Tis The Season!

So a year ago I wrote this post about Balancing Christmas ... and if you haven't read it you should ;)  At that point last year Dax was barely two, so we didn't have to think much or put this idea of "Balancing Christmas" into action. But now we're in full blown Christmas tradition mode. We have a three year old little boy on our hands that is really soaking in everything about the holiday season and is already asking me everyday if Santa is coming tomorrow.
So this year I started two different things that I hope will grow into traditions for us... because I really love what they stand for and they help keep me accountable everyday to Balance Christmas for our little guy.

So this is the letter that our sweet little Elf on a Shelf brought with him Saturday morning when he made his first appearance. This is a really simplified version of what I got at in my Balancing Christmas post, and as he gets older I'll go more into detail about forgiveness, intentions, a faithful value system, and a heart like our Creator. As I mentioned before... he's barely three and this letter seemed to be on the perfect level for him.

The second thing we started this year was an advent activity. I searched all over (with no luck) for an advent calendar of some sorts that would help me in the process of Balancing Christmas. Something that would help us count down the days until the oh so fun Christmas morning, but also kept our hearts wrapped around the true meaning of the season. Luckily, yesterday I stumbled upon this site and will be using it to base our daily activities on.  So today I printed the bible versus for the countdown chain and we did the first activity with Daxton's nativity.

For the countdown chain I just used red and green scrap book paper that I had and printed these perfect little activity strips. I cut them out and glued them onto the back of the scrap book paper. I love that the strips have not only the daily verse on it, but additional readings and an activity as well.

So those are a couple traditions we started this year to help us Balance Christmas! What are some things you and your family do to keep perspective on what it should be on during the holiday seasons??

30 Months

As I've mentioned before... one of the purposes of this blog is to keep our friends and family up to date on our little man and to serve as a "memory book" sort of thing for myself.  With that said... my little boy is officially 2 1/2 (30 months) so here are 30 facts about him...

1. He's quirky to say the least. He likes random hats (the more bizarre the better), sunglasses, goggles... you think quirky... and it fits him to a T.

2. He loves to ride his bike.... and he ask to do it about 50 times a day. But how can I say no when he looks that rockin in his shark helmet and shades?

3. He finally.... at 30 months... has all of his teeth! This boy didn't get his first tooth until he turned one.... and only had 8 until about a month ago... and bam... they all came in at once!
4. He is a wild man for sure. 110% little boy. Wrestling and racing are some of his favorite activities. Luckily he has figured out that those games are more fun when Daddy is home so most of it only takes place in the evening when I can run and hid.
5. He, for the most part, is really, really easy to discipline. He doesn't argue much and will usually only protest once ("I don't want to clean up") but as soon as we tell him that's not a choice and he has to... he does. Hopefully this personality trait stays around for awhile longer!
6. He has a huge, huge heart. I can so much as look at him wrong and his heart just breaks. Precious boy.
7. He's potty trained!!!!  Almost...   He's been in underwear for a week now and is doing awesome. The only issue is with #2... which is typical for kiddos. He's even waking up to go potty and is telling us when we're out running errands and he needs to go.
8. He requires a lot of accessories at night time.... music box, puppy light, cars blanket, pillow, nahnees, cup of water, and usually 2 small toys.
9. He still loves his "nahnees"  (his blankets he's had since he was born). I hope this doesn't end for a very long time. I love it.
10. He also still loves being outside. He would stay out all day, every day if I let him. You can bet that when spring gets here I will.

11. He is starting to become a daddy's boy. I love it and I'm pretty sure daddy does too. He still wants me most of the time when he's tired or hurt...  but he certainly thinks his daddy is pretty awesome.
12. He loves anything Cars.... but just sort of loves the movie. It's the personification of the cars that intrigues him a lot.
13. He always has been and still is a little chunker. He has some major thunder thighs (thanks to a mommy and daddy who both had them as well). We actually have to go up a size in underwear (he has 2T/3T but we're going to have to get 4T) because his little booty and legs are so big.
14. He still has the strange fascination with school buses.
15. He's starting to come up with great excuses lines... like saying "I'll love it tomorrow" when he doesn't like something.... "My tummies full of ____" fill in the blank with whatever activity he doesn't want to do (pottying, cleaning, sleeping, etc).... and "______ said I need to" fill in the blank with Mommy or Daddy or Sophie (our dog), but really no one told him anything. This last one happens usually when one parent tells him no to something.
16. He's really goofy..... yet cautious and a thinker too.
17. He loves making his toys talk. They have really deep conversations with each other
18. Loves to fish (he's mommas boy for sure!)

