More Party!

"More Party" is what Simeon told me today the morning after his party! I'm so glad he had fun. It was a lot of work, and a little crazy the morning of the party. I think Momma may have been a little impatient with the birthday boy as we were trying to get the cars packed, and get to the pool and set up. So I was really glad when it came together and he had a good time! He loved his crown, and of course I loved that. He also loved being the center of his family's attention. It was great fun being together with our families to celebrate this special day!

I still can't believe he's so big. My dad commented on the difference a year can make. Last year he had fun, but was a little clueless about what was going on. This year we had talked it up, and he was looking forward to the cake especially:)

Blessings in Disguise

I'll post better pictures soon, I promise! Miso soup through a straw, oh yeah!

I have been thinking about this post for awhile. We have been wanting to get out of our house since we got married, but it hasn't happened for one reason or another. We have been steadily fixing it up bit by bit. Then the curse of the Yazoo clay got to us. The things we fixed up may have to be refixed. And this home is becoming a money pit. So it has been hard for us to be positive about this house. Daniel bought it before we got married and together I don't think it's what we would have picked. So now we are definitely going to be fixing the foundation and it isn't cheap so we're going to be here another year or two at the least. So recently I started thinking about the things I really like about our home:

-We are 2 minutes at the most from my parents and about 5 from Daniel's. That is really convenient and Simeon loves being close to his grandparents. He can identify where they live and requests to go there often. I am so grateful that he has such a close relationship with all his grandparents.

-We are in a very convenient location to almost everything. The interstate is so close.

-We have really some really nice neighbors. There are some people who have lived in this neighborhood for a really long time, several original owners still live in their homes. They are so sweet to us. We do a lot of walking especially because we have a crazy dog and not much back yard so we see a lot of people out.

-We are close to church and somehow manage to be late still. Ughh, it is hard to get anywhere with a two year old.

-I love that we don't have a split plan. I'm an attached momma and love being able to hear my child without a monitor, he's right next door. I never would have thought about this in the same way before I was a Momma.

-It isn't two story, I really can't keep this house very tidy and there are no stairs to climb.

-Simeon and Barley both love looking out the windows, and they're all really low to the floor in this house.

I won't share my dislike list, because the positivity is so good for me:)

Who is an AP parent?

Playful Parenting in Action!

Well I am, and I have thought about this a lot recently. I became interested in Attachment Parenting after watching the way a friend of mine parented her child. She is one of the most gentle, nurturing, calm mom I have ever been around. And she did things differently than me and it really worked. She could take her sensitive, high-needs child to the side and talk to her if she was having difficulty sharing and she came back with a better attitude. Our beginning ventures into discipline were not going well and it was interesting to me how well this worked for her. So I borrowed a few of her books and was sold on the theory, it makes sense and I've seen it work. A good friend of hers started a local AP group, but sadly had to move. So me and three other moms have started the application process for leadership. And I say process, I don't have much free time and the free time I have I can't always sit down and think.

So my husband and I are working out how Attachment Parenting will work in our family. There is this perception upon learning about AP that you have to be perfect to really be AP. And the goals are truly lofty. But there are a variety of moms in our local group from all sorts of situations who are working out how they can apply AP principles in their family. I have read some great books that have already enhanced my parenting. My absolute favorite is anything by Dr. Sears. Right now I'm reading his book The Complete Book of Christian Parenting and Child Care: A Medical and Moral Guide to Raising Happy Healthy Children . He and his wife are some of the biggest promoters of AP and it is very important to me that there are Christians involved in the movement. Our local group is mostly Christian and I do pray for our group, and that really strengthens me to know that God's will will be done. I know already I have learned things that have helped make me a more gentle and compassionate parent. I definitely can't do it without prayer.

So in reading about AP it is easy to picture a group of breastfeeding, co-sleeping, perfectly calm, always happy to be with their kids every second of the day moms. We all have our own unique struggles. I personally haven't bed-shared with Simeon, but the moms that do seem to get more sleep so we're willing to try it next time. And there are other benefits of course. And some of us had trouble breastfeeding or babywearing. Most of us are SAHM, but there are a few working moms in the group. And I think positive discipline is a big struggle for many of us, especially me! But we all want to build a bond of trust with our kids. So there may be more AP posts coming soon. There is a lot of research out there in favor of AP, and I am a science nerd at heart after all. So it isn't based on just opinions. But for me the clincher is it is working for our family, helping us to love each other and grow closer to the Lord.

Big Boys

I titled this post Big Boys because that seems the theme around here lately! Simeon's version is Baboos, very cute to hear him say. Although we have started some big boy transitions we are definitely not pushing him to grow up to fast, I'm certainly not quite ready to relinquish my baby.

