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December 31, 2012

Year in Review

As I reflect on this past year, I am reminded of all the wonderful memories and friends my family and I have made. We started off the new year last year by throwing a party at our home; friends came, we drank, we laughed. It was a great start to a new year. Since that party almost one whole year ago, we have welcomed even more awesome people into our lives, strengthened existing relationships, and unfortunately lost touch with some people once considered to be friends.




2011/2012 New Year's Party

I decided to do this blog post after Facebook harassed me to do a "Year in Review" containing the 20 biggest moments of the year. I was kind of bummed after reviewing it because FB seemed to have missed quite a bit of important stuff! In 2012, babies were born, LOTS of babies were conceived [by our friends and family, not us!!], and Heaven received some new residents. As we begin 2013, babies are going to be on the brain for us too....we have decided to try for another baby! We are hoping to be blessed with a healthy pregnancy in the coming months. Pray for us!

Aside from hoping to add another to our family, we did welcome our Pom-a-Poo Cinderella into the family earlier this year! It has definitely been hard trying to train her and keep her from getting on everyone's nerves, but I think she has also brought a lot of joy! We are currently in a 6 week training class with her trying to break some of those puppy habits!


After we brought her home


Ella Christmas 2012

Okay, so some other key moments of the year:
  • I started this blog almost a year ago
  • I joined a book club in April and it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made; I have read so many books that I would have never picked up, and I have made lots of new friends =]
  • I had my first orange crush in April...'nough said.
  • Seth and I hit our third anniversary on the 1st of June
  • Noah turned two years old and this past few months have been the most fun; he's talking in full sentences, sharing, using the potty, and saying his please's and thank you's
  • I visited the Bahamas in September for two whole weeks; it was my first time out of the U.S. and it was a great trip!
  • Seth hit 25 in September
  • Devon Shanor of Devon Shanor Photography took our newest family pictures, and they turned out fantastic!
  • We finally took a trip to Colorado in October where Seth met my father and older brother, Tim; he had never been to CO so it was awesome to show him where I used to live and my dad was tickled to meet his grandson, Noah
  • I started doing CrossFit.....phew....[kicked my butt!]
  • We met a number of amazing people! (too many to name)
  • I got promoted to Petty Officer Second Class! It feels like it has been a long time coming...
  • I threw a super sweet Great Gatbsy-themed murder mystery dinner party for my 22nd birthday and it was tons of fun!
  • We had an awesome Christmas with Seth's whole family, and we got to spend Christmas morning at home, just the four of us....a new tradition hopefully...
  • I received the newest love of my life for Christmas: a Canon Rebel T3i that I longingly drooled over for months
  • Some of our ABSOLUTE favorite people, Jerry and Jessica, visited us in Norfolk for a few days (they moved away to New Mexico because of the USAF and we hadn't seen them in a while)
With that being said, I think I have decided to turn this blog into more of a photo-blog...or a phlog, if you will. I guess I better change the name of it....
I have always been interested in photography but never had the equipment to really dive into it. Now that I have the basics, I am going to save up my money, add to my camera bag and learn as much as I possibly can. I am not saying I am trying to start up a photography business just yet, but hey you never know.........

Literal Hotties meeting

One of many amazing shots by Devon S!


20's Birthday Party!

Christmas; photos by our wonderful friend C.A. Rhoades of Candid Catholic Living




So, my goals for this year include taking a ridiculous amount of photos and learning from my mistakes, eating as healthy as I can while still indulging once in a while, [did I mention we want another baby too?], and continue to train our pup to be less hyper, jumpy, and loud! Wish me luck...



Here are some shots I have taken so far with this new camera:






Happy New Year!

November 15, 2012

All I Got Was This Lousy Story.....

The other day, I got a text saying I had won a gift card to Target in the amount of $1000. I vaguely remember entering some contest a while back to win said gift, but honestly do not know for sure if I even ever did. I went with it, followed the link, and filled in some form with my information to "claim my prize." Well, once I got to a page telling me to buy one of several pages' worth of crap, I exited the page and thought nothing more of it. Yesterday, while getting ready for work, I got a call from a number out west and answered it....here's where my story really begins...

