Dada This and Dada That

Well... Jordan has figured out he can move his tongue around and different sounds come out. His favorite sound to make so far? Dada dada dada dada.... As much as I'd love to hear him say Mama.. I am still SOOOOOOOO proud. Who cares what he says first? He's developing and growing.. how could I not be happy about that!?

Can I Get My Ears Pierced?

Do we have a teenager in the house already!?

Ali has suddenly taken to doing things just because her friends do them. If Lexi loves the monkey bars, Ali loves the monkey bars. If Kenna loses a tooth, Ali wants to lose a tooth. If Kenna gets her ears pierced, Ali wants to get her ears pierced. Oh, child...

I told Ali yesterday that I don't want her to be Lexi or Kenna; I just want her to be Ali. "But, Destiny," she said, "I really want my ears pierced!" *Sigh* "Why then, Ali, did you say not even a month ago that you wanted to wait a really long time before getting that done?" No answer.

Personally, I really don't mind letting her get it done, but not right now. Maybe in a few months once the "newness" of Kenna's earrings wears off. But for now, I don't want her to think that she should do things just because other people do them. That's called *Drum Roll* peer pressure! Going with the fad! I want her to know that she can go against the flow and be just as cool and likable and beautiful! I am truly hoping this lesson sticks with her for the next 20 or so years!

In the end, I didn't feel like it was my decision to make. And Kris is a dude, so his opinion on ear piercings didn't seem relevant either! ;) So I told Ali she'd have to talk to her mom, who said she felt like saying yes would be the equivalent of saying she could get a tattoo as well. I don't necessarily agree with that one, but we still both said no, so at least we're semi on the same page!

So for now, Ali has dropped it. But it is Monday, and she is sure to see her bffs. I wonder what she'll come home wanting today...

Sleeping Babies...

My kids are beautiful all the time, but they are rarely ever so calm and peaceful =)

I caught Ali snuggling up with the same teddy bear I snuggled with when I was little. There is nothing I love more than my kids. 

My Kids Are Like Oxygen =)

So here's what's been going on in our lives over the past few weeks...

We have Ali again for our second three-week visitation (yay!) and we love every minute of it! The only bad thing is that Kris has been gone a lot for work, leaving me with the kids. It's tons of fun and equally exhausting! I wake up at 6, get myself ready, wake Ali up, fix her hair, get her dressed, wake the baby up, change his diaper, feed him, get him dressed, get my stuff together for work, pile everyone and everything into the tiny tiny car, and head off to two separate daycares and then, finally, work. I then get off work at 5, go pick up Jordan, and head home. Thankfully, my MIL (aka Gmo!) picks Ali up every day since her daycare closes before I can make it across town. I go home and the rest of the evening is a blur. Feed kids. Bathe kids. Play with kids. Brush kids' teeth (now that they both have teeth...). Put kids to bed. And (oh yeah!) feed myself! I go straight to bed, and then I have to get up because I remember I still need to feed that stray dog we picked up a few weeks ago! And even this crazy routine isn't set in stone. Ali just now finished up t-ball, so for a while, we had to squeeze that in there somewhere as well.

Ali lost her second tooth the other day. Actually, Gmo pulled it for her! When I was little, my parents always had to take me to the dentist because my teeth never got loose enough to just "yank out." But Ali's was wiggling all over the place, and Sherry just flicked it right out of her mouth! It was SO cool and Ali didn't cry or anything! She is in a race with her friend at school to see who can lose their teeth the fastest. So far, she's losing by two.

Jordan has grown so much in the past few weeks, too. He recognizes people he knows, and is getting really vocal, especially in church. Especially during prayer! I'm glad everyone thinks it's funny at this point, but I bet they won't think it's as humorous when he starts getting old enough to know better!

For those who have been around Jordan, they know he has never been a very quiet baby. He was, and still is at times, a very fussy baby. He still has days when he'll cry off and on all day and he still doesn't sleep through the night. And, now that he's able to recognize people, he'll cry if someone he doesn't know is holding him. He's pretty attached to me, I'd say. So when I leave him with someone else, like, anyone else, I worry the entire time. So, while I know I can at any point ask almost anyone I know to keep the kids, I'd rather not do it ALL the time, regardless of how willing anyone is. I don't have a problem with asking someone to watch them occasionally, but they are my kids and therefore my responsibility. I hate when I see people push their kids off on other people. I think that's sucky parenting.

I don't like being out past 8 because that's Jordan's bedtime, and he is usually pretty fussy anywhere from 1 to 2 hours before he goes to bed. So, if I do make plans, I need to be ready to pick them up before 8. You can't treat your kids the way you treat yourself. If you stay up late, your body knows how to cope the next day and you'll survive. But a 5 month old baby? If he is up late one night, chances are he is going to be one really fussy baby the next day, which in turn puts a lot of pressure on Mom, Dad, and even big sister Ali! Do you ever think about how bad you sleep when you're not in your own bed? Kids are that way too. If I were to make plans to do something and take them with me, I have to worry about how fussy Jordan is going to be. MOST of the time, if I ever do anything past 7 o'clock, I spend the entire night rocking him and humming in his ear. It just makes more sense to stay home!

People that don't have kids can't possibly understand what it's like to be that engulfed by something. You can't just leave them with someone and then stop thinking or worrying about them. Out of sight, out of mind? Never. My babies aren't just part of my life, they are my life. It's just like the beat of your heart or the breath the goes in and out of your lungs; I simply cannot live without them.