My {400th} Post Bench-Mark Giveaway!!!

Yesterday marked my 400th blog post! Can you believe it???!!! I really do love writing on this ol' blog (and need to get it made into some books soon) and I really enjoy being able to share bits and pieces of our life with you. If you've been on the blog scene for long then you know that giveaways are huge...especially with home decor blogs since they are trying to grow their readership by bringing new people to their blog and to keep the current readers interested enough to keep coming back...and really, they are just fun! So, I'm going to offer up a giveaway too, just for fun, to celebrate my 400th post...which, if you didn't catch yesterday you can read here...or just scroll down...it's all about my wonderfully talented and big-hearted hubby...LOVE HIM! ;)

So, the giveaway-----------------------

--------------a Tyler Candle Company 11 oz. candle! If you've been one of my faithful readers then you know that I just love candles...and I especially love Tyler Candle Company. Their candle fragrances far outshine any other candle fragrance that I've ever tried...and believe me, I know candles...I just packed up 2 moving boxes full of them...yeah, that's right...2 boxes! (Told you I had a candle addiction!)

To enter the giveaway all you have to do is comment on this post by 12 pm Thursday and the winner will be randomly selected this Friday, April 15th. In your comment let me know if you'd like a citrus inspired scent, a berry inspired scent, a scent inspired by baking...think cinnabuns, yummy...or if you don't have a preference then I will choose one for you from a list of my favorites! Happy Commenting! ;)

[Edited to Add: Okay, upon completing this blog post I looked over my numbers again...and maybe I should title this post My {380th} Post Bench-Mark Giveaway!!! Haha! On my blog dashboard when I sign in it gives me my post count, but on my blog's archives the numbers are different...I am guessing that it is counting some posts that I have saved as drafts in the total count...anyways, 380 posts is still a lot, so we'll celebrate that!]

(I am in no way affiliated with Tyler Candle Company. I just happen to really love their candles!)

Now, onto the point of this blog...documenting and sharing our life! Here are some cute pics of our boys from this past Sunday while they played outside. It was a beautiful day and was made even better by these two little rays of sunshine playing outside our home. Enjoy!





































*Grace*

The Sacrifice

Today I have been thinking a lot about the sacrifice that doctors make, and in particular the sacrifice that my dear husband has made. I don't think that most people realize the toll that becoming a doctor really takes on a person...and their family, we're a part of this journey too. The sacrifice is all-encompassing, draining on a person mentally, emotionally, physically & financially too...did you know that on average doctors graduate with $100,000.00 (sometimes much more) in medical student loan debt??? Contrary to popular belief not all doctors are rich and rolling in money, and the ones that are have worked darn hard to get there and have sacrificed on so many levels to get where they are.

Mostly today I have been thinking about the mental and emotional sacrifice of doctors. There are so many tragic situations that doctors face, especially in a hospital setting, and I can't really even imagine how daunting it must seem when those doctors are faced with making hard decisions that will ultimately mean life or death for their patients. Being a doctor in real life isn't like the movies, people don't just walk away from the set after "dying"...no, in real life death is final, and sometimes as a doctor you are not able to save every patient. Sometimes there aren't happy endings, and every time a really tough situation comes along it takes a toll on the doctors in charge.

Can you imagine having to tell a patient in his young 30's that he is dying and that there is nothing you can do to save him? You have to explain to him and his family that the cancer in his body is literally crushing his trachea and lungs and that the only procedure you would be able to attempt would send him into cardiac arrest, killing him. You are the only doctor there, and you have to get your patient, freaked out of his mind and literally fighting for oxygen aware enough and calmed down enough to be able to choose which road to take...to die while an impossible procedure is attempted or to die "naturally" as the cancer chokes the life out of him.

Being a doctor isn't easy. It isn't glamorous. And it is full of hard decisions and tough conversations with real life people. And today I am just thankful that my husband is the kind of doctor that is still full of compassion for his patients, full of empathy for the patients and their families and the kind of doctor that comes home at the end of some days needing to be doctored to.

I am so proud of this man and who he is and what he has become. I love you, Dr. Aldape!