The guy on the other end told me I had won a $1000 Target gift card and asked me for some information in order to process it all. I gave him my information, attempted to verify that this was a legit thing and after talking me into getting a magazine subscription for $3.97 a week or $19.95 a month for five magazines (what a deal!), I was transferred to his "supervisor," a rude, fast-talking gentlemen who then informed me I was going to be charged double because charging for 60 straight months was just too difficult ... [I know, by this point I can imagine you shaking your head at my stupidity but let me finish]. I went ahead and agreed to it because who doesn't want a gift card to Target for $1000? I thought that this deal (if you want to call it a deal) was too good to be true, but I decided to go for it.

After giving out my information (address, marital status, age, credit card number, pretty much everything short of my social), the fast-talking, rude dude went over everything again, told me I would be charged $39.90 monthly for the five magazine subscriptions, I would get a gift basket worth over $500, an iPOD, and of course my Target gift card. I hung up with the guy with dreams of strolling the aisles of Target picking whatever I so pleased in my head because hey! I would have a grand to spend there! As the day went by, I thought more and more about the situation. When I got home last night from work, I decided to jump on my computer and Google the company (Southwest Periodical Service), and to my horror, came upon pages and pages of people talking about how they had been scammed and ripped off, how they never received their gifts, how they tried to cancel their accounts with them only to be rudely threatened with going to a collection agency to get the money they "owed" for the magazines that they never got. Of course, by this point, I am shaking my own head at myself and wondering how I could be so naive, trusting, dumb ... you name it, I felt it. I decided to go ahead and call my bank, explain the situation, and cancel my credit card. They were very understanding and helpful, and they certainly did not make me feel dumb for getting caught up in a scam.

I went ahead and called the company today to cancel my account. I was fully prepared to bring out the big guns, yell, stand my ground, all of that, because from what I had been reading the previous night from people in similar situations, I was ready for a fight. I actually was pleasantly surprised to receive no trouble at all; they canceled everything without question and promised to refund the money. I certainly was taken aback with how simple it was to get rid of them, but I am glad that I was able to. Who knows the trouble I could have been facing days or months down the road.

Let this be a lesson to all you trusting, unsuspecting people out there that think you won something fabulous. I read some wise advice from those in similar situations as mine - if you have to buy something in order to get your "prize," it is not legit. I guess I'm going to go back to clipping coupons and saving money in order to get the things I want to get.

Man, and I was really looking forward to buying all new curtains for the house.....





My wonderful husband was incredibly supportive as I told him the story and asked him for help. He did not make me feel badly, but instead hugged me as I laughed-cried about it all. He also made this hilarious meme describing basically how I feel about it all.....




November 13, 2012

Opinions

I feel happy that I live in a country where I do get not punished for expressing myself freely. What I do not feel happy about is people using one's opinions to judge. If I feel a certain way about something, it does not make me a bad person. It does not make me a murderer; a person of hate or a person who disregards human life; and it certainly does not make me any different from the millions of people out there that disagree with others. I think people who alter their thoughts about someone after hearing (or reading for example) a freely-expressed opinion are childish. Are you so narrow-minded that you cannot allow others to feel something different from you? I did not realize that it was not okay for people to have opinions that differ from one another.

If I lose someone I consider a friend because they did not like something I wrote months ago and have since reconsidered, then to the heck with them! Right? I know that I have people in my life who love me, despite differences in opinions. My very best friend in the world and I do not agree on politics, but I would never stop talking to her or exclude her from things because she feels what she feels. We are free to feel the way we want, and it is important to find friends who love you for you, not for what you think about one topic.

End. Rant.

June 08, 2012

Reward Charts

I have tried many things to correct my son's less-than-cute behavior.  I think I may have found something that will actually work: a reward chart!

