A few changes for the Riches…

Okay…don’t get too excited—this is minor in anyone else’s world—but BIG stuff over here! As you may recall, we’ve been really easy going when it comes to Par and his sleeping—we let him take naps when he wanted—go to sleep at night when he wanted to—and yes, we let him sleep with us every night since we left Gainesville back in 2007.

We did this for a variety of reasons—and as time went on Par’s needs evolved but our arrangement always seemed to still work well with our little boy. He took solid naps each day and has always slept through the night—we had no complaints.

A few weeks ago Par picked up a second nap (the second nap that he had dropped a year earlier)…at first I didn’t really care because I could do more stuff around the house—but after a few days it worried me—all his sleeping was pushing lunch later and having an impact on his dinner. After some investigating I discovered that our precious little guy was sleep deprived. Yikes! The remedy? Duh, more sleep.

So…we began implementing a schedule (GASP! I just despise schedules)—and…..A BEDTIME! I really didn’t know how this would work—Par was such a good napper that I never had to put him to sleep for a nap—and bedtime, well—unless he fell asleep beforehand, he just went to sleep when we did…so this literally was brand new to us.

Okay—so fast forward 14 days—as of today—Par has again dropped that second nap and is happily taking his afternoon nap after about 10 minutes of coaching (and lasting about 2 solid hours) and is bouncing into his big boy bed a little before 8 each night—and asleep after 32 rounds of Jesus Loves Me and 120 God Bless Uncle Joe’s (you know, "God bless mama, God bless daddy, God bless Uncle Joe"—except he says uncle Joe over and over and over—he must know something we don’t) ….and they say that sleep begets sleep—does it? Hmmm...not so sure —well, there is no way he is sleep deprived anymore when he starts bounding through the house at 6:30 AM….

I’d like to say he is sleeping in his room through the night—baby steps my friends. We’re taking it slow—keep in mind, he is sleeping in a big boy bed (the kid has never slept in a baby bed) and so there is a certain point of “awakeness” in the middle of the night that just seems safer to let him get in our bed than to leave him upset in a dark room wide awake crying. He has come so far in such a short time—I don’t want to rush anything….so, average night he gets in our bed around 2am….our best night so far….4:30 am….

Speaking of not rushing things…Par has been potty training himself…I’ve seen the signs—I’ve reacted to them cautiously so not to scare him away—but apparently, I’m not doing enough so Par has taken over and just tells me he needs to go potty---we head that way—we sit on the potty---he reads a magazine—I get impatient and think he must not need to go---so I take him off and then….he tee-tees on the floor and looks at me like, “I said I needed to potty, why did you do that”---we had a lot of that this past weekend—patience is not my strong suit—But the same thing has happened to Rusty—and I wonder how much of it Par is doing on purpose…hmmmm…one thing is for sure, the boy loves LOVES to be naked...and M&M's (which he gets each time he goes potty)...

And because he is starting to potty train, I’ve been busy sewing a fall/winter potty training friendly wardrobe for Par (and a few things for the baby)—His Gigi, Boo and Minnie smocked a few inserts for his shirts--I got carried away with making little pants, we have a few t-shirts to match pants, and my favorite--a winter coat!

I love this pattern--it was so easy and quick to sew--I am going to make him a raincoat and light-weight jacket as soon as I get the fabric! Take look—won’t he be precious!!!! And...at the end of the slide show is a hint of Par's Halloween costume--he is going to be precious!!!!

Oh…some not so great news…Par has been denied for Synagis (RSV shot)—he was denied last year too—but after letters from Dr. Kays and our pediatrician, he got the shots. The overall consensus is that it doesn’t help children over 2 years of age without chronic lung issues---and this is probably true—but we are unique (Par is more susceptible and has very small lungs and it could be devastating) and Dr. Kays, our pediatrician and 2 pediatric Pulmonologists that he asked all said that Par should still get it and would still benefit from the shot—but there is just nothing they can do to get it for us. Thankfully, since Par is older, he most likely would fare better if he were to get it—but still, it is very dangerous for him. So…another season of limited contact/exposure to people—and lots of outside play—thankfully we have mild winters (and really cute outfits now)! Par will be getting the flu shot this coming week and he is on the list to receive the Swine Flu vaccine when it gets here in October.

I had my Gestational Diabetes test (all pregnant women get this test) today—and I passed! Woo Hoo! I didn’t have Gestational diabetes with Par and I am so thankful that I don’t have to worry about that this time either. Everything else seems right on track—and everything seems normal! He moves/somersaults/kicks all the time---but especially when Par is near—either when Par is talking or when Par is in my lap. I wonder if this is a sign of things to come…



Par is a talker—he talks nonstop. Sometimes we don’t have any idea what he is saying—and sometimes it is very clear. He repeats everything and can say (or attempt to say) anything. I love listening to him say “dinosaur”—it is so cute…....almost as cute as how he looks in his dinosaur outfit...



And at night, when we say our prayers….we are teaching him The Lords Prayer—we do it one line at a time…this is what Par says—phonetically of course…we are almost there:

Our Father (Are pauper)

Who Art in Heaven (who are heaben)

Hallowed be thy Name (Hallow name)

Thy Kingdom Come (King Come)

Thy Will be done (Done)

On earth as it is in heaven (heaben)

Give us this day (----)

Our daily bread (daily bed)

And forgive us our trespasses (pesses)

As we forgive those (-----)

Who trespass against us (us)

And lead us not into temptation (Tation)

But deliver us from evil (evil). (He says this word with a creepy grin...and I know it is because Rusty and I start laughing when he says it...we are way too immature to be parents!)


In closing...a peak at my latest sewing project that doesn't involve me sitting at a sewing machine...a little something for Christmas time...I just have to sew 144 more of these!!!