Where is Thumbkin?

Yesterday Jackson went to the dentist.  When they asked him if he was still sucking his thumb, he told them no.  I was surprised.  I hadn't noticed.  He only does it at night when he's falling asleep...when I'm not in there.  So I didn't even know he's stopped.  Last night and tonight I took him some water after I had already put him to bed just to check, and sure enough...no thumb sucking!  YAY!!!  He's been sucking his thumb since he was 4 months old.  As strong as this habit was I was definitely expecting a fight about giving it up.  (or a sticker chart with a bribe at the end)  Who would have thought news this big would have come with such little fanfare?  For now, blanket is still hanging around.

Holy Good Night's Sleep, Batman!

It started as a survival mechanism that just went un-dealt-with for too long.  I was getting up several times a night with my newborn Selah, working 30-hours a week outside the home, wearing several hats in our newborn church, trying to spend some quality time with both our kids, all while pratically running the household (bills, laundry, dishes, cleaning, cooking, errands) by myself as Jason was getting used to the schedule of a man working two full-time jobs.  It was the most chronically tired I have ever been.  So when Jackson started coming to my side of the bed (never daddy's side who sleeps like a rock and never hears the baby cry!) and saying that he was too scared to sleep in his room by himself because he had a bad dream, I would scoop him up in our bed to sleep the rest of the night.  I just couldn't muster the strength to take him back across the house and risk a repeat awakening.  Survival.

Things got better.  I quit my job to stay home.  Selah started sleeping through the night.  Jackson was less afraid and would sleep in his bed half the time.  But if he ever came to our bed, I would still scoop him up, throw him in between us, and roll back over to sleep.  I felt bad about it.  But I liked my sleep!  Finally I decided to try a new idea that would put the burden of fixing the problem on his shoulders.  All I needed was his calendar, star stickers, and a bag full of toys that I purchased at a consignment sale for $2.  I had intended to use the toys as small rewards for Jackson.  He found my rewards stash one day and asked if he could have them.  I told him he would have to earn them by doing certain things.  He was eager to know exactly what he could start doing to set him on a course for obtaining the booty.  *light bulb moment*  I told him that if he slept in his bed for seven nights (not necessarily consecutive) then he could choose one prize. 

The challenge laid before him, he slept in his own bed the very first night!  In fact, it only took him 9 nights to earn the prize, and one of those nights he stayed with grandma and grandaddy, so it couldn't count.  Yesterday, he proudly picked a Batman watch out of the prize bag.  We had to buy a new battery for it, but it works perfectly!  He wore it to school today despite feeling a little nervous about it since he reported that the only kids in his class who wore watches were the ones who were "mean to the teacher."  I think he proved today that you can wear a watch AND have good behavior. 

Last night was the first night of the completed challenge, so Jason and I took bets as to whether or not we would see him at our bedside in the middle of the night.  I won!  He slept in his own bed all night!  I don't know if it will last, but I have a whole bag of prizes to give away if I have to!  =)

After reading over this post, I am so thankful to be in a healthier place now than I was a year and a half ago.  I have such compassion for my friends who are still working greuling schedules, caring for newborns/small children, or being single moms.  I'm praying for them all.

puh-suh-vewance

Last summer we took a vacation to Kiawah Island.  It was a charming place, and part of that charm could be attributed to the sight of people on bicycles everywhere.  We rented bikes and a trailer for the kids and joined in the biking fun.  I had not been on a bike in years before that, and I was surprised how much fun I had.  I decided to bring the fun home.  I started looking for a child's bike seat at consignment sales and finally found a great one for $20 this spring.  Throw in a trip to Walmart for bike helmets, and we were ready!  Isn't she adorable?

But this story is not really about me or Selah.  It's about Jackson.  You see prior to the child seat purchase, Jackson always rode his bike with Selah and me strolling along.  Whenever we hit a big uphill he would ask me to give him pushes until we made it to the top.  Now that I'm on a bike, my ability to offer him assistance is next to nothing.  Our first few outings together were quite frustrating.  I was still getting used to the extra weight in my rear (Selah that is....in the rear of my bike!), and it's harder to keep your balance when you have go slow to wait on the kid who can't make it up a hill on his own.  I finally said, "Listen, Jackson, I'm not going to be able to give you pushes when I'm riding, too.  You're going to have to make your legs stronger so you can get up this hill on your own.  The only way to make your legs stronger is to exercise them; keep pushing.  You've got to PERSEVERE."  That was the magic word.  A switch flipped.  Jackson knows exactly what perseverance means and he set his mind to getting up that hill.  I was amazed.  He started pedaling up the hill.  I could tell it was hard, and I asked him if he wanted to get off and walk the bike up.  He said, with determination, "No, I'm going to puh-suh-vewe."  (still can't say his r's!)  He kept chanting "puh-suh-vewe" all the way up the hill and he made it!  Every day he has gotten a little stronger, and in only a week's time we're going for good little rides with 4 big uphills!  It's so sweet to see joy in his face when he's zooming down a hill...the built in reward for persevering through the tough uphill (or actually I have to imagine the joy in his face since I'm usually zooming behind him).  His puh-suh-vewance has paid off.  I'm so proud!  Jackson, I hope you keep this attitude for the rest of your life.  It will serve you well as you face lots of tough circumstances.  If you persevere, you will see those rewards!