19. Likes to pretend he's an airplane and "fly" around the house. He usually has mommy or daddy doing it with him. I make sure the windows are closed when this is happening.
Favorites:
20. Color: Orange
21. Food: Pizza
22. Fruit: Blueberries and Watermelon
23. Veggie: Corn on the cob
24. Book: Dinosaur Diner & Goodnight Train
25. Show: He is limited on TV still... but he really likes Bob the Builder and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Mommy doesn't like either of these so I try and encourage Barney. He loves Barney.
26. Drink: Juice (ugh).. he's limited to one small cup a day.
27. Song to sing: Wheels on the Bus... again with the bus fascination
28. Toy: A wooden Cars track he got for Christmas, unit blocks, and puzzles.

29. Animal: Dogs... he loves his "sisters"
30. Place to go: Mall and Reasors (grocery store with race car shopping carts)

Well that's my boy.... he's growing way too fast and it makes me super sad....

Fine motor work...

I've really been focusing lately on building some fine motor strength in Dax (fine motor strength would be the muscles in his little fingers and hands... this is essential for being able to write). We've been playing with a lot of playdoh (squeezing it, poking it, tearing it) and stringing his beads on laces. But this week I wanted to let Dax work with scissors a little more. He got scissors for Christmas so we've used them here and there since then... but this week I started off by putting them in with his playdoh.

Like I said, we've used them before so he knew how to hold them... but it was pretty cute to watch his problem solving skills go crazy as he figured out how to use them with the playdoh. He started out trying to cut the playdoh while it laid on the table (obviously didn't work). Then he tried cutting with his left hand (that was really awkward). And finally he got it all figured out.

A couple days later I busted out a new pair of scissors for him. These had the actual blade but had a great spring in the middle that you could flip up for beginners (it helps the scissors open back up). PS... I found these at Dollar Tree!!!  I then decided to draw lines on strips of construction paper for him to try to cut on (cutting on lines is a skill they'll need in pre-k and it helps with eye hand coordination). Sidenote: While cutting on lines is good, make sure you also give kids paper without lines so they can have some free expression with their cutting.

He loved this activity and you could see the pride in his face! He thought he was so big!  After he finished cutting I gave him a glue stick and let him collage his shapes.

 This past week I've also had him start "writing" his name (the lines on the bottom). His fine motor skills aren't strong enough yet to write actual letters, but I was really proud of him when he drew a corresponding individual mark as he said each letter of his name. Baby steps!

Dax has still been very into letters this week, but his newest love is doing puzzles! I would say he spends most of his time during the day doing puzzles. Right now since he just started using puzzles I've been keeping the outer edge of the puzzle put together for him so he has a starting point. But he is building some awesome strategies so I'm sure he'll be doing the entire puzzles on his own before long!

 

Dax made his own matching game with his puzzle and letter rocks.

 This was a birthday gift... lettter book with meaningful things in it.

Struggles

So I've really been pushed lately to write about my journey with Dax as a baby.  I'm not sure if it's because God needs me to get my message out because one of you reading this is facing it as well... or because one of my many pregnant friends is getting ready to face this battle before long... or because so often in blogs the "rough" part of parenting gets left out. But whatever it is... here's my story.
While pictures I post of him now are mostly smiles and fun...he wasn't an easy baby to say the least (and still has moments in each day that he is not an easy toddler).