I recently purchased one through his school, and we have been using it for the past few days.  I can already see a big change in his behavior, particularly with eating meals and not making a complete mess with them.  On his chart, there are about six spaces for the chores/duties and then spaces for stickers to be placed once he accomplishes one of the tasks on the chart.  On his, I have written things like "Use the potty," "Clean up toys," and my favorite one that seems to be working well so far - "Eat my entire meal."  I know that may seem weird that him eating his whole meal (specifically dinner) would be a chore, but I'll have you know that is surely is.  It certainly feels like a chore for me due to the amount of food and splattered spaghetti-sauce, cheese, peas, half-eaten whatever else and more that usually ends up all over the floor, in his chair, and on his face that has to be cleaned up.  He has been doing really well. The past three nights at home, he has eaten his entire meal without throwing food or making a huge mess.  I really could not be more proud.

I encourage parents to check out reward charts.  I think they will be....rewarding =]
He currently has six stars already!  I let him know that once he gets to 10 stars, he may have a yummy treat - something like ice cream or a cookie.  If he gets to 20 stars, I will take him to the park for the afternoon to play and do what he loves to do (be outside!)  The big one - 30 stars - will earn him a trip to the zoo, aquarium, beach, etc.  I am hoping that he realizes that the more good he does, the more fun he and I will have.  I hope the use of the reward chart pans out to be something that really benefits him and my sanity....

He takes pride in himself when he sees me putting a sticker on his chart and telling him, "Good job!"  Again, I encourage using these charts in case there is something your child is not quite getting, or really even if they are good.  It is important to set goals and allow your child to reach them and feel good about reaching them.  I think it is a great life lesson, and ultimately it should help to set them up for a successful, goal-fulfilling future.  Good luck fellow mommies!

April 17, 2012

You Never Really Know People

Yesterday, I heard some shocking news; and when I say shocking, I mean it. Last time I received shocking news was when I found out that I was pregnant. Via text message, I learned that a man I used to work with at my last military command was arrested this past weekend because proof of him sexually assaulting young girls within a Maryland Wal-mart store surfaced.

Just. Shocking.

This was a man that I spoke to nearly every single day for two years. I grew to know him pretty well. This was a man who mentored me, and he helped me to develop myself in my job and be better at it. The moment I heard the news, I just could not believe it. I did not want to believe it. If you are reading this and you happen to know this man, then you know the feelings that I am feeling. It's utterly unbelievable.

At first I thought it was a mistake; someone had the wrong guy. It wasn't until I clicked the link for the article and saw his picture pop up with it. My heart sunk. I honestly was just hoping that someone was wrong. Sadly, it is true. He is this awful person that committed an awful crime. What is really heartbreaking is the fact that this man has a family; a daughter in fact. I can't even imagine how his family must be feeling.

During my time at my last command while working with this man, I learned things from him. I respected him; everyone did. He was an extremely likable guy and never did anything inappropriate that would make me think it could lead to his recent behavior.

It makes me sick to my stomach. It always does when I hear about some man or woman abusing young children/minors. It is a horrible thing. It is even worse when you personally know that individual. A good friend of mine was even closer to him. They had a great friendship. I feel for her, and pray that she can not let this ruin any of the future relationships with people in her life. It is hard to trust people, but now I feel as though you can not trust anyone. I knew this man, and he knew me. We talked about our families, our jobs, our hobbies; we joked around. It is absolutely disheartening that this is actually real and could happen within the circle of people that I know.

Not only do I feel stupid for not ever knowing that this man was sick, but I now feel as though I must question all people I come into contact with. It is a scary feeling, and it is even scarier to think about the friendships and relationships my children will have in the future. How can you really know someone? I am afraid that this will cause me to hover too much over my children and the people that they are around. How scary is it to think, "What if this happens to my child?" or "What if someone were to hurt my child?"

I found all of this out yesterday while working. I was shocked then, but when I got up this morning, it was all I could think about. To tell you the truth, I had to re-read the articles three or four times just to make sure I hadn't dreamt it.

