Where does the time go?

 

It absolutely amazes me that time passes us by in a flash!  It seems like just yesterday we were finding out the sex of our soon to be second son...now he is three months old and all smiles! 

Where do I begin?  My pregnancy with Channing was beyond great!!  If I can plan another Fall/Winter baby again, I will.  Channing was born at the end of November weighing eight pounds && twenty-one inches long.  My delivery went so smoothly and was a total breeze compared to Braden's birth and my recovery time.

 
It is now March, and my thirty first birthday is this week!  Talking about time, where did my twenties go?  I am actually loving my thirties so far!  I think they will be the best by far!  So, now that I will be thirty-one, I really want to get healthy and feel like I'm twenty-five again!  I just started a 24-day cleanse called, Advocare, and I am on day nine.  It has really forced me to eat as "clean" as possible.  No, processed foods, drink only water, and workout when I can fit it in my busy Mommy schedule!  So far I am feeling better and sleeping a bit better too, and I had not cheated at all until this weekend when I had a scoop of chocolate frozen custard after a trip to the Children's Museum, and a bag of peanut M&M's Sunday afternoon.  But, I am looking forward to the end results and hope I keep up the "clean" food regime even after the twenty-four days are over.

Well, that is about all I have time to write on today!  Both boys are asleep, its so nice to have a quiet house for the moment!

Until next time....

It's a BOY!!!!

Well, we found out on July 5th that we are expecting another baby boy!! And I can't wait to meet Mr. Channing! I have been feeling him kick for about a month now and tonight was the first time that James SAW him kick but has yet to actually feel him. He keeps missing to harder ones. I'd say by next week he will definitely feel them! I like this part because it becomes so much more real for the expeting Daddy! Next appointment is August 2nd...until then!

Everything new & in between...

Wow, it has been an entire year since I've blogged last! So much has changed and I hate that I haven't had the opportunity to blog about it. But, recently I have resorted to my blog for answers that only my blog journal-ing could have answered. For those who don't know, I'm expecting my second child!! It still doesn't feel real to me even though I am speeding through my second trimester! Today, I am 17 weeks and 2 days pregnant and we find out this Thursday what we're having! Braden says its a boy and hasn't changed his answer, but I'm feeling a girl intuition, so we'll see. Anyway, I've been using my blog lately as my memory as to how big I was at this same time with Braden. How much I'd gained in weight. When I felt those first kicks and when James felt and SAW Braden kick for the first time! Anywho, long story short...I just felt my first flutters for baby #2 and I HAD to journal it or I will never remember this moment thanks to my prego jello brain! Haha. So for now that us it, but one day soon I will update y'all on the past year and all the amazing things that have changed for me and for the better, best of all, my amazing new job!!

'Random'

So, I miss blogging A LOT! It's just been a crazy, crazy few months....work, school, and being a Mommy & a wife has just really consumed my time lately!

Anyway, my promise to myself is to blog more often because Braden is growing so fast, and if I dont write down his growing experiences then I will end up forgetting what happened when!

Also, I promise to catch y'all up on everything that's going on with the McFarlins...We just got back from a fantastic vacation to Maryland, I am in Summer school right now, Braden starts preschool at our local church this Fall, and I'm gearing up for his 2nd birthday! He also will have a check-up at the 1st of September, so lots to blog about soon!

For now I leave you with some 'random' recent pictures that I just love of Braden...its pictures like these that show me his fun and sometimes testing personality! Enjoy!

Terrible Twos?

Okay ladies! I need your expertise!

The problem:

Braden is having tantrums when we tell him no or correct him. He throws himself down in a crying fit (which isn't totally uncommon, right?!), but if he doesn't do that he will look around for the nearest wall to run his head into!!! Like really, all that it is hurting is himself! I'm not only worried that he will do this at preschool when he starts in September, but am also worried he will really hurt himself. A green/brown bruise on his forehead is never an uncommon sight recently, and if he throws himself down he will bang his head on the tile, or concrete outside, it doesnt matter the surface. We tell him no, give him spankings, and we have begun time out! He is STILL teething as well (remember he only got his first tooth at 14-months old). So, I'm sure this is just a testing faze, then add in the ingredients of cutting teeth and not being able to communicate his frustrations as easily as you and I do, then you get these tantrums. Oh, and he has begun hitting with a closed fist. He will give you this face as though he is saying, "What are you going to do about it!"