 

At the time (between the time Dax was born and he hit 10 or 11 months) I tried to come up with every excuse I could for how he acted. He has acid reflux, he was colicky, he was teething. Anything. But as time has gone on and I've come less concerned with what other people think I've come to realize that Dax was simply a high needs baby (really... you should read this).
He cried screamed most of the day, he was an extremely light sleeper, nursing was a battle, he didn't want anyone other than mommy, he threw himself backwards arching that back as far as he could, he wanted to be held all the time, I felt like I was walking on egg shells (making it scary for me to leave the house), change and transition was awful for him, and he just simply was not a happy baby.
During this time, I was hearing how wonderful and happy other people kids were.... and I often heard things like "he's a handful Kandice", "he's spoiled rotten", "our kids never did that", "you need to change how you do ____", "I've never seen a baby act like that".  It was very disheartening.... and I think that's the reason why I never talked about it to anyone. I had the kid that was different... the one that people probably talked about when I was out of sight... and he was just a baby... so it was obviously something I was doing wrong. I had decided that I was never having another kid because I was not cut out for being a mom.... therefore crushing what I had known since I was very little was the one thing I wanted to be when I grew up... a mommy.

Dax did best in wrapped tight or in tight spaces. He slept great here.

As time went on things got better (he was closer to a year old). He got big enough to say a few words, learn some sign language, and get around on his own. And I got better at reading his cues and meeting whatever need he had before a meltdown. Meltdowns happened less often... but still happened several times a day and on the drop of a dime. And things just keep getting better... slowly but surely.
Now at 2 1/2... life is much more manageable. He is able to express his needs and emotions. He still loves hard and fights hard. He's passionate, energetic, high strung, and strong willed. Our biggest issues at this point are sensory issues, he gets really frustrated with the dogs really fast, he's impatient, and really strong willed.

Having a high needs kid is tough to say the least. I wish there was some magical advice I could give to mommas but there just isn't.... because each of our high needs kids is so different. There are a few things that made my life easier and more manageable... and also a few things that hindsight has given me...
1.  Look for support. I thought I was the only person with a baby like Dax. But hindsight has shown me that it's a lot more common than I thought.  Unless a momma has a high needs baby... they're not going to "get" what you're going through, they're just not. And things that work for your everyday baby aren't going to work for a high need baby.
2. Find some "me" time. And outlet. Whether that's journaling, meditating, praying, talking with a friend, or just vegging out on the couch watching something completely ridiculous on the couch. And high needs babies don't let you have much of it... so grab it when you can (5 minutes here, 5 minutes there).
3. Baby wearing. Baby wearing helped a lot when Dax was little. It gave him a sense of closeness to me, it gave him the sensory feeling of tightness that he liked, and it let me get some things done.

4. Sign language. Signing helped a lot for us. Dax was able to give me a few signs before he could talk and that allowed me to meet some of his needs before a melt down. Eat, water, more, milk, and help were big ones for us.
5. Watch for cues. All babies have some sort of cue when they're hungry, tired, or getting frustrated. And mommies can pick them out better than everyone. Just watch for those and meet that need as soon as you see that cue.
6. Learn to let what people say go in one ear and out the other. But also stand up for yourself when you need to. When you're being flooded with remarks on how your baby acts, inform them on high need babies. And when you're being told that you're spoiling your baby, let that go in one ear and out the other.
7. As your baby grows... make sure you're giving them the words for their emotions. "You're angry" or "You're sad" or "You're frustrated". Now at 2 Dax can tell me what emotion he's feeling and it's a huge help.
8. Do breathing techniques. Hold that baby as close to your chest as you can and take big deep breathes. This will help them feel close and help regulate their breathing.... helping them and YOU calm down.
9. Plan everything. High needs babies don't handle change in environments or schedules well. Be a little less spontaneous for awhile and prepare for outings to take quite a bit longer than they usually would. Go into the event expecting a meltdown... that way when it happens (because we all know it will) you will be prepared and won't get as frustrated.
10. Happiest Baby on the Block helped a lot when Dax was small. He hated when we first started... but after screaming for a minute he was quickly stop and cheer right up.

swaddled tight... part of Happiest Baby on the Block

The other four "S's" of Happiest Baby on the Block... side/stomach position, swinging, shhhh sound, and sucking.

11. And my biggest piece of advice that I'm just now realizing... find the beauty in your high needs child.  Realize that these traits that are just completely wearing you down now will be what makes them an amazing adult. They're going to grow up to be strong, strong leaders. They're not going to be pushed around and they are going to have beliefs and values that they stick to. They're going to give everything they have in every aspect of their life... whether it be in their work, how they love, etc.