I am praying for his wife and children right now. I pray that they will get past the hurt and shame that they must feel. I pray that they will not endure ridicule for his mistakes. I also pray for him; I hope that he can get better. I pray for the young girls whom I am sure are experiencing fear and trauma. I pray that they can move on from these horrible events with time.

For anyone curious for more details, I have attached the link below.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/04/police-arrest-walmart-predator-suspect--74922.html

April 04, 2012

Going Away

First of all, I know it has been well over a month since my last posting - for that, I apologize. Mommies get busy!

Because I am in the military, there are times where I must say goodbye to my loved ones, my house, my warm, comfortable bed, and the familiarity with my lifestyle. Soon, I am going to be packing up and leaving the area for a little less than two weeks. The first thing that came to my mind when told I would be doing this was my son. I have only ever been apart from him once, and that was for a total of two weeks. While this upcoming trip is just days less than that, it can still be as equally as traumatizing. For the both of us.

The first time I left him was almost a year ago, just one day after his very first birthday. That is what broke my heart the most. He had grown so much, hit such a remarkable milestone and was on the verge of taking his first steps and popping out his first tooth. I did happen to miss his first tooth appearing, but I have been fortunate enough to be there for the rest of them, as well as his first time walking. I can't complain too much.

I am afraid that he will reach another milestone or accomplish something while I am away. I hate missing the types of things he does that require a snapshot or at least his want for mommy to see something he did for the first time. Let's hope and cross our fingers that he holds off on doing anything new and exciting until I get him back in my arms!

I do suppose that there is something I would not mind him learning while I am gone: sleeping the entire night in his own bed. In my previous posts, I ranted about him getting up often in the middle of the night and waking me up at 2, 3, 4am and not much has changed since then. Lately, he has been teething (we are up to 16 teeth now, count 'em!), and so the fever and pain has kept him up; it leaves him whiney and most times inconsolable.

I do regret the fact that I will not be spending Easter with my child, or my family for that matter. This would have been our first Easter all together, but duty calls. I have an Easter basket and an unneccessarily large yellow stuffed duck waiting in the guest bedroom for our own Easter celebration later this week. I am still grateful to be able to spend as much time as I do with my son and husband, and I just have to tell myself that work is work and I have to make some sacrifices here and there.

I hope I can manage my separation anxiety. I know the both of us will experience it within the first couple of days. I will be okay knowing that he is in good care and with people that love him so very much. I hope to hear about all of the exciting and funny things he is showing them. He favors his Grandpa over everyone else anyway.

Last time I left him, his body and vocabularly seemed to have doubled in size. We will see what he learns this time :)

February 22, 2012

Toddlers & Puppies

Last Friday night, we picked up our brand new Pomapoo pup from the airport and brought her back to a home filled with love and affection.  It has been less than a week since she has been a part of our family, but I must say that I love her so much already.  It is like we have welcomed a new bundle of joy into the family, and she truly is a part of us.  She has been a good girl for the most part, but she is a puppy.  And puppies poop.  Since she is a 4 pound dog, her bladder and stomach are not terribly big so we are constantly taking her outside to use the potty, and we are quickly running out of paper towels.  Can't say I mind the fresh air, that's for sure.

I also did not expect things to be like this.  I expected to have a little hyper thing running around the house, yes.  I did not expect to be constantly rounding corners watching my every step wondering if I am about to step in someone's accident.  It is like having another baby all over again.  It is not quite as hard, but it definitely is some work.  

Oh, and my son just adores Cinderella (yep, that's her name. We call her Ella for short because my toddler cannot say Cinderella quite yet...).  He will run around the house or outside in the yard while she chases after him, nipping at his ankles.  She truly is a joy to be around, and I welcome the wriggling tail and loving barks when I walk through the door after a long day of work.  I do feel like a hole in my heart has been filled because of her, and it was always my dream to have a dog grow up with my child.  My whole life, I have had pets and really, nothing compares to the love of a pet .... well, I guess except a spouse...or child. Anyways, pets are great.  And puppies are cute.  I was so ecstatic when we paid the balance on her and I was checking my email to find that a flight had been booked for her so quickly.  She had to fly in from Oklahoma, and I do know that poor puppy must have been pretty shaken after being in a tiny little crate for 14 hours, traveling on 3 different airplanes, and not knowing what was going on.  But she has adapted well, and she seems to feel a lot more comfortable nowadays...must be the marking of territory..