My little chef! I bought this for him on a whim and he LOVES it! Who would have thought a not yet 2 yr old boy would love to dress up. He mainly loves the apron. There is a matching mitt that is also very cute.

Beginning of our Fourth of July weekend, who could resist such a face? At the fancy shopping center close to us playing in the fountain. It is so close to us, but this is our first visit this year.

Ok naptime seems over, so trying to keep this brief. In the above picture Simeon is wearing his Little Beetle Learners, which I have been buying here and there to try to find a good price. After a few washes they are absorbant enough to hold a small pee accident and being Simeon is not going #2 on the potty yet they snap down the side for clean up of those messes. He showed some interest in pottying a few weeks ago and he actually peed without prompting too much a few times. So we decided to go for it.

He seems young to me and it's going to be a process. I guess he has always wanted to be mobile and do just what we do, so... Praise and treats really seem to help. I do have to tell him most times it's time to potty. And though this may seem pushy it seems preferable to me to the battles over diaper changes. The child has always hated them. He is so proud of his Baboos, and I think they are adorable. At home that is all he wears most of the time because he wants his shirt off to potty and putting it back on every time is not happening. Plus it is so hot here and we don't run the air at 70 degrees.

We had a few setbacks when we traveled to Memphis for our church conference, then he was sick last week. He was scary sick, like running fever greater than 103 for 3 days. Ughhh, no fun at all for anyone. He looks like he's lost weight too, he was totally uninterested in food for an entire week. Mostly all he wanted was to nurse. And although I'm mostly a quiet promoter of breastfeeding especially a toddler mostly because in our culture many see it as weird (honestly I thought it was strange too before I had a baby). But this was definitely a benefit, he was too sick for anything else and if not for nursing he may have dehydrated. It ended up being viral and we just had to treat the symptoms.

Another big boy change was adding the full size bed to his tiny room. I planned on transitioning him to the bed from the crib, but he wants no part of it. It's ok there's not a big rush. I did really enjoy having the bed in his room when he was sick, there was no way I was going to leave him alone when his fever was so high.

My buddy

I wanted to blog about something other than babywearing. From my blog you'd think my toddler never leaves my back. Really these days it is about 15 mins a day average, a mere piece of the day. But a fun and snuggly 15 mins!

So Simeon is 21 months old! And is so sweet, big time momma's boy and I love every minute of it. He has his moments, but we are better navigating the tough spots. He is talking more now and better communication makes things easier for sure. More and more words are popping up every day. He has definitely not been an early talker.

I did want to ask my momma friends out there or anyone else with any helpful ideas for a question. Simeon loves to help us, and I try really hard to let him participate as much as he can. But there are so many dangers, knives, the oven, raw eggs, pruning sheers. He is so observant and really mimics everything we do. I have a great opportunity to have a helper, because I am home with him everyday. I just need to direct him. It seems like most helper toys and even the Montessori method start at 3, but he is ready now to help! I have mentioned I really have to let go of my don't make a mess mentality. I know he has to make a mess to learn, but it is hard for me to let him do it at times.

We have a learning tower for him in the kitchen and his passion in life is "wa wa" water right now. He loves to play in a trickle of running water for up to an hour while I'm preparing dinner. He will even "wash" dishes. This drives me nuts at time b/c we have a small kitchen and there always seems to be knives and glass items in the sink, but I try to give in and clean up all dangers for one water session a day.

He helps me unload the cutlery in the dishwasher and sometimes other dishes if I'm not fast enough.

He "prunes" the roses every time we go outside now after watching me do it once. So I got him some plastic scissors to prune with.

Hanging out the diapers is a great one for a helper, but honestly that just doesn't happen enough. Now that it is already so hot we should be better about it. He likes to help me push the wet laundry into the dryer. Folding laundry seems kinda complicated to teach for now.

He really seems to be taking in no, nos but I want to give him an alternate activity. I just feel so uncreative at times.

I'm having so much fun with my little buddy even though we have our moments.

Crunchy reads

Before I get into the boringness of my rambling thought I'd post a few pics from our first family zoo trip! We went with our dear friends and their kids (our godchildren). It was a wonderful time. I just had to include a babywearing photo. This is my prized kinderpack in a standard size with standard straps. Unfortunately it appears that Simeon is a bit tall for it. It doesn't hurt my back and it doesn't bother him, but maybe I'll sell off my Beco and with some birthday funds in August try to track down a toddler sized one. But if not we love this carrier (we as in me and Simeon, poor Daniel would never wear the flowers) and will get more mileage out of it. I love not having to deal with a stroller and the ease of picking him up and down.