I saw this personality profile of high needs kids on pinterest and just loved it. It gave me comfort knowing he was like other kiddos and gave me hope for the future. Here's the list as given by Dr. Sears... and I highlighted all of the ones in the infant and toddler category that fit Dax... just so you can see how accurate it is :)
 Infant:  alert, intense, draining, demanding, cries impressively, loud, unconsolable, supersensitive, high touch. (no exaggeration... I would use every single one of those words to describe him as an infant)
Toddler-Child: busy, high strung, exhausting, spunky, energetic, stubborn, impatient, strong willed, obstinate, discerning, challenging, expressive, tantrum prone, interesting, tender, huggable (again... no exaggeration)
Teen-Adult: Enthusiastic, deep, passionate, resourceful, dominating, opinionated, determined, persistent, insightful, fair, sociable, compassionate, empathetic, caring, affectionate.  (these are teen and adult.. but the highlighted ones I already see in Daxton's personality... so I can't wait to see what sort of wonderful adult he grows into).

Know you're not alone mommas....

The 52 Project

 My biggest purpose in this blog is to document Daxton as he grows. I use it as a sort of "baby book" with intentions of one day printing pages and sticking them in a binder for him.

I also know that I do really well with set deadlines/plans/goals.

So with those two ideas in mind.... I decided to join the 52 project at a blog I read, Che' and Fidel.

With this project I'll capture a single photo of Daxton a week.... an expression, detail, moment, etc that I want to remember.

So by the end of the year... I'll have 52 wonderful pictures of moments I want to remember to make a scrapbook of.  I'm starting on the fourth week in so today I'll post my first 3 pictures from previous weeks... and then this weeks pictures.

1/52

Double chins and remote control cars for the first time

 

2/52

Curious chunky fingers

3/52

Choo choo trains and monkey jammies

4/52

 

 Tiny sunglasses, scarves, and froggy hats. 

He got told at Chic'fil'a, "that kids awesome!!" by a 7ish year old boy

Matthew 6:34

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

This is going to be the motto of my life for the next 4-5 months that's for sure.

Our calender is quickly filling up with award dinners, match day activities, commencements, graduations, etc...

And then there's Valentines Day, birthdays, and graduation gifts... 

And don't forget things like our lease ending at our current house in April, not getting to close on a house (in who knows where) until late May/June, packing our entire house, finding a storage unit, changing addresses and accounts to a completely new state....

oh, and there's this little person that depends on me 24/7 to take care of him and teach him... can't forget that...

also the fact that Daniel is getting ready to start a rural rotation where he'll be gone M-F.... leaving just me and said little person....

 

and last but not least... the stress that the "unknown" has on me... a person who likes to have a set plan all.the.time.

So if we're ever chitchatting between now and the end of May... or you just feel like sending me a sweet message, comment, or email.... please remind me to enjoy the process as well. To take each moment day by day. And to not worry about tomorrow. Thanks friends

Linking Up

I'm a big reader of blogs that are written by medical wives since we're right smack dab in the middle of our journey. Well a blog that I recently started reading, Medicine: A Love Story has started a link up on Thursdays.... and I decided I wanted to try to take part in it! I"m hoping to start writing more about our medical journey as the next 5 years are about to get nuts-o so I figured this would be a good starting point.... so here goes nothing!
  

This weeks question: What's the most interesting medical fact you've learned vicariously?

Being married to someone in medicine you learn a lot. I mean let's face it.... you're basically a doctor too (Daniel loves it when I say that). A few things super interesting, some things helpful, a lot of things you could care less about, and a ton of things that just make you say "ew". I'll start with a helpful fact I learned.... and then move on to something more exciting.... and "ew" fact.

