my wallet, chap stick a few pens and my work stuff. Nothing too exciting. It's hard enough just carrying around the car seat with Dayson in it, I don't need a baby bag that's loaded down and heavy to carry as well.

Water

We finally got Dayson a sippy cup. He knew what to do with it right away. The only thing he didn't like was that we put water in it. So far, he's only had milk when it comes to liquids so the water was a new experience for him. Needless to say, he wasn't very impressed. I think the pictures show that.

We got him this hat right after he was born and it was way too big. Found it just recently and now it's almost too small. We thought he still looked pretty cute in it and Iyana wanted a picture, so I snapped one. Love how his blue eyes stand out.

Day 22 and 23 of "30 Days of Blogging"

Day 22- what makes you different from everyone else

This isn't something hugely different but I guess I could say that my height kind of makes me different. Most people by the time they reach adulthood are at least in the 5 foot range. Me...I never made it. I stopped growing probably around 14 years old. I always had the hope that I would have a growth spurt later on since my mom had mentioned that she had one around 21 years old. On top of that, I still had leg cramps. But, it just wasn't meant to be, 4ft. 10in. is where I am and I am very happy with that.


Day 23- something you crave a lot
 
Who doesn't crave chocolate? Actually, what I "crave" would be to know God's word better and be able to apply it to my life. When I'm not in His word, I feel like there's something I'm missing out on. In my humanness, I've tried filling that craving with worldly things, but it never satisfies. I pray that God would always give me this craving to know Him more and more and that I would always act on it.

Pictures

Here's some pictures from our time at Chuck E Cheese yesterday. We took Iyana there to have a small family celebration of her birthday. Dayson had a bit of information overload with all the sights and sounds going on around him. It kept him pretty occupied though.

I think Iyana is finally starting to get too big for this car.

He really likes to drive.

Birthday girl!

Mommy! Who is that?

Can I touch your face?

Bob? I think I like you...

Yup, he's ok!

Happy Birthday Iyana!!

Just wanted to post a quick happy birthday to my beautiful daughter. I'd say baby girl (since she always will be to me), but she'd scrunch up her nose at me. A longer post will be coming later when more time is available. And hopefully pictures too.

I love you Iyana! Happy birthday!!

Day 20 and 21 of "30 Days of Blogging"

Day 20- write a letter to someone

Dear Dayson,

  Hi sweetie! How are you? Mommy is doing good though a little tired as usual. When do you think you might want to sleep a little longer than 3 hours at night? I know sometimes you go a little longer, but most nights that doesn't happen. I've tried doing what everyone has told me...stuff him full of food!...nurse him as late in the night as possible...keep him up later.... and so on and so on. You just dance to the beat of your own drum. Anyways, Daddy and I would like to go away overnight. We're thinking in June would be good since it's Daddy's birthday then. You would get to have a sleep over at Grammy Sheba's house...wouldn't that be exciting!?! Think about it and let us know here soon what you decide.
  Also, I'm wondering why you've gotten into a new habit of hitting me while you are nursing. Of course, you're always doing something different every few days, but this one kind of hurts. I'm so used to you moving all over the place, grabbing anything within reach or even pinching...just not the hitting. Guess we'll be working on this.
  I love you sweetie!

Love, Mommy


Day 21- a picture of something that makes you happy
 
That would be my family of course! And maybe a Dutch Brothers coffee too ☺.
 

6 Month Pictures

Here's some pictures to go along with Dayson's 6 month post.

6 Months

Half a year! Or I could say, Happy Half Birthday! That's what they always said at Iyana's school when celebrating someone who had a summer birthday. Dayson is officially 6 months old now. So much has happened over the last six months. Like his sister, this little guy has become such an important person in our lives and we couldn't imagine it without him. Here are some things that Dayson is up to of late.

He now weighs 14lbs. 6oz., and is 26.5 inches long. These are by my measurements. I'll find out his exact ones when he has his checkup at the doctors next week. His growing has slowed down and he's right on track with where Iyana was at this time.

He's really into making faces right now...can you tell?

Over the past two and a half weeks we've not only been dealing with the RSV bug, but little Dayson decided to get two teeth. We knew it was coming as he's been chewing on everything in site and was very good at leaving small drool puddles where ever he was at. Plus, he was definitely very cranky. There was one night he just screamed for a long time and we couldn't get him to settle down. At the time, we didn't know why. But now of course since tooth number two has made its presence known, we know. You can see the tops of both teeth in this picture.

He's also figured out that if just keeps rolling, he can actually get around a lot better. He's known for quite a while now how to roll over from front to back and back to front. He just never put two and two together until he really wanted to get something. He still doesn't really want to crawl. I've tried putting stuff in front of him to encourage him. He's just figured out a way to roll and kick himself forward to get what he's after. Nothing is safe anymore on the floor ☺. Especially paper, he loves to eat the stuff.

One tired little boy.



Dayson is becoming more vocal and is loving making new sounds. The most recent is the 'baa baa' one. I think he loves opening and closing his mouth more than anything. And since everyone has been sick around here, he has mastered the fake coughing. And of course, since he mastered that, he decided it would be great to do the fake laughing as well. Because we laugh when he does it, he's doing it quite frequently now.

Solids have become a favorite for him. He eats solids now about 3 to 4 times a day. Some of his favorites so far are bananas, pears, peas, beans, sweet potatoes and apples. Ones that he really doesn't like are carrots and spinach with potatoes. The carrots so far have been the only thing that he's made faces at. He looks at us like we've just poisoned him and then his eyes get all squinty. Can't wait to start introducing him to other foods to see what else he's going to like/dislike.

I'll work on getting some more updated pictures here in the next couple of days. Life as usual has been pretty busy. Trying to get caught up on a lot of things around here since we were out of commission for a week.