Happy B-Day, Daddy!

What to do...? Needing a nap- part 1

My 3 yr old Mason really needs a nap still, but most days refuses. And I hate trying to push the issue because he is very stubborn! So each day it is a wrestle-- force the nap or skip the nap. What to do? If he does finally settle down and give in to some quiet time, it is usually so late in the afternoon that a nap just has him up late at night. So, we usually have a few tough hours of needing a nap (conveniently around when I'm fixing dinner), but not always getting one. This was the case yesterday where I opted to skip the hassle of getting him to nap and just hoping bedtime would be a little earlier. So much for that idea because when I walked out of the room to tend to Hunter and returned a few minutes later, this is what I found:

Konked out on the wood floor. Seriously? He must have been so tired-- he didn't even make it to the couch or a rug a foot away, or anything even remotely soft! I opted not to move him (it was late afternoon and I didn't want him sleeping too long), but this nap lasted for a good hour or more-- long enough to make bedtime a struggle. Fun stuff.

Guess Who's Got Glasses....

We finally got to pick up Cole's glasses (last Sat. Jan 23rd), and so far-- he is loving them and we are too. I think he is super cute with them! We've been waiting on them for a little over a month (do you know how long that is for a 4 yr old who asks "when can we get my glasses?" constantly?). The day was long awaited! I didn't really have any clues that he might need them (no comments about struggling to see, no squinting eyes, etc. that I have often heard could be signs). But I did have a lingering thought about just needing to get his eyes checked, so I finally made an appointment early Dec. 09, if nothing else than to ease my mind about it. I am very grateful for those nagging thoughts because after a few appts and having his eyes dialated, it was determined that Cole actually struggles a lot-- he is far-sighted and has a prescription of +7.0. From what I understand, he sees better far away, but the issue is more that the muscle in his eye strains to compensate and works hard trying to bring things into focus. Having him in glasses will help his eyes get a break and not be so tired (especially toward the end of the day when he's tired or when he's working on homework or other close-up things that require focusing). I guess him needing glasses shouldn't be a huge surprise knowing that both Rusty and I wear contacts/glasses, so all of our kids are probably doomed to follow suit. We just feel grateful to have figured this out so early on and we're told that his eyes can do well to improve so his prescription can lessen as time goes on. Rusty worries that kids will make fun of Cole (Rusty had thick glasses as a child), but glasses are so common and even fashionable these days that I don't really have that concern. And for now, Cole loves them, so we're just hoping that continues and it's not just the novelty of something new.

Sunday after church 1/17/10

Dec 2009 Family Photos

Welcome 2010! We've been hard at work already:

Last week, Mason turned 3 yrs old (Jan. 8th):

And Hunter turned 9 months (Jan. 4th):

We celebrated with a combined check-up visit to the Dr.

And Cole is well-- still Cole and still 4 yrs old.

Every day, he asks to take pictures with the camera. This was today's:

Happy (late) New Years!

Wrapping up 2009

Fun things December held for us:

• Cole's preschool program-- the cutest thing I've ever seen watching about 20 4yr olds lined up along the stage singing Cmas songs as they performed for their audience.

• New C-mas jammies



• Lots of spoiling on Christmas morning:

• More table-scrap eating = more messes
  
  

Hoping 2010 is a great year for all!