Helpful fact: As I'm sure most moms were (unless they happen to be in the medical field too), my mom gave Tylenol the second my temperature got to 99.9.  "Got to keep that fever down!"  "Don't want to have a seizure!" Ideas that that were common in my house/family in general (and I still hear them anytime I tell them my little boy has a fever). But since I've been on this medical school journey I now know that fevers are great! Yeah, they mean you're sick, but you want a fever. I means your body is doing what it's suppose to and fighting the infection. So as long as you don't have a history of seizures, you're not in pain, and you're not rockin a temp of over 104..... it's probably safe just to wait out on the Tylenol.  Cue, "You're a crazy lady, I'm given my kid Tylenol right now" faces.  For me that's great knowledge since I don't like using medicine for myself (or little one) unless I absolutely have to :)

Now onto the part you've been waiting for.... my "ew" medical fact.  This will be short and sweet. Because I don't like to think about it....
While eating dinner I was putting butter on some corn on the cob (sometimes it's just necessary to make your healthy food a little less healthy) and Daniel, out of no where says.... "you know what cauterized fat looks like?"  and before I could even say "No...  I rather not know"..... he  splurts out "butter".
Nice babe, nice.

"Maybe" was the Winner

So update on the last post.....  In the Potty Training vs Maybe battle.....  Maybe won..... this time.

So come day 4 of doing great potty training.... someone had absolutely no interest any more. He was very emotional and whiny. He has 5 teeth coming in (two of which are 2 year old molars) and is also having ear issues so I'm guessing that was part of it. So I didn't push it and we'll wait until March to try again unless he shows interest on his own again (I'm saying March because teething should be over then, he will hopefully have his ear issues resolved by then, and daddy will be back from a month long rotation out of town.).

I was a little bummed because he was doing so good.... but I rather him be completely ready on his own than me push him. 

I'll let you know when we decide to try again :)

Potty Training.... maybe?

So the title of this blog sums up the last 2 1/2 days for us. We could possibly be in the official business of potty training.... maybe.... we'll see how it goes.
Friday morning I took Daxton's diaper off and let him run around the house naked. I didn't have any intentions on making it a potty training experience... just simply letting him get some fresh air. But when he started peeing while we were playing I hurried and carried him to the potty and he finished up there. From there I decided to try out some naked potty training. I thought "why not".... we have nothing better to do today so we'll see how it goes.
I was completely surprised (that's probably an understatement) at how awesome he did)! By the end of the day on Friday he had peed in the potty over 50% of the time and even got to the point where he would be playing, stop what he was doing, and run to the potty completely on his own.
Saturday morning we were at Target so I bought some underwear just to try out. We put them on him when we got home and quickly found out that naked was the way to go with Dax for now. If he had underwear on he would just pee in them and not think anything about it..... but if he was naked he would stop as soon as the tiniest amount of pee came out and run to the bathroom to finish. Needless to say, Daxton was naked from the waste down again all day Saturday. I was really shocked after nap when he was having snack at the table (still in his diaper from sleeping) and said "mommy i need to go pee) and ran to the bathroom! By the end of the day we had peed mostly in the potty and even went #2 in the potty completely on his own!! (As in came out of the bathroom saying "Mommy I poop").
We're now at Sunday morning and still doing great! As we speak this is going on....

 Someone wanted to watch Barney and I knew he wouldn't dare leave the TV long enough to go potty so I made a little set up for him in the living room.

I think one of the biggest reasons this has been successful is because he has had a potty sitting around the house for almost a year now that he has been able to get comfortable with and sit on whenever he wants. We also have a pretty open door policy when mommy and daddy are going potty too so Dax has been able to learn from that and realize that it's a natural thing. We also have never pushed going potty. This has to be something they're completely ready for themselves and the more you push the longer it takes.

So if you're thinking about trying out a little bit of naked potty training on your own then here are my biggest tips..
#1:  Try and do it over a few days span where both parents are home (or a parent and another adult). It's completely exhausting! You have to watch your little one 110% of the time so you can see cues that they're getting ready to potty. And there's lots of cleaning carpet, emptying potty seats, wiping up floors and legs. It's tiring.... very tiring. So try to have some support there for yourself!
#2: Have lots of these around...

 Stickers, paper towels, and carpet/surface cleaning product. You'll do lots of cleaning carpet and bathroom floors (especially with little boys).  And every little kid loves a good sticker after they potty. But for Dax the most effective rewards has been ridiculous singing and dancing on mommy and daddy's part while singing a pee pee in the potty song!

 New books and toys! Dax loves sitting on the potty and reading his new books and playing with toys! It makes the potty a fun, relaxing place to be!