What can I do differently, anything? Am I doing what I should? I warn him, I sit with him and explain why he cant do what he's doing, and we have been doing the timeout thing a lot lately, which seems to work for awhile. I try to get him to calm down in timeout (because normally by that time he is screaming bloody murder because you not only told him no to something, but now you confined him to a mat that he is not allowed to leave from), then to tell me he is sorry for his actions. We havent quite gotten down the "I'm sorry" yet, but I do make him be quiet and then come talk to me after he is quiet to explain what he did wrong and why he was in timeout.

He is not a horrible child by any means! He is the sweetest thing ever, and I'm sure this is only natural and just part of growing and learning, but I wanted to get your opinions, or ideas, or if I'm doing something wrong you think...I would like to know! Braden is so smart and the only reason really that this bothers me like it does is because he is starting preschool soon, and I want him on his best behavior, and because I'm afraid he will hit his head too hard one day. Sometimes I think it could be lack of sleep, and we try to keep to a certain schedule. I have noticed more sleep definitely helps how he acts the next day, but sometimes if his afternoon nap carries too late, then he ends up going to bed later than I'd like him too, just because he's so awake. So, those of you that have toddlers his age, I would love to know your daily routine...when their nap time typically is, etc.

Your thoughts please....

(Now I feel totally guilty for posting this, because honestly Braden is a doll! He behaves so well in places you'd think most kids would act out...church, movie theater, etc....this mostly happens at home or at the sitters, and I'd just like a resolution or some comfort that this to shall pass and when, and how can I help him feel comfortable in knowing he doesnt have to react that way in order to get my attention or to get his point across)

18.Months.Old

(taken 3/19/11, Houston Zoo)

My little booger is now 18-months old! Who can believe it? Not me. I know I say that at every milestone, but it's truly how I feel.

He is changing so fast! He climbs on absolutely everything...the back of the couch, the coffee tables, all the kitchen chairs, on to his bed, the treadmill, and anything else he can find that makes my heart drop when I find him. He also has random jibberish conversations with us now like we understand what he is saying.

Words he's saying at 18-months: Noooo, Nu-uh, Ball, Mama, Dada, Owl, Truck, Car, Duck, Ba-Ba, Star, Nana, Ready-Set-Go, Stick, Rock, Stuck, There it is, Yuck, Dora, Diego, Ouchhh, Go away, and he can point out the letter "O" and "N" in any word, and we are working on the letters "S" and "L".

Favorite Movies/Characters at 18-months: LOVES "Toy Story" & "Cars", Elmo, Mickey Mouse, Handy Manny and Blue Clues!

Favorite Toys/Activities at 18-months: all Trucks/Cars, Books, loves to color and is attempting to make circles, loves being outside digging in the dirt with sticks (yet hates his hands being dirty!)

Favorite Foods at 18-months: all fruits, pasta, cheese, peanut butter, raisins, crackers, ocra, cherry tomatoes, pizza, tuna fish, mashed potatoes (will eat anything hidden in mashed potatoes too!), oatmeal, yogurt, sometimes steamed carrots, loves guacamole, will eat beef fajita meat, and loves beans!

He has become a very picky eater and will only eat his veggies and meats in baby food, which obviously I would like to band all together, and so does Dr. Nelms. Dr. Nelms says to take away the milk if he refuses to eat his dinner that we are eating and give him strictly water, and if he doesn't eat his big boy food, to not feed him anything else. He said he can go two days without anything. I would feel like a horrible mother if I did that, so I haven't been that extreme, but have toughened up more and am trying to figure out creative ways to hide the things I know he turns his head too. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears! Dr. Nelms suggested casseroles loaded with veggies, cheese and meat, so if y'all have any casserole recipes send them my way!!

Anyway, here are his latest stats from his check-up earlier in the month...

Weight: 27 lbs 4 oz -- 55% (up 2 lbs since December!!)

Height: 32 1/2" tall -- 68% (up 1/2")

Head Circum: 18 1/2 cm -- 27% (same)

I'm sure I am forgetting lots of other news/updates with him, but my days/weeks have been very stressful with work making it very difficult to remember anything these days.

Spring is here! Enjoy these last few weeks of cool mornings, low humidity, and breezy afternoons!