I sent this to a family member a few weeks ago trying to describe what attachment parenting is about. Our local chapter is just getting started. After praying, discussions with my husband and priest I have decided to get involved with the group. Having a support group is great, most of the moms are devoted Christians which is important to me. We are definitely all different, and do things a little different. Some of us work though most of us are at home with the kids, some co-sleep, some nurse children beyond a year, some babywear almost all the time. Making changes have already very positively affected my relationship with Simeon and our day to day interactions. It doesn't come naturally yet.

Here is a great article we discussed at our last meeting. We talked about babywearing and it was really helpful to me. One fascinating thing is that the tribal babies in the article that are worn and included in everyday life are incorporated into the work of the tribe at an earlier age than we incorporate children in our society into working. Now I'm not advocating child labor, but I've always wanted my children to help out in the family as they grow up. Not in an overbearing way, but in a natural way. Simeon really wants to help now and I really try to let him. It often ends up being a mess, but then he helps clean up the mess. I have really had to learn to not over-react and stay cool, clean up the mess, and go on about things. To me if a child grows up only knowing how to be entertained the transition to entering the workplace or the work of running a home is rockier. Anyway it's a fascinating read.

Daniel got me a summer weight ring sling for mothers day and I have been trying to use it more, like we bring it to church. It seems to help Simeon's behavior even if we can only contain him for 15 or 20 mins of the service. I used it to wear him into a few boutique type stores I didn't want him to wreak havoc at last week. I probably wouldn't have gone to those places otherwise. Strollers are hard to navigate and a ring sling is just so lightweight and handy. Now that I have the hang of it. They can be a beast to figure out as I failed my first ring sling attempt.

Pascha 2011 and a new approach

Christ is Risen! I hope everyone had a joyous celebration of Christ's Resurrection. More pictures of our church celebration can be found here.

My handsome hubby and one of our teens hiding eggs for the big hunt!
Simeon and one of our teens hunting for eggs
A posed but beautiful shot, talented photographer!
Our little man

Unless you are really bored, you may want to stop reading here:)
The mom I want to be is calm, doesn't yell unless it is some emergency that warrants it, she prays twice a day plus before meals with her son, she always has some healthy foods prepared, and a relatively clean house. Oh and she is not grumpy after being up through the night with her child. She is patient and mentally present, teaching her son as they encounter life experiences through her day. I really do want to be this mom and I feel like I am closer to being her than I used to be.

One of the secrets to being this mom is prayer, and that is a struggle. How easy it is to be distracted and lazy in this regard.

One thing that I have found helpful for me as a stay at home mom is mommy groups. I have mentioned before that I wish I had gotten involved in La Leche League when Simeon was younger, some of my stay at home isolation would have been relieved. Now I feel like we are kinda graduating that group. I like the other moms there and still enjoy going. Simeon is at a busy age and a little rowdy to be in that type group. Also though he isn't weaned, gasp I do not feel like the group isn't quite as useful to me when we were in the throws of nursing as the sole food source.

So my very good friend Cameron loaned me her attachment parenting book and as I have mentioned before if only I could do it over again I would have implemented some of these ideas. I started reading more Dr. Sears books and now I have a few more attachment parenting books that are so helpful. Daniel is so gentle and sweet natured already, but I have found the suggestions to being a more gentle parent very helpful. I'm currently reading Adventures in Gentle Discipline which I ordered from the la leche website b/c Amazon was sold out. I have a few more on the list to read. With my household chores and mental fatigue it takes a while for me to get through a book.

And then to my delight Jackson has started up an Attachment Parenting Group. I guess you could say I'm sold on attachment parenting, I've seen it work very well for my good friend Cameron who like me doesn't have the most easy going child. I have also seen some changes I have implemented work well for Simeon and I. We have met 3 times and let me say, these meetings have helped my mommy fatigue more than anything else I have done other than prayer.

Some changes for me include
- doing a better job of keeping my cool or avoiding the situation, taking time to help Simeon clean up or just leaving it till I can clean it up. He is doing a better job of cleaning up these days, but sometimes if I know my fuse is short it's better to avoid a blow up than expect more of him than he can give me developmentally.
- no more spankings during diaper changes, diaper changes have always been difficult for us. I wasn't beating him, but it seems like a pop was the only way to get his attention. I'm trying to make it playful and if he does start kicking I just hold him down till I can finish up. These seem to be going smoother and he's not hitting me anymore.
- when there is a tantrum I acknowledge his feelings (frustrations at not getting his way usually) but remain firm on the subject if it's important or meet him in the middle if it isn't a very important matter.
- nap times had gotten ugly and now instead of leaving him screaming in his room, after our routine I "sleep" on his beanbag chair and after he winds down he goes to sleep. The first few days he tried to engage me, but he has learned that mommy is "asleep" on the beanbag so she is not going to converse. It is much more peaceful this way and sweet to be there as he nods off, I have a hard time being patient b/c I'm ready for a break but it seems worth it.

