Heading South

First things first, Josie went with me to my 16 week Midwife appointment. As you can see - my plan worked: sucker + iPad game = stress-free appointment. Everything was great...or at least it seems that way. Midwives take such a hands-off approach - which I actually love. No peeing in a cup, no prodding or poking. My appointments consist of: weight, blood pressure, listening to the heartbeat, and then lots of talking. The heartbeat was 160 (for those who like to know) and I was given the GREEN light for my anatomy scan...which I can schedule in two weeks. AHHH.

Yesterday afternoon Jack was driving me crazy. And by driving me crazy - I mean - he was non-stop action & pestering everyone (including the dogs). So, instead of losing my cool - per usual - I asked him if he wanted to vacuum. Then I put him to work. I'll be honest, it wasn't the best vacuuming job I've ever seen, but I didn't have to do it, so... I like to think of this as preparing him for his future wife. This will continue.

AND, finally, after over 83 inches of snow. Wait, let's say that again - EIGHTY THREE INCHES OF SNOW... The Beckers are finally heading south. Jack busted into our bedroom bright & early this morning and announced that he was packed and ready to go. I'm not sure what he thinks we'll be doing in Florida, but he's prepared for the worst. We have a jam packed schedule while we're down there and I'm pretty excited to see green grass & a soft sandy beach.

And just because we're leaving - don't think you can come throw a party in our house. We've hired this guy to dog-sit. Cooper is pretty pumped.

Sugar-less Jack

(Once again, future daughter-in-law, file this away...)

I must be getting wiser in my old age...because I recently noticed that Jack's behavior is drastically influenced by his sugar consumption. (thank you, Captain Obvious) But really...you'd think as a teacher and consumer of sugar (see any of my posts regarding my love affair with Oreos) - that this wouldn't have been so hard for me to realize. But it was. We have significantly cut back on Jack's sugar in-take and it has made a world of difference in him! As a true Becker & Clevenger combo - Jack loves sweets...so we have found sugar-free snacks that seem to fulfill his sweet tooth.

 Sugar-free pudding is always good. Especially when eaten shirtless...which is the only way he can eat it.

See - he approves. I'm realistic. I know there will be times when he will eat sugary foods...and why not? He's a kid (& he's also a human...and he's also my child...) I'm not ever going to say NO SUGAR, NONE, ZERO. But I know I can monitor his sugar consumption and I will now realize that when he does eat too much sugar - I can expect to find him swinging from the ceiling fan!

Toddler Sleeping - Let's Discuss

{Dear future daughter-in-law, welcome. This should be archived into your files. If you have a mini-version of Jack one day...this information will be important.}

So, as many of you know, we struggled with Jack escaping from his crib during our last few weeks at my parents' house. He had given up naps and everyone was miserable. Everyone.

Fast forward to today and I am happy to say we are back on our regular schedule...and Jack sleeps happily in his "big boy bed" (twin bed). Phew. It was actually fairly painless.

Here are the ingredients needed to get Jack to sleep in his room:
1. The ability to think faster than a two year old. Put yourself into Jack's head and then fix anything that he would use against you. Example: there is a sink in Jack's room (it's part of the Jack & Jill Josie bathroom, but there isn't a door on it) I had my brother Joe turn off the water to that sink. Why? Because Jack and water would be a crazy-huge claim on our Homeowner's Policy.


2. Invest in a video baby monitor. Somehow I managed to live without one of these for more than two years...but now I'm not sure what I was thinking. It's amazing. Jack calls it "robot." And we have made a big deal about how "robot" sleeps when Jack plays, but works while Jack sleeps. Robot's job is to tell mommy & daddy when Jack is up. After a few investigations into "Robot" {and a few close-ups of his nostrils} - Jack pretty much leaves robot alone. And I have been able to rest easy knowing he's asleep...in his bed...

3. Locks. Okay, this may seem harsh but Jack gets locked in his room. If you think about it - it's dangerous for him to be able to wander around at night. He sleeps upstairs and we sleep on the main level. Not a good idea for him to try to come downstairs in the dark. Our dogs also sleep in the family room...and while they love Jack (or at least pretend to love him) - I don't want to worry about one of them thinking he's an intruder in the middle of the night. (Cooper is from the streets. He was taught to bite first, ask questions later.) Every night after we tuck him into bed Jack wanders around his room. He checks the doors, sits on the floor, and eventually decides to climb back in bed to fall asleep. I have also put a lock on his closet because he was sneaking in there and it was out of Robot's view.

4. Quiet Toys. Jack has a small box full of books, a train, his magna-doodle, and a VTech Alphabet Toy. When he isn't quite ready for a nap...but mommy is ready for a break - he can read or play with the things in the box. It's been awesome! The other day I watched him read on the floor, play with the train & the Alphabet Toy...then he sang his ABC's and climbed in bed.

They are ALWAYS this neat. Riiiight.

5. Less is more. When it comes to Jack - less is definitely more. He can't handle having a bunch of "stuff" in his room. And quite frankly, I don't think he needs much in there. It's a place for him to be calm and rest. He has plenty of other places in the house for craziness & chaos.

6. Finally, patience is a huge piece. I've had to find more of mine when dealing with my stubborn little guy. I don't want to get too deep...but I've actually asked God {out loud} for more patience on more than one occasion. I think he heard me.