*Grace*

The {4th} Time's the Charm

Last night was night #4 of Eli re-learning how to sleep through the night. Night #3 was pretty good, but he still woke up a few times, grumbled for a few minutes and then would fall back to sleep. Last night though he only got up once, fussed for less than a minute and then slept until about 7! Hallelujah! I have to say, although the first night was pretty darn rough, I am a big fan of this "crying it out" thing. Seriously, it is amazing how wonderful getting several hours in a row of sleep is! And Eli, man, he is so much happier now during the day and when it gets close to bedtime he isn't totally exhausted like he used to be before...I know his little body was suffering from a lack of sleep too...so we're all much happier now!

It's funny though, now that Eli is getting used to sleeping through the night Johnathan has been having a period of waking at night crying for me. Also, he has been much clingier at bedtime and wants to snuggle for forever...I love my cuddle time with him, but I also love hanging out with my hubby after the boys are in bed, so we're working on that right now. Johnathan's primary love languages are quality time and physical touch, so I'm working on giving him lots of one-on-one time during the day and plenty of hugs and kisses. He is a much happier and well-behaved child when his little love tank is full to overflowing.

I hope that each of you are having a wonderful Sunday. Today we're enjoying a relaxing day at home while Dada is hard at work at the hospital...we miss you, Daddy, and we're thankful for all your diligent work. We took a trip to Target earlier (aka the "Red Circle Store"), and Johnathan got to pick out some new toys with some b-day money and gift cards he received for his birthday. So, we're playing with new Thomas the Train Duplos and Toy Story Duplos today...new toys are always so much fun! ;)

Happy Day!
*Grace*

Night #2 Was A...

...SUCCESS!!! I hesitate to celebrate prematurely, but I will rejoice in last nights victory! Eli went from 7:45 until 9ish (his usual M.O.) and I had Aaron go in to reassure him (Ivy, thanks for the inspiration for that...I am usually the one who goes in so I think that having Daddy walk in the room helped him to realize that milk was not on the menu). After his first wake up he went another couple hours and then got up again and was a bit more agitated. This time Aaron went in to get Johnathan who had woken up too and put him on the bed we had ready for him on our floor and I went in to Eli and simply told him, "Goodnight Eli. I love you. Time for bed." Then mommy and milk walked out and after throwing a fit (much shorter than the previous night) he slept until 6:15!!! A miracle!

I did nurse him at 6:15 since that is a typical waking hour around here and put him back in his bed. He is just now waking up (it's 8:00 am) and I am very hopeful for another good night tonight! We'll try the same approach...the daddy/mommy team up and see how it goes. Now I just have to train myself to sleep through the night...I was up several times to check on him since sleeping that length of time is so unheard of for him, haha! Of course he was okay, just sleeping like a baby! ;)

There is hope!

*Grace*

Ridiculous

Okay, so Eli's sleeping habits have gotten pretty ridiculous...no, they've gotten crazy ridiculous and last night I finally had it. Once upon a time when he was about 4 months old or so he would sleep through the night...but that only lasted a month at best and ever since then he has been up about 2-3 times per night. Lately though he has been getting up about every 1-2 hours, and seriously, he's 10.5 months old and does not need to do that. I have been feeling so stuck and have just let him do this because 1) Aaron can't stand to hear him cry and it gives him a huge headache and he loses precious sleep that he needs so he can be alert in order to take care of his patients, and 2) I just feel horrible letting Eli cry and not going to his rescue...so really, I have created this little monster and now I am trying to un-do this nasty little habit of his that is driving me crazy!

Last night Eli went down to bed at about 7:45...about an hour or so later he's up and throwing a tantrum because I won't nurse him. Poor Johnathan was crying "go get Eli, Mama, he needs you" and covering his ears with his hands to try to block out the crying. That is when I decided to I really had to try to correct Eli's bad habit of not sleeping even though I knew it would be a tough road to travel.

I reassured Johnathan that Eli was going to be okay and that we needed to let him fall to sleep by himself. I walked over to Eli's crib to reassure him and then left the room. Eli cried for about 10-15 minutes and then went to sleep. A couple hours later Eli was up again and this time he was really angry. Johnathan woke up again too and was crying for me because Eli was being too loud. I went to get Johnathan and thought I'd try the don't give into the crying approach. Johnathan slept in our bed and Eli wailed in his bed...every hour or so for about 15 minutes each time...the. whole. night...it was awful. No one really got much sleep and Eli apparently did not get the memo that he needed to sleep in longer time increments. Ugh!