I'm excited for our AP group, it is a method for me to make some positive changes in my parenting style. I think it is an answer to my prayers.

As I have typed this we have had to move from outside playing in the driveway to the bathtub because of a busted knee and stepping in cat poop not once but twice in two different pairs of shoes. Ah real life, I think I could have been more patient. We have had a challenging morning despite a special breakfast date with Ba Ba. Maybe it's the molars coming in causing this whiny behavior. I do have to put myself in his place. It must be hard to have a sore mouth, be asked by your mom in a disappointed voice what you have on your shoes when you have no clue, and not be able to communicate well, not to mention scraping a knee for the 5th time in one week! Putting yourself in your child's place in the heat of an incident isn't easy. Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Spring is here!

Ok these are old pictures, but as you know I have to be in the right mindframe to blog:)

For my salvation

A few pictures to get you through this post:)


Momma and Simeon at our favorite bakery, Great Harvest

Sweet boy taking a nap, we don't have many sleeping pictures because he's not a great sleeper and I usually don't want to chance waking him up!

I have had this post on my mind for quite some time. When we were in our marriage counseling our spiritual father and pastor Father John told us that in marriage we should be helping each other along the path to salvation. What a beautiful image that is. And honestly in the early days this wasn't always easy. I certainly have plenty of rough edges that need sanding down, and becoming more selfless and growing closer to God isn't always painless. I am so fortunate to have a wonderful, faithful, God-loving husband. He is such of a hard worker, he rarely takes time out for himself. He is always working hard for his family, or the church.

I did do some spiritual reading while pregnant about raising a child in the Orthodox church. And we are very fortunate that we belong to a church where so many experiences can be shared with our children. There are things going on in the services that involve all of the senses. Sight, the beautiful icons- depictions of the saints, Mary, and Jesus that we reverence by kissing or touching. Simeon loves to kiss icons too, what better way to teach him about our Lord and those Christians that have fought the good fight before us. We hear the prayers and beautiful chanting during services. Simeon's grandmother and godfather are in the choir, so he particularly enjoys watching them sing. Smell the incense in the censor, which Simeon also loves to watch and listen to the bells on the censor. Touch, we make the sign of the Cross often during the services and touch the priests garments as they process while carrying the holy gifts. And taste, we allow children as soon as they are baptized and chrismated to partake of Communion.

I had seen other children in church and was looking forward to teaching him about God through our Orthodox worship services. Oh my goodness I just didn't realize what a challenge just surviving the services would be. It has been worth it though and teaching Simeon about our faith has drawn me closer to God. Having a child and trying to raise him right has been the most challenging thing I have ever done. You can be a "nice" person to most people, but trying to be loving and patient to a sometimes demanding little person who keeps you up at night and is constantly in need is very challenging. I definitely feel like I'm growing closer to God and becoming more selfless.

Father John also told us that children are closer to God. Simeon has always had an affinity for his guardian angel icon. And in the morning he will often go to the prayer corner and want to pray. Now he is done about one sentence in, but I am trying to nurture the seed that God planted in him. It's a good thing I have our church "village" to help me, because on my own I don't have the strength.

What is a good baby?

Well had you asked me that about 17 mos ago, when my little prince was about a month I would have said not my son. Now that I am a more experienced mom, I know how much I have to learn. I do know Simeon was a high needs baby. I don't think I'm going to ask people anymore if they're baby is good anymore. And it is a very faulty system of categorizing babies. Really how could they be bad, God made them that way. They aren't choosing to be fussy. I'm going to try to avoid this classification system.

Recently my good friend, C gave me her attachment parenting book by William Sears to read. And it has been wonderful and so different from what I expected. If only I'd had this book 18 mos ago!

A high-needs baby is many of these: intense, hyperactive, draining, feeds frequently, demanding, awakens frequently, unsatisfied, unpredictable, super sensitive, unable to be put down, uncuddly, not a self soother, and separation sensitive. It is harder to mother a child that is higher-needs, but somehow we survived. For me when I quit comparing Simeon to other babies and just went with the flow it got easier, if you read my blog you know this took a while.

If you have a baby or want a baby and haven't read him, I'd highly recommend it. I sped through the Attachment Parenting Book, I will definitely need to reread that. I'm working on The Fussy Baby Book and I have The Baby Book on the way. I love the flexibility of his books and the common sense approach. I didn't expect for him to spend so much time talking abou taking care of yourself and having a support group. When you have a baby I think you tend to parent similarly to how your parents did. Before I went to La Leche I didn't know too many people that babyweared or breastfed their children beyond a year.