 We we made this mistake of getting super excited and giving Dax candy after the first few times he pottied... well he quickly learned that making himself pee... even the tiniest drop... would get him something yummy. We ended up opting for a bowl of m&m's or sixlets and only giving him one or two little pieces each time. This was enough to satisfy him.

Potty training is a process and it's going to take longer than a few days to get it down. Dax is making baby steps. He has gone from just peeing all over the floor, to starting to pee and then stopping himself and finishing in the potty, to going in the bathroom all on his own and doing the entire act. And I'm sure he'll have good days and bad days.... but we're just taking it day by day. If this ends up being the starts of him potty training then great.... but if he decided tomorrow he doesn't want to go anymore we won't make him. We'll take a break and wait until he's ready. I'll keep y'all posted!

Dear Daxton

Dear Daxton,

Last Friday was the saddest day of your little life, one of the saddest of my life, and will remain in history as one of the saddest days for this country.

20 sweet babies, only 4-5 years older than you, the same age as your best friend/cousin Zain, became angels in a horrible, horrible tragedy.

Luckily you're little enough that it didn't phase you. While mommy listened to live coverage streaming online, you watched Rudolph with all of your 2 year old innocence.

Mommy cried.... and you watched Rudolph.

I first pictured myself being the parents waiting at the fire station to be reunited with their little ones.... only for that to never happen.

I then pictured you being one of the babies in that school hearing the things they heard and seeing the things they saw.

I then pictured mommy as a teacher in that school. Most people don't realize how much teachers love their students.  We love each and every one of those kids like they're our own. I never called the kids in my class my students, they were always my "babies". And this year, as I got a Christmas card from a little girl I first taught 5 years ago I told your daddy that it was a picture of one of my "babies". The kids in our classes are our babies for the rest of our lives. And I couldn't imagine that happening to my babies.

This weekend, I appreciated all the small things. I watched you play in your toy car and smiled. I watched you lay on the couch and watch movies and smiled. I watched you throw your body down on the ground in a fit, and still smiled.

On Saturday night you were up every hour. And each time I walked into your room half asleep, I was thankful. 20 families don't get to wake up during the night with their little ones because of bad dreams or not feeling well. I sat in the dark in your room and cried tears of thankfulness that I still have you, and tears of sorrow for heavens new 20 angels.

Mommy is still having a hard time dealing with the emotions. I worried about your cousins as they went to school today, I worried about my teacher friends as they returned to work, I worried about all of my past babies that are now elementary schools. I picture you as a 6 year old each time they show the faces of the sweet angels on tv. I worry about the future and your safety.

But for now I'm going to be thankful. Daddy and I left today to go out of town for interviews and it was hard.  I asked Melissa what to do, daddy what to do, and mawmaw what to do. You're not feeling well so that made the decision hard, but I think deep down it came down to me not wanting to be separated from you.... because 20 families are now separated from their families forever. We left and as we pulled out of the neighborhood I cried. But we can't live in fear.

I've called mawmaw about a million times already and I get to hear you in the background each time. I can still hear your voice and smile. 20 other families can't.

Daxton, mommy loves you very much. From loss, great things can come. For me, it's a better appreciation for the small moments in my life with you. Appreciating your fits, your tantrums, your cries in the night, your hugs, your smiles, and your "I love you"s.

Love you forever,
Mommy


Sleep in heavenly peace sweet angels. We will never forget.

Balancing Christmas

This is one of my new purchases this Christmas season... and I absolutely adore it. To me it is so thought provoking and really embodies the Christmas season.
Over the last month or so I've been really thinking about Christmas and what I want it to be for our family. I'm a big Santa person and tradition person, so I didn't want to completely drop those.... but I also don't want Christmas to be so commercial in our home as it is. And even more importantly.... I wanted to put a stronger emphasis on Jesus and the true meaning for the season than I feel most people do these days.
Also while browsing over the last month (because I start thinking about Christmas the first cool day in fall... it's sad... I know) I found Elf on a Shelf and thought it would be a super fun tradition to start in our family. I mostly just liked the idea of how mischievous the Elf becomes at night and waking up to a new surprise each morning (I mean how fun is that?!).