I have been so much conscious about what is laying on the floor, if my son is throwing goldfish at her, if there are any puddles or piles in hallways, and I definitely am watching where I step.  

I just love her. 


I am sure you see why :)

February 09, 2012

Poop in the Shower, Snotty Kisses, & Other Disgusting and Annoying Things That My Kid Does

I find myself sometimes asking, "Is this really my life right now?!" One of those moments happened tonight as I was getting ready for a shower with my toddler. You may think it's weird, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to get a shower in. For the past month or two, I have been bringing my son into the shower to not only save me some time, but to minimize clean-up (toys, puddles of water on the bathroom floor from him splashing in the bath, etc). It started off a bit rocky; he did not enjoy taking showers in the beginning and insisted that I hold him the entire time. I was thinking most of the times about what a horrible idea I had. Anyways, it has gotten a lot better as time has gone on. He actually loves taking showers now and occupies himself while I am busy shampooing and conditioning.

Tonight was...interesting. As I was readying the shower and waiting for the water to warm up, I started to strip him and next thing I know, this kid is pooping! As I frantically grabbed toilet paper to try and clean him up, he grabbed a bucket, filled it with the running water, and then dumped it all over himself and the floor. There goes that whole trying to minimize clean-up... After I wiped him off and used my own towel to soak up the water on the floor, I brought him in the shower and tried to clean the rest of him off all while he thought it was hilarious to violently flail his arms and legs around.

Speaking of  violence, he has really been using his legs lately to inflict pain on me. Maybe not knowingly, but jeez. I am not enjoying the kicks to my chest while I am trying to read my latest addiction (Hunger Games series, anyone?). Last night, as I was laying in bed reading, my son thought it would be funny to jump all over the bed, land on me, make me lose my place in the book, stick his feet in my face, and hit me on the head. Where is this coming from? I don't think he's learning this from me or my husband. Are they teaching kids at school how to annoy their parents nowadays? Do they teach them to turn the printer on and off repeatedly triggering windows to pop-up on my screen mid-type or to hit the power button on the television JUST as important plot points are unfolding?

Now, I love my son more than anything, and I love his kisses. But would it kill him to learn to wipe his snotty, drool-covered mouth once in a while and especially before he decides to give me a kiss? Ugh. It is disgusting. It still probably is not the worst thing I have encountered. As a baby, he peed on me more than once, pooped right on my lap, threw up all over my husband one night during a bath, and then of course there was all of the spit-up I had to wipe up. Am I sure I want another one? Sometimes, during these particularly disgusting and revolting moments, I think that one is enough. I'm young; I should be doing things that other 21 year olds are doing. However! There's always a but...when I get caught up in the moments where my son falls asleep in my arms or shows me what he has learned at school or just runs to me arms wide wanting a hug, I cannot help but feel sorry for anyone that doesn't have a child already. Those moments truly are the best, and of course it makes me want to have another baby and experience the firsts all over again (first smile, first food, first trip to the _____, and so on).




And then he turns off the computer as I am typing this, so then I forget about wanting another one.

January 27, 2012

Training

Ah, isn't that a lovely word.  Right now, my son is in the middle of some training.  We began potty training after Christmastime, I have been attempting to sleep-train since the moment he entered the world; he is getting so good at throwing trash in the trashcan or putting his dirty clothes into the hamper.

