Recently ....

Scarlett slept through the night for the very first time a couple of nights ago. She did not have a repeat performance last night, but she is sleeping for longer stretches of time. 

She will get there eventually, we are just not a "let em cry it out" family.

Although, "crying it out" may have happened a few times because we were all sick of each other. For naps and bedtimes, she will fuss long enough for me to get out of the room and she is done. Maybe she's just making a show of missing me.

Scarlett has also learned to climb up the ladder and slide down the slide right by herself.

Good Grief! 

Next week will be college. 

In other fantastic news, Jack has lost another tooth.

He is so excited to look like a snaggletooth since he has been so slow to loose any teeth.

This is number 4 and he is 7 years old.

I see an orthodontist in my future. I can see how the bottom of his mouth is shaped like my husband's. 

Boys & Soccer

 Jackson loves soccer. It was the first sport that he every played and he is hooked. He did chose to give t-ball and chance last Spring and had a great time.  We were all set to play baseball here in our new city, but then heard that they would be offering Spring Soccer. Here in the Deep South soccer is still somewhat of a new phenomenon. This is the first year that our small town has offered Spring Soccer.

We are all set with brand new gear. We have met our coach and team mates. Hoping that we have an excellent season.  The first game is not for a couple of weeks and so we will have to get some updated pictures then. 

Jackson does say the funniest things and this was a conversation yesterday!

Jackson: Let's get this weekend started (in his best rock n roll impersonation).

Me: It's only Tuesday buddy.

Jackson: Wake me when its Thursday.

Me: Why? So you can go skating on Thursday (the whole school has skate day on Thursday).

Jackson: Nope, so I can show off my mad soccer skills!

 

Everybody Loves You

Look at the cute worksheet that Jackson's teacher did with her class. What a sweet reminder this will be one day for him and me.This has been a very rough transition for us. We are almost to the point of pulling him out.  Jackson is a homebody and leaving the house everyday for school that he is not enjoying is a stretch for him.

Moving stinks!

 

I especially like the one that says "I like your hair." Jackson has always had great hair. 

In other Jackson news.  Last week my sweet boy came home and gathered some school supplies and said he needed to take them to school. Knowing that the school's budget is depleted, I assumed that he needed the supplies for himself.

I was wrong!

Jackson was gathering supplies for himself, because he had given all of his current supplies (including the pencil box) to a new kid at school. He said that the new kid was having to borrow from the other kids and he felt bad.

Oh, how sweet. 

He constantly teaches me about compassion for others.

Happy1st Birthday!

We did not know that you were a missing link from our family. Sweet Scarlett, you are just what we needed to make us bigger and better. We love your smiles and your hugs and your stubborn streak.  We occasionally love your midnight happy hour playtime.

 Caroline and Jackson were very surprised to wake up on a Sunday morning one year ago and find out that they had a sister. They had no clue that we had left the house and Mrs Kaleena had been sleeping on their couch. You came quickly into this world. You are a force to be reckoned with. 

Can you see how much that they loved you? They had been waiting for this exact moment for 9 months. They dealt with a cranky mommy and  their space being taken over by baby gear. Today you take comfort in your "big kids" and you laugh at their attempts to amuse you.  I could not do each day without them.

You have a do-it-yourself attitude. There is nothing that you cannot do. You walked at 9 months, climbed on the couch at 10 months, and climbed out of your crib at 11 months. Thankfully, you have not repeated the climbing out of your crib thing. Scarlett, you are an eater and will try anything we put in front of you.

Your sweet brother called from Disney World today to wish you a Happy Birthday.  You had a smash cake that you wouldn't touch, but your Memaw and Grammie were here to laugh at you anyway.

Happy Birthday Scarlett!

Chapped Lips

Did you know that chapped lips is caused from dehydration? During the cold and wet times of the year we turn up the heat to keep ourselves warm and cozy. Combined with the cold, windy air, the heat is helping us dry ourselves out.

Painful chapped lips can happen over night. Trust me, completely over night. We awoke with a pitiful little guy whose lips were bleeding from trying to talk.

My little man gets chapped lips quickly.

He is thirsty, quiet literally drying out.

Many people think that we get chapped lips from licking our lips. You see this a lot in children. The truth is, children are responding to being and feeling so dry. The lips are especially vulnerable to our winter conditions.

Replenishing ourselves is super important. Let kids sip on water or diluted Gatorade all day. Rehydrating your body could take a full 24 hours, the same is true with kids. You may have to adjust potty training or potty breaks, but it is important to take in fluids all day.

Then, keep it up!  If your kids are in school, like mine, then you may have to ask the school or the teacher to allow water bottles in the classroom for all the kids. The rules at our school is that the water bottle has to have a sports bottle top and can only contain water.

Some teachers or administrators may balk at the idea. There will be a disruption to the class at the beginning. Every child will want to bring water, but they will calm down.

Are you or your children dealing with chapped lips. I would love to hear your remedies. We are using Lanolin for the first time and it seems to be helping with the painful, cracked, bleeding lips.