Paci-Free in 4 Weeks or Less - Week 3

What a huge change I've seen in Lily this week without her pacifiers. She hasn't even asked for them. She still has them in her bed for nighttime, but maybe we'll get past that in the very near future. She even seems to be exploring her world a little more - maybe because her hands are free and not holding onto her "paci bouquet" (when she holds 4-5 of them in one hand it reminds me of a wedding bouquet). I had even joked that one day we could make her a paci bouquet when she grows up and gets married. She's well on her way to earning Spike the Ultra Dinosaur!

Ride of the Valkyr...uh...Valco

I keep hearing that classical song in my head, Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner (prounounced Vaaahg-ner). Go here if you need a refresher in classical German composers of the 1850s. We just added the third seat to the Valco Baby stroller. It is WAY cool, although, it's probably easier to push a loaded grocery cart down the crowded aisles of Walmart than jogging behind this monster of a machine when loaded down. I tallied it up and I'm probably pushing no less than 140 lbs. But I feel good about being able to get back into my running routine now that all 3 children can ride along. On the bright side, I'll be getting a more intense workout each time we head out the door for a jog. The Valco rides again...

Paci-Free in 4 Weeks - Week 2

Lily is doing great with giving up her pacifiers during the day. She has even stopped asking for them. However, she has replaced the paci habit with a new habit: nail biting. I'm not sure which habit is worse. She has chewed almost all of her nails down to the skin. Today she chewed them so much her finger started bleeding. When Lily sees blood she has a complete meltdown which involves screaming, crying, and body shakes. I think it sends her into a full-fledged panic attack. I've been reassured by the doctor that no one has died from a panic attack so it's not detrimental to her health if she goes hysterical - that's good to know. I guess the reward chart is working and helping us toward our ultimate goal, but I'm not exactly sure how to handle the nail biting now. Check back next week on our progress and hopefully I will have found a solution for stopping the nail biting.

Griffin is 5 Months

Happy, smiley, talkey, and squirmy - that's my little Griffin! He is so full of life. His personality is vibrant and it shines through more each day. He is laid back, yet, energetic. He is getting a little more mobile the way he squirms and rolls his way around a room. He enjoys looking at toys and exploring them with his mouth. It's like he's trying to absorb everything in his environment. Just the other day I saw him roll over and stare intently out the back door window for what seemed like 10 minutes - maybe he'll be the contemplator in the family. Ha ha!!

He still enjoys watching Lily and Schaeffer as they play around him. I can tell that he's eager to get in the middle of the action. In about 2 more months I bet he will have it figured out. Watch out Lily and Schaeffer!

Just recently, Griffin has been sleeping in his crib in his own room. That transition hasn't gone so great. He has not been a terrific sleeper since birth so the transition from our room to his room just disturbed the little bit of sleep rhythm that we established. But he has outgrown his Moses basket that he loves so much. It was really cute watching him try to get comfortable in his basket because sometimes he'd throw his leg up over the side just to stretch out. I knew it was time to move to the crib.

Griffin is also a little communicator. He will make lots of noise and wave his arms up and down to get my attention. As soon as I turn to look at him, he grins really big as if to say "I got your attention, Mommy! Now talk to me and tell me how much you love me!" He's successfully mastering communication skills.

The Great Knoxville Park Tour

Okay, so maybe we aren't touring all the great parks across the nation, but we are trying to visit one park per week in and around Knoxville. Since the weather has gotten cooler, and we are still experiencing longer daylight, we've decided to do a picnic dinner in local parks once per week. This is week 3 of our tour, and we hope to visit either the new playground at the World's Fair Park or Island Home park on the river. We have visited Whitlow Park in Sequoyah Hills and West Hills Park. Whitlow is a tiny, quaint park in the heart of Sequoyah Hills tucked in between some cute "little" houses (little for Sequoyah Hills standards). And West Hills is a large, busy park surrounded by West Hills neighborhood, I-40, YMCA, West Towne Mall and some schools and churches.

Since adding Griffin to our family things are busier around the house, but other parts of our lives have slowed down. It's more challenging to leave the house with 3 kids aged 4 and under. And it has definitely gotten more difficult to eat out in restaurants. We've learned to take our time and be patient in everything we do - we really don't have a choice otherwise. The kids dance to the beat of their own drums and each one has a different rhythm. Our picnic in the park fits perfectly into our new lifestyle. The kids have the chance to run, climb, jump and explore. And BJ and I (and Griffin) have the chance to relax on a big quilt spread out on the grass.

Paci-free in 4 Weeks or Less! - Week 1

We've started another reward chart with Lily. This time the reward is Spike the Ultra Dinosaur and it's to motivate her to give up her pacifiers during the day. She is still allowed to use them at nighttime. She's not allowed to bring the pacifiers out of her room. If she needs a "fix" during the day she can get on her bed and use her paci's. But I've even tried to help her from using them at all during the day. She will tell me that she really needs them so I try to find a good substitute. Yesterday she chewed two pieces of bubble gum and chomped on a raw carrot. So far today she has only asked for them once and I gave her a sliced apple. The crunchy stuff seems to work really great to get her past her craving. I sort of feel like I'm trying to break her from an addiction or something. BJ asked me yesterday if there was a Paci Patch. Sheesh! I wish! That would be way easier. My hope has been all along that she would be willing to give up her paci's before age 5. And so far we are on the right track. This is the first time she has been willing to consider giving them up for a reward. Spike is something she has wanted and begged for for a long time and it seems to be doing the trick, well at least for the first 2 days. But I think if she can stick with it the paci's could be 100% gone in 4 weeks or less.

New (but now outdated) Photo Uploaded

I finally added a photo of Griffin at 4 mos. He is now 5 mos so I'll be adding more updated photos soon.