Several people have told me to cry it out and for us it has been a complete disaster. I do not like having Simeon cry it out, I'm sure most parents don't but feel like it's a last resort. I'm not going to say you're bad for doing it, I'm not judging anyone. But for us other soothing techniques have worked better. And as a last resort he has cried in my arms or with me standing beside him rubbing his back, but he's not alone in his crib in the dark crying.

Mellowing has been the process that has happened with Simeon in the last few months. Maybe I stumbling all the way met Simeon's needs enough in first year and a half and now he trusts me to meet those needs. We still have challenging times, but on the whole life is much easier. He naps beautifully and sleeps better at night, we are still working on nighttime but things are much better. He is fairly adaptable, and generally a sweet boy. He does pretty well in church too. I know we will have rough times, but I'm really appreciating the good times.

Perhaps God sent Simeon to me so his future siblings will benefit from the things I learned. I definitely want to try things different next time. I want to babywear more, and now I know where to get help I am determined to be more successful with it. I also want to check out getting a co-sleeper to attach to our bed. And I'm going to give myself a break, let things go, and enjoy my tiny baby more. Don't worry there's no Rootlet on the way no, I'm just thinking ahead. I'm so thankful for our sweet boy!

Where to begin

Really where do I start. It's been since Halloween since I blogged!

I will give a quick catch up on what has been going on with our family.

In early November we lost my grandfather after a difficult stay in the hospital. He went to the hospital to have a tumor removed from his lung, now it has been so long I can't recall when he went in. I know he ended up in ICU for most of the fall. This was hard of course, but PopPop had been suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis for years and had a hard time getting around. After the summer before last when he and Granny didn't plant a garden we knew he wasn't well. PopPop had told me some time back that they knew Grandfather Graves (Granny's father) was getting less able when he couldn't plant a garden. And I knew when Pop Pop didn't plant a garden he wasn't doing well. PopPop was a very devout Christian and I have no doubt he is with the Lord now, but we do miss him.

Christmas was joyous, but kinda sad. We lost mine and Daniel's grandfathers this year and to me change is one of hardest things to cope with. Realizing that the Christmas's of my youth are gone forever and that we won't ever have Christmas at Granny's in the same way was sad for me. Of course I'm not sad for Aunt Phyllis or PopPop because I know they're with God.




One of my fondest memories of my PopPop is of him and Granny coming up to Simeon's baptism. He loved us all and was so proud of us. Although he was a Southern Baptist and didn't believe in infant baptism he wanted to support his great grandson's entry into Orthodox Christianity. PopPop didn't really understand Orthodoxy, but he knew that my Daniel is a good man and if he was Orthodox then it must be ok. Simeon's baptism was before another service, so it was really long. Trying to find a time my mom could attend was pretty tricky, because of her work schedule. So my grandparents came and worshiped with us all morning long. What a wonderful memory I will cherish.


The weather in January was pretty cold, and we have spent a good bit of time inside trying not to get cabin fever too bad. We have had some play dates to keep us sane. And February is halfway gone now too. We have some busy weekends coming up soon and plenty of things to do in between the weekends. I have some great blog post ideas in my head, maybe I'll get them done sometime before next Halloween!

Halloween for us

Several people asked me if Simeon was dressing up and if we were trick or treating. The answer was no and for several reasons. First off we're not really into Halloween. I definitely enjoy dressing my boy up, but Halloween has pagan origins that I'm not into. The Orthodox Church celebrates Saturday of the Souls days several times during the year, none of which are October 31st. We have some really cool traditions that I will enjoy sharing with Simeon and talking about as he gets older. One is the tradition of Koliva, a dish that is blessed during the service in commemoration of the dead and partaken of by the members after the service.

That being said if people want to partake in harmless Halloween festivities I really don't mind it, I'm not judging anyone. I grew up participating in Halloween and it was fun and harmless. Daniel on the other hand grew up living in the same neighborhood as many of the other members of what would become St. Peter's Orthodox Church. There families were searching for ways to raise their families as faithfully as possible and elected to have them dress up as Saints some years and have little parties for them. Daniel did tell me that some of his friends did trick or treat. And if Simeon does want to trick or treat when he is older and some of his friends are into it, he won't be dressing as anything evil or demonic, not on our watch. I think this is a great book about why dabbling in the occult can be dangerous, strong for some maybe but truthful. I wouldn't recommend this book for a very young child.