So how in the world was I going to incorporate Santa, Elf on a Shelf, and most importantly religion?

Here's what Daniel and I decided Christmas was going to be for us and our family....
There is a Santa, and there are Elves, toys, reindeer, North Pole... the whole nine yards. But there is also God.... and he and Santa think a lot alike. Santa believes in all the things God believes in... and hopes that all the boys and girls around the world believe those things too. That's why our Santa doesn't watch to see if you're "naughty or nice". We won't be using (and will encourage our family not to use it with Dax) the old, "Santa's watching and if you're not good he won't bring you any presents". Because really.... who's not going to give their kid presents? Instead, our Santa watches to see if you have a kind heart. If you love others, show compassion and kindness and grace. He watches throughout the year to see if you're trying your absolute hardest to be the best person you can be. Elf on a shelf shows this perfectly. He can be pretty ornery and mischievous each night, but he loves others and has a kind heart so that's all that really matters. And we're all going to slip and make a mistake every now and then... we're not perfect, Elf isn't perfect, and Santa isn't either... he just wants to see you learn from your mistake. He wants you to have a heart like God. And that's what our Elf will be watching for.... not to see if you're being good or bad, but to watch and see if your actions and words are matching a heart of kindness and love. And on Christmas Day, Santa shows his love to you by sharing gifts with you, rewarding all of your hard work all year to be the very best person you can be. Santa can't give us a gift as precious as the one God gave us, so special presents just for you are his way of saying "Good job, keep up the good work. Keep learning, growing, and loving."

So in our house there won't be your typical "naughty or nice" and your typical list of all the toys you're wishing for each year. There will be acts of kindness, words of compassion and love.... and through those things, Santa will give you just the perfect special gift that he knows you'll love.


After writing this post a found a couple others on pinterest that have thoughts similar to mine.... check them out and maybe you can start a new tradition of belief in your home too.
Jesus, Santa, and the Elf on the Shelf
It's Beginning to Look A Lot....

A Day in the Life

My new job as stay at home mom is going great. Dax and I have adjusted to all the changes and things are going so smoothly.... better than I ever thought they would. It's been almost a month now since I quit working and one of the best months ever.
As cheesy as it may sound, I feel more complete, satisfied, and most surprisingly, accomplished than I have ever felt before. Accomplished.... by staying at home with my boy. I knew I would be happier, less stressed, more satisfied, and like a better mom..... but this overwhelming feeling of accomplishment is what has taken me by surprise.
I had moments of feeling accomplished while teaching... that moment when the light bulb goes off for a kid, or when they tell you they love you, or when you know you've made a difference in their day. But this completely, 100%, overwhelming sense of accomplishment has never been felt until I started staying home.  This is what I'm meant to be doing at this moment in time. There's no doubt about it.

My first week of staying home I made a plan of attack... because think about it, how easy would it be to be to just sit my little butt on the couch all day in my pj's and relax.  I settled on a routine for Dax and I that would fit us and keep up both on track with life. Here's a peak at what our day is like...

Dax wakes up anywhere between 6-7am. We have a little bit of cuddle time on the couch and he usually wants a snack (a light breakfast... think granola bar or some dried cereal). After that he usually plays for a bit while I drink some coffee and finish waking up (it's a process that takes a little bit). Usually around 8am we have actual breakfast. After breakfast I start my chores. I am my most productive in the mornings so I decided I would devote most of my morning to my chores and all of the afternoon to Dax (of course if a teachable moment arises in the morning or if he wants me to sit and play with him or read a book I'll stop what I'm doing and do that). I searched all over pinterest for a cleaning schedule to use but ended up making my own..

This seriously has worked out great and is very helpful in giving me a goal/plan for each day. We also use morning time to go on walks a couple times a week around our neighborhood. Usually around 10:30 we'll go back to Daxton's room and read some books, sing songs, and do our yoga (I bought this book and we love it... Dax will bring it to me and ask to do it). Usually after this we go outside for about an hour until lunch. Around 12:30 or 1 Dax will lay down for nap. I use nap time as me time... time to sit, relax, blog, read (this was my hubby's great idea). The rest of the afternoon is devoted to Dax. We play, do art, wrestle, sing, dance, read.... basically whatever he wants to do. I've been making sure to do a planned project with him at least every other day. I believe kids learn most through play so I don't plan a whole lot... but I do want to provide some planned experiences for him.

