365 days...no way!

a few minutes old

A year ago right now I was sitting in the mom and baby room doting over our newest addition to our family.  A year ago today he was just a little over 9 hours old. A good nursling and so far a good sleeper (he has had a year to prove the later wrong).

Coleman Kristian Hodges, with your middle name from your uncle I think you take a little bit after him, you do NOT like to sleep.  You tested our patience in the early months. You were a happy baby all day until night then the crying began and you slept for very short spurts at a time.  I had forgotten in the 2 short years since your brother was born what it felt like to be that tired.

You have turned into a little boy in such a short time. You have loved music from the beginning. Now you are dancing more than walking.  Dancing appears to be your favorite activity at the moment.....well dancing and driving your brother crazy.

I am proud that we have made it a whole year in our nursing relationship.  I never imagined  that I would be that mom that is sad about the idea of  weaning, which by the way, I am not thinking about.  We have had our ups and downs in the battle for a good night's sleep.  You were sleeping through the night so I now you will get there again....and that is one milestone I am ready for.

When I look at you it makes me wonder: what will you be like as you grow up? will you continue to be so influenced by music?  Will you continue to be a Momma's boy? Thank you by the way, I love how much you love me!

I do feel bad that you, as the second child, are getting a little cheated. Your special day was a little haphazardly put together and your brother stole most the attention away from you.  I'm sure there will be a ever changing tide of who gets the attention but I hope that on your special days you each feel as loved as you are.
Here are some photos of you over the last year....yes, there are a lot.

CHUNK!

having some birthday treats.

signs of summer

The weather has been absolutely perfect the last couple days. It has been warm but not hot and best of all not humid.  Mosquitoes are not out to make me miserable, neither are the chiggers. Thanks to this gorgeous weather we have been spending a lot of time outside. Both the boys love it.

Caden loved being outside from the beginning and Coleman is following in his foot steps. They cry when it is time to come in and the only stop playing long enough to get a few bites of food in their bellies.

Today, I found myself snuggling both boys in the hammock. At first I thought Caden smelled oddly clean after a long day of playing outside at school and at home. He didn't have the metallic sweaty smell that goes with being a little boy who has played hard.  Then it hit me, that is one of my favorite summer smells.....sunscreen.  on a side note, good for his school, putting sunscreen on them!!!

I hate shoes and am thrilled it is getting warm enough to don flip-flops to work and go barefoot whenever I can.  Caden loves to be barefoot and even though I miss his baby soft feet, I love that they are rough and dirty to show for a hard day of playing outside.  Today when his shoe fell off and he started to cry that he couldn't get it on, I told him to just take them off. He smiled at me with his big cheesy smile and in an instant his shoes and socks were off and his feet were caked in mud.

that shirt says it all (at least for being outside)

Cole loved the grass. I wondered if he would even let his feet touch it. no worries, he was all over the place, feet dirty and I'm pretty sure he ate some dirt, sand and grass.

Coleman's cute little piggies

What do I Make?

So I was introduced to Taylor Mali by my nephew.  For those of you that don't know who Taylor Mali is, he is a writer, teacher, spoken word poet.  He is most well known by the masses for his poem "What Does A Teacher Make."  Check out the video here:  What Teachers make Video

Every time I hear this or read it, it makes me think hard about my job.....what do I make?  I certainly don't make much money, barely enough to get by.

I try to make my students laugh everyday....sometimes they do and sometimes they don't.  I am my mother's daughter and my jokes aren't funny most the time.  I am a silly person and like to have fun. But, I am someone who wants her students to succeed in school, in relationships, and in life.

On occasion I make kids cry...not because I don't like them, but because I do. I expect a lot from my students.  They are not allowed to slide by.  I do not allow them to behave unkindly to peers or disrespectfully to adults. I do not allow them to give up when something is hard.  There are not many things in life that come without a little work....heck, most you have to work really hard at.

I make my kids try hard...or at least I try to make them try hard.  I do not give in to excuses about how their hand hurts so they can't point to words as they read or why they refused to listen to a para and most of all I do not let them make excuses for poor behavior.

I hope I make kids learn to be happy. I have a very sweet boy who isn't told very often that he is a good kid.  I have recently decided to make it my mission to tell him more often that he is kind and smart. Yes, he makes bad choices on occasion but he is not an inherently bad kid.  And yes he struggles with learning to read but (I think) he has the smarts....his brain just plays tricks on him.  He tries SO hard when he thinks no one is watching.  He is sweet to his sister, when he doesn't think anyone is around to see.  When I see him do these things or act a certain way I applaud him for it, tell him how wonderful it is.  Kids need to be told they are worthy, they are smart, and that they are kind so they will think of themselves that way.

A quote was posted in our building recently that I absolutely loved.
"Treat people as if they were, what they ought to be and you will help them become what they are capable of becoming." ~Goethe

it is a little late

Where does the time go?  I told myself when I started this blog that I needed to keep doing it, even if no one was reading it. It was going to my new outlet but it was also to tell my story.  I also told myself to document my kids lives and here I am failing both.....so here I am 4 days late...

On 2-29 (yes leap day) Coleman turned 11 months! I neglected to weigh him and I have no idea how tall....or long...he is. I do know from looking at him that he is doing just fine. He is chubby, he is happy, he is reaching milestones at a very typical rate.  He was a chunk with rolls and dimples but now he is starting to thin out as he grows more and more active and taller.

He is a quick study...he watches and learns fast. This is good and bad. He watches Caden like a hawk and mimics him doing good...and bad. I can tell he will learn things better if they are presented by his brother then if they are presented by his dad or myself.  He is starting to develop more of a personality. He can pitch a pretty impressive fit when he is removed from something he wants or if Caden takes something away.

He is silly. He loves to scream and make sounds with his brother and he laughs when his brother is naughty.  He likes to shake his head back and forth to get a little dizzy. He will crawl on to me and do a downward dog move and want to be lifted upside down....over and over.  He is quick to smile and is generally a happy little boy.

He is really into music.  David playing guitar has always made him happy. It can change him from crying to smiling in seconds. Now he is getting into all different types of music and waves his hands the second it starts. If he is standing he will sway if it is slow or bounce to faster beats.  Here is a link to a particular favorite of his: Man Down (cover) - Walk the Earth

And yes, he loves his Mama. He of course loves his dad but he is really into Mama recently. He will crawl over to me wherever I am and want to be lifted up and he will snuggle in, and give me kisses.  These kisses are reserved for just me...yes they often go with the want of mommy milk but they are still for me.

It is hard to believe that a year ago I was impatiently awaiting his arrival into the world and now here I am wanting time to slow down a little.

YAY!