Ok enough about my beliefs! I know y'all are here to see pics of my cute boy. We did have a fall festival at church our teens put on. Daniel and I are the teen leaders and the other parents and teens really pitched in to make this a fun event for the kids at our church. Simeon wore a very fallish Wrangler shirt that I got at a consignment sale, so cute! He always has fun with other kids at church and this was no exception, and I think the parents had just as much fun.




So Halloween is here and gone, and we are a week away from Nativity Lent or Advent as the West calls it. I can say I can't wait. I am definitely in need of a renewed effort to concentrate on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. If anyone has any suggestions of how to involve a small, busy child with almost zero attention span into our Nativity Lent I'd love to hear them. We will go to church services of course, but as far as at home? I have a neat calendar someone gave me that you fold the flaps to expose a different saint everyday (no there's no candy in it:), and Simeon would enjoy it. I hope I didn't put it up in the attic with the other Christmas stuff.

Parlor Market Restaurant Review

So Daniel and I went somewhere new last week. We have been looking forward to this place opening for awhile. Parlor Market is downtown, not far from the newly renovated King Edward Hotel. They have a website, but there didn't seem to be much on it. Check them out on facebook if you're interested.

First off it was such of a treat to go out. We don't go out much, and our goings out have to be early being Simeon is pretty dependent on me for bedtime. And really I don't mind being a home body. Daniel and I had years to ourselves before we were blessed with a child, and ate out plenty.

So we met some friends down there and had a delicious supper. The atmosphere was very nice, it is very nicely furnished and is a dressier kind of place. The food was very good, portions were small and pricey but very good. And to be fair it was pricey, but no than other nicer restaurants for dinner.The draw for us is the food is local and that was fun to choose from entrees from our state and states close to us. I had the quail and it was tiny, but so delicious. If Daniel hadn't ordered a salad and our friends hadn't ordered an appetizer I would have been still hungry. To be fair it was listed as a "small plate". Daniel had trout and said it was really mouthwatering good. We had a "salad" that was wilted romaine, fried oysters, and comeback dressing. It was good and I don't usually like Oysters.

If you want to go somewhere nice I'd recommend it.

Fall Fun

Wow, I'm so behind. I don't really know where time has gone the last few months. My last posts were primarily about our sleep issues that plagued us all of Simeon's life. It took about 2 weeks to get Simeon on a schedule and sleeping well. We had some rough times, but things our much better now. He really does so well on a routine, I'm so sorry I waited so long to put him on one. I absolutely love the No Cry Sleep Solution. It has really helped us out immensely. I thought we had fallen back into our old ways this week, but it turns out poor Sime has an ear infection and a tooth coming in, no wonder he was up more at night:(

We went to the fair, and since this was during the time we were just getting on our schedule we had to be home early (bedtime at 6:30!), so my mom and I went one afternoon. Now that he is getting regular sleep we can stay up a little later, but we don't push it b/c we know staying up later = everyone getting less sleep. We ate very unhealthy food and Simeon caused a goat stampede in the petting zoo. He started stamping his foot when he ran out of food and the goats got a bit excited, oops! Simeon really loved his biscuit, of course he is a little carb fiend, and I can only blame myself. I'm a carb lover too, and that is what he tasted in utero and via my breastmilk. Too bad they didn't at least put cane syrup on the biscuit, I remember when they did... As you can see Grandma Dee Dee was very into the petting zoo too!

Good Times

So in my previous post I lamented our sleep issues. Let me be clear, I want us to get us on a better routine for Simeon's sake more than mine. When he is well rested he has more fun than when he's cranky and tired.

I'm loving the No Cry book more the more I read it. I will say our sleep issues are definitely not solved, but we're making progress.

I want to write about some good thinks me and Simeon have been doing, because even with sleep problems motherhood is such of a blessing!

He's into copying what I do: dusting the house, bossing Barley, rubbing lotion on his face...

He's talking more and more, I can't understand most of it. But he certainly understands me: he knows what the bed, bath, his toy fire engine, lambo (manly lovey), and many other things are.

He loves to play outside, I think he'd play outside all day if I let him. We try to play out at least an hour a day. There are many other things I need to do, but he gets so bored inside.

Eating is becoming more of a challenge, he is picky and has taken to throwing food at times. But we persist with meals and snacks and Daniel tells me all the time, he's not starving. He loves fruit and anything sweet, almost everything else is hit or miss.

We got the woolens from the cedar chest, I know doesn't that sound so old timey:) I tried his mittens on him and he wouldn't let me take them off, so he wore them to Petsmart this morning even though it wasn't that cold.

Sleep Issues

So I haven't written lately about Simeon's sleep issues because I hate to just whine on and on and I had given up.