Not my typical art project for him but couldn't pass up some Candy Corn foot print magnets. I ended up cutting these out, laminating them, and writing "Trick or treat, smell my feet" and them and making magnets.

Fall stickers

We made a road for his car

He is starting to get really creative with his buildings.  (I made the base for the house but he hunted down all the triangles and piled them on the top of it)

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

The title shows my secret love for David Bowie (don't judge)..... but it's so so fitting.

So since the last post (only a short month ago) our lives have been so busy, full of changes and new experiences. We'll start with the biggest change for us...

Shortly after my last post we made our decision public that I would be quitting my job teaching and start my new career as a stay at home mom. This was a decision that we had been talking about and planning for quite awhile. We knew that we would be questioned about our choice by some people, therefore didn't tell anyone until after I already had my notice in and the decision was made. Luckily most people have been very supportive... at least to our face. And that's all we're asking for. They don't have to like our decision (we don't expect for anyone other than us to see why this was so important for us) but we do want them to be supportive. It's the old saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all"  :)  We know 110% that this is the absolute best thing for our family at this time. We are entering a new chapter in our life where Daniel is going to be traveling every.single.week. until after Christmas. He'll be home for January but will again be gone for the entire month of February. After that we'll be moving come May for residency. Because of all this, we decided that it was very, very important for Dax to have one, stable, consistent caregiver for him at all times. We loved his daycare but it was just that... a daycare. And anyone that knows anything about daycares knows that teachers are in and out of rooms all the time. There's very little consistency and during a time of so much change at our house that's the one thing he really needs. So for the sake of Daxton's maximal social and emotional development, the decision of me staying home was an easy one. Another big factor for us was being able to take advantage of any time we can get as a family. Daniel's schedule is crazy, rarely consistent, and will be even more crazy when he starts traveling. We wanted to be able to take advantage of any time we can get as a family. He has days off here and there, hours off here and there throughout the week. If I was working and Dax as at school, we would miss out on a lot of time with Daniel. When he starts traveling for interviews me and Dax will be able to go with him to some; getting some quality family time in and getting a chance to see places that we might actually call home in a few months.
Final point is this.... yeah, we are going to be on a tight budget for 8-9 months, and yeah, we'll have some extra loan money to pay back. But that means nothing to us. Our family's well being and health are significantly more important to us, and that's all that matters.

And a brief note for all the other changes taking place for us lately and keeping us super busy! Dax has started soccer!!! It's a once a week parent/child class for 40 minutes. It's adorable. An our little man is so strange. Most people get their kids involved in these activities to interact with other kids.... but Dax needs work interacting with adults. He clams up and just doesn't function if adults, particularly young female adults (think teens and early 20s) talk to him. So for the first several weeks we would spend about half of the class on the bench watching before he would decide it was safe to play. But last week we had a break through and he played the entire time! WOOOHOOO!

This is what the first several weeks looks like. If we weren't sitting on the bench we were standing at the edge of the field, Dax frozen like a statue and us trying to encourage him to play.

The class is precious. They do the regular soccer things like running, kicking balls, making goals. But they also do games to help them follow instructions, talk about colors, and learn teamwork.

And the final thing that has been keeping us busy is interview season! Daniel has submitted his application to over 40 General Surgery residency programs across the country. The past few weeks have been full of scheduling and planning for interview travels. He is doing really good and has had a lot of offers so far. Our calendar though isn't doing so well. It's crazy full with travel plans. Daniel will be traveling every.single.week. through the end of December for interviews, with the exception of the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas (but we'll be traveling to OKC then). So needless to say, we've been busy scheduling flights, hotels, mapping out trips, researching cities & schools. The next several months is going to be crazy that's for sure.

Well that's our crazy life full of changes. I'm going to leave you with some pics of some great family time we've got to have since I've started staying home. Enjoy.... they're pretty cute.

Time fishing at the lake...

A trip to Frontier City with family...

Visiting the Cowboy Hall of Fame with family...

A tea party with my niece...

Visiting Meemaw and Pawpaw.