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

What's that you say?

Yesterday I when Jackson got home from school, I looked in his bookbag and found that he brought home the same reading book that he had this weekend.  This means one of two things: either his class did not have a volunteer reader today or they did have a reader, but her forgot to get his book out.  The rule with the reading program is that you have to bring back your old book in order to take home a new one.  Time to investigate:

me: Jackson did your class have a reader today?
Jackson: Yes, it was Noni
me: Then why didn't you get a new book?
Jackson: Because I didn't bring back my old one.
me: Well, I put it in your bookbag this morning.
Jackson: No, you didn't.  I looked in there for it.
me:  Here it is right here.  See?  It was in your bag.
Jackson: Oh, I guess I was just blonde.  (meaning blind)

I didn't correct him because I was laughing too hard.

Spring Break in DC

A few months ago, Jackson saw the movie "Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian."  He absolutely loved it.  I told him that all of those museums, monuments, and characters really existed (although didn't talk in real life).  He was very interested and was asking lots of questions.  Jackson is just now beginning to understand the basics of the United States, government, and our capital.  I saw my opportunity to strike while the iron was hot, so I began making plans for a family trip during Jackson's spring break.  Making the plan was not easy; I told Jason that his working two jobs was really getting in the way of me making vacation plans. =)  Finally, we decided that we could leave after Jason got off work on Wednesday so the lawyer would only miss two days of work.  We could come home on Saturday afternoon so the pastor and worship leader could be back in time to get focused before Easter Sunday. The plan was set!  I got a great deal on a hotel room using Priceline.com thanks to my brother's help!  My neighbor, Amber (a DC expert) let me borrow lots of kids books, maps, and info about where to go and what to see to prepare for a great trip. 

We had a very smooth trip there. One very cute story:  in the car, Selah did something that Jackson disapproved of, and he said "Selah Reece" in that calling-her-down tone of voice (wonder where he heard that??).  Selah just echoed "Tee-yah Wee".  We couldn't help but laugh.  Later we heard he calling herself down: "Tee-yah Wee".  So cute!

Thursday morning we donned our good walking shoes, strapped the kids in the sit-and-stand stroller we borrowed from Amber (worth its weight in gold!!) and set out to explore.  Our hotel was very close to the Capitol and we walked all the way from there to the White House. 

Although it was a long walk, we enjoyed looking at the buildings and all the cherry trees in full bloom!

Next was the Museum of Natural History (you know...the dinosaurs and stuff).  Jackson was so excited to get there he was literally running from exhibit to exhibit with a big grin on his face.

The bad thing about traveling with kids is that you can't make too many plans.  You really have to wait and see how they're feeling and what they're up for.  It's pretty miserable to take cranky kids to something you thought would be really fun for them.  But the good thing about traveling with kids (especially when you're staying in one hotel room all together) is that it forces you to rest.  When Selah took a nap, we all laid down for some quiet rest time.  Just what we needed after a long day of walking.

Thursday afternoon we took a tour of the Capitol building led by a staffer from Congresswoman Virginia Foxx's office.  It was spectacular and inspiring.  Selah hated it and tested the echo-factor in several of the rooms there with her protests, but we made it through.  Unfortunately I left my camera behind and didn't get any pictures!

Back at the hotel, the kids and I went for a short swim in the hotel pool before getting ready for bed exhausted but happy.

Friday morning we decided to take the Metro to the Lincoln Memorial.  I really wanted Jackson to experience the rail system of a city (and it was quite a learning experience for Jason and I as well!  Our first try, we calculated our total fare for all of us and put it all on one FareCard.  We didn't know we each needed our own card!  oops!)  The Lincoln Memorial was so grand. 

It was almost surreal seeing these famous memorials, buildings, and monuments in person.  The last time I was in DC, I was in 8th grade.  It was really cool going back as an adult now that I can appreciate and respect the significance of it all.  Poor Jason carried our stroller up all those steps to see Honest Abe (I carried Selah). 

We took the elevator down (oh...an elevator...that would have been helpful to know about before).  We walked beside the Reflecting Pool and passed the WWII memorial and Washington Monument to get to the Air and Space Museum.  After getting our fill of airplanes and space shuttles it was time to walk back to the hotel for a rest. 

That night we hit the Museum of American History,

and we were pretty much wiped out.  We decided to take it easy Saturday morning and skip the zoo that we had originally planned to do.  We just packed up and went home.  We had a great trip.  We couldn't have packed much more into two days.  We would love to go back some day and do some things that we didn't get to do this time like tour the White House, go to the top of the Washington Monument, tour more museums, see and IMAX movie, and see the planetarium. 

Easter totally rocked!  Easter is my favorite day in church.  So exciting...so much energy...celebrating Jesus' Resurrection.  For the last 4 weeks we have had acoustic music at our church.  It was so refreshing to be back to our regular rockin' music.  Hopefully our set will be up on R2 Radio soon!  I am so blessed to be able to work with such talented musicians every week. 

Finally, we had a late Easter lunch with my family and sat around talking on the patio enjoying the beautiful weather.  What a great way to end a totally awesome Spring Break/Easter.