The potty-training, or attempt at potty-training, started about a month ago, and I can say that my son has yet to pee or poop in the potty we got him.  He knows what the potty is for, what goes in the potty, and he has even successfully demonstrated how to sit on the potty.  But, he has not actually used it for its purpose.  I know that it can take boys longer to become potty-trained or to really even get the concept down.  But, my boy is smart, and he is a quick learner, but this activity is just not of interest to him whatsoever.  Last night, when I was getting his bath ready, he had his diaper off, and when I went to pick him up and place him in the bathroom, there was a little puddle of pee where his feet were.  The potty was not 10 inches from him at the time!  It can be frustrating, and even more so, because within this past month after introducing it to him, he has not gone in the potty yet.  How can I prevent my son from continually peeing on my bathroom rug and into his potty chair sitting RIGHT there!?  Maybe I am just not trying hard enough.  I seem to get wrapped up in whatever I am doing at home, amd I forget to take him upstairs to sit on the potty...on the hour, every hour... I hear you need a good, solid four days at home (not going anywhere...can you imagine being cooped up in the house for FOUR straight days?!) to be able to get potty-training through your toddler's head.  I don't exactly have four days laying around where I can just sit in the bathroom and wait for my son to make some kind of progress.  I do know that it has to happen eventually though.  I think this weekend, I am going to make a serious effort in taking him into the bathroom and sitting him down on that magical, little throne until something happens.  Do I encourage him with big applause and praise when he finally does it?  Or do I act like it is an everyday thing and so not a  big deal?  I have honestly been told both.  I am one to give praise to my child, so I suppose when that moment finally does happen, I'll be whipping out my camera, snapping pictures, and posting them on FacebookYep, I am that mom.

Since my son reached three months of age, I moved him into his own room and into his crib.  It was a little rocky at first, like many new things to a child can be.  But, eventually he was sleeping very well, and that meant that I was too.  For months and months after the move, he would sleep through the night, getting about 13 to 14 hours of sleep.  Save your oohs and ahhs.  It has changed.  As mentioned in my first post, we recently converted his crib to a toddler bed.  The past two weeks have not been enjoyable on the sleep front.  He wakes up two to three times a night now, and he does not want to go back to sleep.  Last night, I finally got a decent amount of sleep, but only because I went to bed a little earlier.  How long is this supposed to last?  Am I just supposed to get used to the fact that every morning when I walk into work, I look and feel like some mommy-zombie?  It's rough; those newborn days are supposed to be in the past.  I have decided that no matter what, I can't revert back to him sleeping in a baby crib.  He's getting too old for a crib; he has to get used to his toddler bed, and he has GOT to start sleeping through the night again in his own bed.  It's kind of like a never-ending cycle.  When we was a newborn, he slept in our room (in his pack-n-play) and woke up two to three times every night.  And now we are back to that.  Eventually, he moved to his room and adjusted quite well.  I should probably give him a little slack, because children don't take too kindly to change.  I need to just give him some time, like I did back then, to allow him to become comfortable sleeping in his toddler bed.  I expect he will be back to his long slumbering nights soon enough, and I will be back to having a little more me-time at night. :)

For a couple of months now, my husband and I have taught our son (and I think I can give a little credit to his amazing daycare) to clean up after himself.  After seeing us clean up and throw away trash, he has gotten the hang of it.  He throws away papers that I do not need anymore and the wrappers of whatever snack he just devoured.  He even makes it a point to throw away his own diaper after changing.  What more could I ask for?  After I change his clothes or finish drying him off after a bath, he runs to the pile of dirty clothes on the floor and hurls them into his hamper.  I am training him early, and he already has it down pat.  It makes me one proud mama.  Something that he may not master for a couple of years is sweeping and wiping up liquid spills.  He loves to pretend to sweep with the broom after I clean up the goldfish or animal crackers thrown on the floor.  He uses tissues, paper towels, and used dryer sheets to try and clean up "messes."  It is too cute to watch, and I honestly cannot believe how much he does at such a young age.

