Time flies

Not only do we now have a Jake that's 4-years-old(this past Monday) but, as of today, Jason and I have been married for 9 years!

Our Jake is getting so big! He had fun on his big day by getting hourly gifts and taking a trip over to Chuck e. Cheese to play some games then finished up the day back at home having dinner with us and his Grandpa Osborn, Uncle Donny, and Aunts Carrie and Jessica. As usual, he got spoiled. He received numerous new dinosaurs(as if he really needed more!), a VeggieTales dvd, his big Sister's old GameBoy Advance, a Leapster game, Madagascar Sorry, and much more. We sure love that little guy and are glad that we were able to have so much fun for his special day.

Well, it's been a full nine years! Over this time we have : had three kids, moved three times, gained and lost friends and family, started and ended jobs, gained a college degree for Jason, learned many new skills and arts, just essentially grown up together. We are a work-in-progress and will always continue to be. We are ever growing, changing, and learning and are looking forward to being a forever family. I just want Jason to know that I love him very much and hope that he knows that he is my best friend and am so grateful for him.

It's been nearly 16 months since our Noah was born and he's changed so much during that time but seems to have been growing and changing at light speed over the past month. Not only is he eating regular meals and sleeping through the night(thank goodness!), but he is now done nursing and has left his poor old mom in the dust. I had been trying to wean him for several months and was beginning to think that he was never going to be done, but today is THE day. I visualized and practically dreamed of this day for a few months but it's not exactly as it seemed in my mind. I feel a sadness as I think of and realize that my baby doesn't depend on me in the same way anymore. Don't worry though, I am still VERY happy. I feel as though my body is just that; MINE! I can now eat as much broccoli and hot sauce as I want without having to worry about upsetting his tiny tummy, though I do still keep my tummy in mind. Jason and I could actually go away for a night or ten and not have to worry(yippee!). I love that little guy so much and am so happy(maybe a touch sad) about his new independence.

Three's a Crowd

Well, it was something that I had a vague recollection of, and something that I had heard many others seeming to boast about for the past 15 months; but I am now an unofficial member of the "my child sleeps through the night club"! Not only that but, Jason and I have moved Noah out of our bed!!! Early on in our parenting adventures beginning with Leah I had pretty much vowed that I would not have our child/children sleeping in our bed, well, that worked fine and well until Noah came along. Noah has been my longest nurser and is the only one to refuse taking a bottle or pacifier, so that meant that I was his pacifier(yay!). Noah would only sleep for three hours at a time and when he woke we would be fortunate to get him back to sleep right away and usually the only way that I could get some sleep and get him back to sleep would be to bring him into our bed. Anyway, we hadn't really tried the Ferber method(cry it out) before because Noah and Jake were sharing a bedroom, but we decided that when Leah's school ended that we would have Jake sleep in with her so that we could give it a shot. Well, one month into it and he's finally sleeping until 6:30 to 7am and in HIS bed!!! What's better is that he hardly even cries now when we put him in bed! Now that we're all sleeping better I'm working on weaning him and it seems to be going well. He has suddenly taken an interest in eating actual meals and he eats quite well. I'm so thankful for a good night's sleep and thankful that I can move around and sprawl out in the bed without worrying that my movements will wake him. I'm especially thankful that he is finally sleeping well and I think that I've been able to tell a difference in his development over the past few weeks since he's finally getting the rest that he needs. We love our little family and even when faced with challenges we couldn't be more grateful for them.

Update: Two days later, Noah slept for a record 13 hours straight!!!! I guess he's making up for lost sleep, and I don't mind.