Let me say he has not been an easy child as far as sleep goes. And a sleepy child is often cranky and this makes it hard too. And I have not been a great parent as far as setting a routine for him. There are several reasons I haven't. I'm at home with Simeon all day long and by the end of the day I'm worn out (actually since he hasn't slept well I'm worn out all day long). So I just have been lax on the routine and I kind of wait for Daniel to come home and relieve me, but this doesn't work great always because he works late some so Simeon has been up too late. And I had a false belief that keeping Simeon up may help him sleep later and better. So we had all sorts of blocks creating our house of sleep disaster!

I should mention my dad told me tonight out of all 5 children I was the hardest to get to sleep! Ahh, why didn't anyone tell me sooner.

So there are all sorts of child rearing philosophies, we tend to pick and choose. There is the scheduled feedings school and their variations and then on the other end of the spectrum there is the attachment parenting school. I have been closer to the attachment parent club as I have continued to breastfeed basically on demand. We don't co sleep and Simeon gets 3 meals a day plus 2 non-milk snacks. So some of the AP crowd says the child will sleep through the night when they're ready and you should nurse a baby until they fall asleep. Well let me say following this routine has worn me out, 13 mos of not sleeping well is rough. It's not always horrible, but Simeon has been nursing to sleep (sometimes this takes 1.5 hrs) and waking 1-2 times through the night. I have adjusted as much as possible, but I'm still fatigued.

So I had decided to chug along with this because other than letting him scream I didn't know what else to do. We have done some cry it out with nap time out of desperation and I hate it. I feel like a horrible mom, but he does take good naps now. He started waking up after being nursed to sleep and refusing to settle to sleep. After one bad night I finally checked out

The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night

by Elizabeth Pantley . I don't want to jinx myself but already this book has made my life far easier. We have a bedtime routine, and when Simeon shows any sleepy sign we proceed as quickly as possible to bed. We are using several techniques, some new, some we are now being consistent with:
- bath every evening after supper (we bathed him previously but sometimes in the morning)
- Lovey (named Lambo)
- using the sleep sheep
- during his last feeding while he is drowsy but not yet asleep, I put him in his crib and rub his back till he falls asleep

Now these are just things we have chosen to do, but oh my gosh things are already much better. Last night he slept from 8-5! Daniel and I can't believe how easy it is. I'd much rather rub his back for 20 mins than have him scream for an hour. Now her method involves gradual transitions, so gradually we won't have to rub his back for so long or at all. I know we will probably have some difficulties, but I hope we're on the right track.

Maybe as I get more sleep I will be better about my job and joy as the family chef and update my food blog more:) Obviously I highly recommend this book to other new parents. It is a gentle for baby and parents sleep approach! I feel like my prayers have been answered.

Attached Parenting

So this picture is from our first family beach vacation to Orange Beach a few weeks back. I have mixed feelings about that trip. We went with some friends and really enjoyed the company.

Unfortunately Simeon sleeps horribly in his pack and play, so Daniel and I didn't get much rest on the trip. Some friends let us borrow this pea pod and we have yet to try it out. We didn't purchase our pack and play it was given to us, so I didn't do too much research on them. I know the pad in ours is very thin and probably uncomfortable. Simeon also wasn't too keen on the sand or the ocean either, but this was his first exposure to it.

We attended liturgy in the Orthodox Church in Gulf Shores and were treated so hospitably by the people of that parish. We ate out some, and cooked in some.
Daniel did really enjoy being off of work and in a different place. As for me, being quite hobbit-like I was ready to get back to my cozy hobbit-hole in Ridgeland, MS.

So on the way home I realized I left the baby carrier in the condo. I didn't freak out right away, although out of everything I brought I hated to leave this the most. I thought great I won't get anything done at home and Simeon will be a wild child in the grocery store. After an entire week of calling the realty company they told me that my beloved carrier was lost. I was really upset. I moped all week and really missed my helper. Let me say that I don't use it everyday, but when I use it it is a lifesaver.

Daniel told me to just buy a new carrier. But for me my attachment to my carrier went deeper than the high price I paid for it. I felt like Simeon and I had grown in our mother-child relationship in it, and I planned on using it for all our other future children. Isn't it funny how we parents, probably mothers more than fathers, get attached to our baby gear? Like a boppy I bought used from a friend, she said she was glad it was going to a good home. She nursed her baby on the pillow so it was special to her, but we can't keep every baby thing in our house forever of course! And another friend told me that she kept some of her baby's newborn diapers from the hospital.

