Just stuff....

Today has been a much anticipated day in our household. Grammie S & Grandpa Dooley arrived today. Zane has been waiting somewhat patiently and was quite ecstastic to see them arrive. They will only be here until tomorrow because we are going home with them for the week - by we I mean myself and the boys. Poor daddy has to stay home and work. We plan on going bowling, hanging out, shopping and spending time with Grandma and Grandpa J to. It should be a lot of fun and I know that we have all been looking forward to it. Cliff likes it when we go away for awhile because then he gets to watch all the guy movies that he doesn't get to watch when I'm home. But he always misses us!

Both boys continue to persist with their coughs...it always makes me nervous since both have preemie lungs...thank goodness for modern medicine. I often thank my Heavenly Father for allowing me to be born in this day and age or else my sons and I wouldn't have made it through child birth. I never understood until I had children myself why so many women and children died through the ages as a result of childbirth.

I have to post these pictures of Rhett. We bought him this hat yesterday and I LOVE it - Grandpa Dooley hates it.

Second Time Around...

I've noticed that as Rhett gets older and more mobile by the day that there are some things that are the same as when Zane was in this stage and there are some things that are very different. The very different part lies in my attitude and how I respond to his exploring everywhere. I am still getting used to the experience of leaving a room and coming back two minutes later and having no idea where Rhett is. He loves to hear his name though so usually when I call to him he pops out from whatever hiding place he has discovered. His favorite lately is the tiny spot between the recliner chair and the side table....if he can get himself back in there he can get to Daddy's tall speaker - he's not supposed to touch this so of course it is a magnet for him. He also loves the big windows and has recently discovered that he can smush himself into this very tiny spot and stand there looking outside. Of course all he can see is white everywhere but one day there will actually be grass again.

I have discovered that I am more accepting of Rhett growing up and changing from baby to toddler than I was with Zane. It's fun to glimpse the mischevious little boy that he is going to one day be and know that he and Zane will be great friends. Every day they learn a little more about playing together - mostly Zane learning that Rhett can't do everything that he wants him to do.

I'm also very happy that I had another boy because as Rhett gets bigger and I get to bring out all the cute clothes that Zane wore I get to remember how much fun it was to have a one year old.

We are once again experiencing the fun of using inhalers and the chamber....Rhett has a bronchial infection and our doc is a little concerned that he could end up in the hospital - apparently a few kids with the same thing have. So one is a steroid to open his lungs up a bit and the other is supposed to help if he's having a really strong cough attack. So far I've only had to use that one in the middle of the night when he wakes up coughing. He is also starting to sleep longer stretches although he seems to think that 6 am is the time to start the day. Ugg.

Here's some pics of my angels:

My Vent

I know...I'm posting again! But this is my vent and both boys are asleep and Cliff's at floor hockey so i can vent right now without any distractions:

Rhett was awake last night from 3 am to 5 am. I feel like my 9 month old has forgotten how to sleep and now seems to sleep less at night than he did when he was newborn! Well, not quite but it drives me nuts because all my other friends have kids the same age who have been sleeping 10+ hours a night for months now. Sigh. I know that he will figure it out and i am doing my best to help him. Last night was a battle of wills and I eventually won. Man that kid is stubborn. He would be sound asleep and still crying because he knew he was still mad or he'd finally drift off and then wake up after 2 minutes and go, oh yeah, I'm mad because mom won't let me sleep on her all night. As for me, I spent the better part of those 2 hours laying Rhett back down(he knows how to stand up in the crib now) and humming his lullaby or shushing him or patting him. I won't leave him when he's screaming like that but I don't like to pick him up either because he thinks that if he screams long enough or loud enough I'll give in - and granted I have on numerous occasions. Last night I just said enough is enough and now I know that we're in for a long week. At least Zane slept through the whole thing! His wife is going to hate me when he gets married because he'll never hear his own kids. Sigh, one more thing I'll have to warn her about.

I remember very vaguely Zane doing the same thing and our solution then was not a great one and I ended up having to sleep train him when he was 2 and we moved here. Not fun. I keep telling myself that if I do it now I won't have all the struggles I did with Zane before he turned 2. (And if you don't agree with me, please don't burst my bubble. That is the one thought that got me through last night's 2 hours of screaming baby.)

I was looking at pictures last night of Zane when he was this age and his 1st birthday and further - they made me laugh and miss my little Zane monster. He is getting so big and funny and grown up these days - he really is a delight and I'm so blessed to have him! I was also a little shocked at the lack of pictures that I had of him at that age....but then I remembered the working and managing and all the other stresses going on at that time and thought, wow, Rhett is going to have more pics of his age one then Zane. A little sad but understandable.

Ahh, the relief that comes from a good vent!

A Quick Thought or Two or maybe Three

I know that I just posted last night - but most of those thoughts were from last Sunday...and I forgot to post pictures!

Living here in Central Alberta has definitely made me appreciate the number of talents and people available for church positions in Southern Alberta. Our Ward is really hurting for music people and it is a constant struggle to make sure things are taken care of. I was released as the primary pianist 3 weeks ago...which is great in some ways but really hard in others. They have since called and released one sister and today called another. I know the skill level of this sister and although she is willing the primary is going to struggle musically. I really had to struggle when I heard her name announced - my first thought was to volunteer to take over the position again - but then I reminded myself that these calls come from the Lord and this sister must be in this position for a reason. Again, I miss the musical talent that seemed to be in every ward I experienced in Southern Alberta. There is talent here - just not in my ward boundaries. Anyone musical want to move to Red Deer 2nd ward? Just kidding.

The boys all stayed home from church today - both little ones still have runny noses and coughs and I don't think that it's fair to inflict their germs on other kids. I know that I don't like it when I pick Zane up from class and he's followed by one or two kids who are wiping noses and coughing. It felt really odd to be sitting without my family....no kids to be hushing and no snacks to be doling out...(ok I missed the snacks). But it was nice to know exactly what was going on in class and to hear other's input and thoughts.

I've been going through big clothes for Rhett - trying to figure out what size he will be in summer and figure out what he has and what he doesn't. As I was going through the 24 month stuff I realized that he'll fit most of those shirts within a month - maybe two and that he's probably going to be wearing 2T for most of the summer. It's startling how fast they go from babies to little boys. But it's also a lot of fun to look at the clothes and remember Zane's summer time in them.

I love being a mom.