Speaking of how much he does...I have not yet been able to teach him NOT to throw food on the floor.  During every single meal of every single day, half of his food winds up on the floor or under the couch or on the ottoman. This is driving me nuts!  I tell him no; I smack his hand; I take away his food, but nothing seems to be working.  He still does it.  He did last night, yesterday morning, last week, two months ago.  It has been going on for a while, and I am just stumped on how to get him to stop.  This must be something that they are not covering at school.  I have to give the daycare credit though, because he has learned so many things there.  He came home one day from school, picked up a pen, and he held it correctly -- the proper way to hold a pen!  I just could not believe my eyes.  They do lots of arts and crafts there as well, and it makes me happy to see that my toddler is doing so many great and creative things.  It can be hard, working full-time and not being able to spend every moment with my child during the day, teaching him and singing to him.  But, I am happy to know that they are teaching him something, and he comes home happy.  They challenge him there, and they have even taught him some sign language.  They are able to kind of fill in the blanks and teach him things that I have either not thought of, or have not had much success with. 

My son amazes me every day.  He absorbs so much, and I know that using the potty successfully is on the horizon.  I also know that he will eventually go back to sleeping through the night in his room, and I know that as a mother, I have to have some patience with him. 
Pretty soon, he won't need me to teach him much else.

January 22, 2012

"Pilot"

This is my first post, so be nice. Okay, so I'd like to start off with my background.  Currently, I am juggling an almost-two-year-old with pending molars, being a military wife (while being in the military myself), bettering myself by taking online courses to eventually get my Bachelor's in Psychology, cleaning and maintaining a beautiful, newly purchased home ... and my sanity.

My husband and I recently converted our son's crib to a toddler bed.  We felt like it was time for him to transition to a big-boy bed.  First two nights went great.  He slept all night minus maybe an hour, resulting in an earlier wake-up time, but that's okay.  I'll forgive him for that.  The next couple of nights...torture.  My son woke up at approximately 11:30, 12 each night for a few nights in a row.  We attempted to rock him in the rocking chair in his room, and as soon as he'd doze off, we'd (try) to move him back to his own bed.  No such luck.

After failed attempt after failed attempt, we'd cave and bring him into our bed.  Now, I am not an advocate for sleeping in the bed with your child, solely because I like my sleep, and if your kid is anything like mine, he does not sleep when he's in the bed with us, but you do what you have to do to get a little bit of sleep.  From day one he has slept solo and from 3 months on, he's slept in his very own room.  So after a few night's of an hour or two of sleep in a row while trying to recover from my second bout of oral surgery in two weeks, I'm at a loss.  This happened again last night.  He woke up around 11:30pm, and I took the first shift.  I went in there, picked him up, rocked him and tried to move him into his own bed.  As usual, he awoke as soon as his head hit head hit the sheets.  I tried again and failed.  I finally got him down and made my way back into our bedroom.  It was 12:40am by then.  He woke up as soon as my hand reached for the covers.  I went back into his room and tried again.  Eventually he climbed out of bed and made his way into our room where he obviously got to join us in bed.  After tossing and turning and moving and kicking, he fell asleep and so did we.  Almost every hour, on the hour, he woke up.  I don't get it.  Did I assume he could handle such a thing too quickly?

I had heard other people in my life with young children who converted their child's bed into a toddler bed, and I couldn't help but wonder if I was behind.  I have debated all week long about converting his bed back to a crib, but I kind of feel like I could be robbing him of some serious growing up if I were to do so.  Maybe I just have to endure it for a little while longer until he gets the picture.  He's napping now (in his bed), and I wonder how long it will take for all of us to make it through a whole night without being woken up.  This past week, it's almost been like having a newborn again.  Which by the way, my husband and I are trying again, and the lack of sleep and constant crying has me remembering the early days of my son's life where all I wanted was some quality sleep.

Can I handle it again?  I think so.  I certainly am not the same woman I was a year and a half ago.  My son has made me grow up quite a bit, and I should have more faith in him that this transition from crib to toddler bed will be a good thing for him and thus will result in a happier, more alert family in the days to come.