Well end of the story, almost as soon as I ordered a new carrier my old one was found. So Daniel got me another carrier for another birthday! This time I picked another soft structured carrier, except I chose a more toddler specific carrier, the Oh Snap. Now before you die from sticker shock, let me say that I skimp on some baby gear, like our stroller ($70) and we got almost everything else second hand. I plan on leaving my Beco in my car. It is easy to use in the store due to the panel that makes it easy to very safely pass the baby from my front to my back while standing up, since I drive a 2 door Civic this is necessary. The Oh Snap doesn't have this panel, but I can put it on sitting on the couch till I get used to it. It is more customizable fit wise and is supposed to be better for leaning tall children, like I have:) I'm really excited about getting my new carrier in. Hopefully I will be able to use both of my carriers for many more years.

Prince Simeon's Party

I should quit calling him Prince Simeon, he may start believing it then we'd really be in trouble!

This post has wonderful pictures! Daniel's cousin's wife Erin Quinn takes gorgeous pictures, she has a business Quinntography. Erin was so sweet to take pictures at Simeon's birthday and send some of them to me. Erin did our Christmas card picture last year and it was great, but she will take pictures for other occasions too. If you need a photographer give her a call. Maybe I should hire her to do a monthly or quarterly shot of the boy since my photography skills are lacking.


The boy ate so much cake I thought he was going to be sick last night. Next time he gets a smaller piece.


What a great Daddy! This may be my favorite picture ever.


Cousin Noelle having a ball

We had a great time, and are so grateful for all our family. I really couldn't have done it alone. Simeon (most importantly) really had fun even though the party was late. We had an evening party so my mom could come, thanks Momma for working so hard all these years. I hope no one ever has to go to the ER at St. D on a weekend night but if you do my Momma will take care of you. Evenings aren't the boys best time but he did really well.

We were able to party at the Oakmont clubhouse and it was pretty open, he seemed to love just running around a wide open space. There wasn't much for him to get into and he had a great time. Simeon ate too much delicious cake. He was excited about the presents, and he should be. The boy is set: a Grateful dead shirt, puzzles, a train, pjs, cool books, a pull along froggy, and a nice new (smaller) diaper bag. When the weather cleared up we got to take a little swim and even tested out the capacity of the swim diaper! That was our second hosing off of the night!

For the love of Etsy

So we had Simeon's first birthday party yesterday. We had a blast and I didn't have a emotional meltdown. It was almost like a wedding, I did so much preparation and planning and then it came and went in a flash. Now some momma's spend lots of time on what their kids are going to wear or some other detail. I focused on establishing family traditions. I love traditions, maybe because I don't like change and traditions are comforting. I also like using the same, quality items over because it is less wasteful. To each their own, but that's my style.

I found some awesome ladies on Etsy to make some special party decorations for me. First off I remember some birthdays when I got to wear a hat and I loved it. So I had Song at GirlGirlBoy make the crown up at the top. Yes if you follow the link you may die at the prices. But I went cheap on other things. And I don't have any free spending money for the next year, just joking:) Several of my guests informed me that Simeon will not want to wear this awesome bday crown for all his birthdays through 9. That's ok, maybe we'll have a sweet little girl who will. I have made a real effort to buy gender neutral party decorations so they can be reused by a future Root girl.


I found a great bday banner made by yellow label kids before I ever had Simeon and knew that I wanted it for our family tradition. They had a matching tablecloth, but by the time I had Simeon they quit making the set and I couldn't find the tablecloth!

So I found this great family on Etsy to custom make me a birthday quilt table topper. They even let me pick my own fabrics. Their price was so reasonable and it is fun, bright, and festive. I washed it this morning and it still looks great. The only hitch was I planned it for our table at home, but we ended up using the clubhouse at Daniel's parents neighborhood and the table there was bigger. If I had planned a bit better I would have had a longer tablecloth to go under it. It was nice anyway though.

Slow cooker madness

Finally a food post!

I decided that I needed a new slow cooker to better prepare healthy meals for my family, how American right. We always need new stuff for some reason or another. I do like my new slow cooker. I wish that I had ordered my new slow cooker and this cookbook on Amazon and saved some $. If any of my friends out there have good slow cooker cookbook recommendations please pass them along.

I have enjoyed my new slow cooker. It is a better size and shape for my family. My old one was an oval and too big to prepare smaller meals so I didn't use it much. I have been looking for ways to avoid overheating the house during this horrible heat wave we have been suffering from. I have cooked beets and butternut squash in my slow cooker and was very happy with the results. I cooked some Swedish meatballs that Daniel really loved. I cooked oatmeal that was easy and a good, quick breakfast, we'll have to repeat that this winter. I will say some things I cooked seem a bit overcooked, I think my slow cooker might run a bit hot. I haven't got all scientific and checked the temp. during cooking. I'm looking forward to using my slow cooker more.