Really I was expecting him to throw a huge long fit and then sleep peacefully the rest of the night. That's what I've heard from people who have had to help their babies learn to sleep through the night. That didn't happen and I am nervous about a repeat again tonight. Any advice would be helpful. Some people say to just let them cry and don't go in at all. Others say to go in and reassure them but don't get them out of bed. I am sure there are many schools of thought on this and really no "right way" to do it. All I know is that I am exhausted and my body is totally worn out. Lately whenever I am about to try to go to bed at night I get so anxious because I am so tired but know that I won't really be getting much rest. I thought I could handle it (Johnathan never slept through the night 'til he was about 20 months!) but I just can't. I am too tired and I am desperate!

Tonight Johnathan will sleep on the blow-up mattress on our floor and we'll try this thing again. I hope it takes...and that it doesn't take too many nights before Eli gets the picture. He sure is a stubborn one though, so we'll see.

Exhausted,
*Grace*

Lovin' Their Little Stinks

Okay, so this may seem weird to some people, and other people (aka, Gwen) understand where I'm coming from when I say I love what I call my little dudes' little stinks. You know, all those little smells that make up your baby. I think that this might be one of those things that only a mother loves...or at least only mothers like me...because Aaron (and I think Gwen's hubby Matt too) think it's crazy, and maybe even gross! But I think it's completely normal and I love all the scents that make up my boys.

Like cute little feet and stinky little toes...


...they don't really "stink", at least not to me, and I love kissing their precious little toes.

I also love when my boys wake up from their naps and have that yummy nap smell about them...it's a mixture of a little sweat and a cottony fabric softener kind of smell...and I love it! I've told Aaron numerous times that I love it when they smell like a nap...and he just rolls his eyes and thinks I'm crazy...am I??? I think not! ;)

There are so many little stinks that I love...the damp smell from having a blast outdoors, the sweet but sweaty nape of the neck smell after playing hard, you know, good little boy smells!...oh, and disclaimer, I said that I love the little stinks...the big ones (you know what I'm talkin' about) not so much. Didn't want you to think that I've completely lost it or anything.

Anyways, I just wanted to post about this to remember my boys' sweet little stinks to look back on when are older and they have big boy stinks that I am sure I will not love so much! ;)

Have a happy Wednesday!

*Grace*

My Baby Boy is {3}!!!

{Our Precious Johnathan Aaron, 3 Years Old!}

Here he is, our precious 3 year old boy! I know it's seems cliche to say that time flies, but boy, it sure does. It really does seem like just yesterday that we were bringing Johnathan home from the hospital, our gift from God, our sweet, precious baby that Jehovah had given us. And now, three years later, Johnathan is still the greatest blessing and brings us so much joy. Unknowingly he (or God I should say) rescued us from our sorrow from our previous losses and let us experience holding and loving and parenting a child. Every child is a blessing and gift from God, and Johnathan will always hold a special in our hearts as our first joy-bringer. He is a very special boy.

I am really loving this age. Johnathan is still very dependent on me...especially for lots of lovin' which I just love...but he is also independent and loves to do things all by himself. Also, he is becoming such a great helper...the kind of helper that actually helps, haha, and some of my chores are easier now with him tagging along helping me out. Another thing that I love about this stage in Johnathan's life is how chatty he is. Seriously, the boy talks non-stop from the time he wakes up 'til he goes to bed...sometimes it does get a little much for me to take, but overall it is wonderful and I love listening to his sweet little voice...especially when he is telling me how much he loves me which he does frequently throughout the day-----precious!!!

Yesterday was a fairly low-key day as far as celebrating goes. Sometimes the simpler the better and I think that yesterday was about as wonderful a birthday as a three-year-old could ask for. I dedicated pretty much all my time to him...and Eli too of course...foregoing any chores around the house or things that I normally do to fill my days. We played hard, all day, and did things that 3 year old boys like to do...playing blocks, reading new books, watching a new birthday DVD, shooting guns, playing outdoors and sliding down slides, going to watch a cousin play baseball. It was a good day. Of course we squeezed in regular birthday stuff too...cupcakes and candles, opening presents and a yummy birthday dinner...chili dogs! I would say it was a birthday success!

Here is our sweet Johnathan, and baby brother too, on Johnathan's 3rd Birthday!



































We love you Johnathan!!! Happy Birthday!!!

*Grace*