where to begin?

JA has been developing in leaps and bounds here lately - still refuses to walk though :( I have got to get better about blogging all of the cute things he does!
He has recently learned how to blow his nose - seriously, I kid you not! Fifteen months old and blows his nose. I find this particularly unbelievable, not because I'm his mommy, but because I taught in a pre-K classroom (ages 3-5) for seven years and the majority of those children could not figure out how to blow their nose! It was a big accomplishment when one of my students figured out the mystery of nose blowing, so you can imagine my surprise when JA blew into the tissue one day as I was wiping his nose. I thought it was a fluke. The next day, he blew (without a tissue). Dale went to get a tissue (as I was blocked into the corner by JA), but before Dale got one, JA wiped his nose on my pants leg. Ah, the joys of motherhood :) Yesterday, JA blew again (without a tissue), crawled to the tissue box, pulled out a handful, tore one into small pieces, and then tried to wipe his nose with the smallest piece. I stood watching him and smiling. I let him finish before I helped - he's learning :)
JA has also started desperately searching for something in every cabinet and shelf that he can reach. I'm not sure what he's looking for (and I don't think he is either), but he is really tearing this house apart in his search. We have locks on the cabinets with cleaning supplies and other 'keep out of reach of children' items, but the rest aren't locked because, well, let's face it, it isn't easy getting into locked cabinets for adults either. He doesn't want to play with his toys while I'm cooking. He would much rather play with plastic containers, food boxes, or anything else he can get his little hands on. I finally had to move the box of baggies because he kept taking out all of the baggies and spreading them on the floor. One day last week, he found a small box of raisins. I didn't think he could open it so I let him play with it. He got quiet in the dining room, and when I went to check on him there were raisins EVERYWHERE! He was just sitting in the middle of the mess shaking the box and giggling as the raisins rained down on the dining room floor. I love my little mess :) There's a shelf in his room that has a basket of pacifiers. We received many, but he never used them. Of course, I had sanitized all of them before he was born so we couldn't return them. I had forgotten about them until yesterday when my little pilferer found them. He dumped all of them out of the basket, and then worked on releasing them from their cases, and crawled into the living room. I was still putting sheets on his bed when I heard this strange sucking sound from the living room. Imagine my surprise when I see JA sitting in the middle of the floor with a newborn pacifier hanging out of his mouth like a cigar! I laughed and said, "What are you doing?" He just grinned and crawled away, chewing on the pacifier.
I try to let him do fun things. He didn't feel well earlier in the week so I thought we could fingerpaint. He decided it would be more fun to get a glob of paint in each hand and start clapping. After I cleaned up that mess (and him), I got out the water table, which he loves! I put down towels, and he did everything he could to not be on the towels. Then, he decided to fill a cup with water and dump it on the floor. It appeared to be even more fun when Mommy said we need to keep the water in the table. I finally gave up that notion and decided it would be best to drain the table. Oh, goodness, you would have thought I had taken away his best friend! Have you ever tried to empty a water table with a fifteen month old clutching onto one of the legs? It's not easy; I definitely would not recommend that :)
We're having a fun time, and he's learning so many things so quickly. It's hard to believe that he's already this big and communicating and exploring - wow, God is awesome! Only He could create such a miracle :)

desperate times call for desperate measures...

When we found out that we were becoming parents, my husband and I discussed several issues and came up with these lofty goals: Our child would not watch TV before the age of 2, and even then, it would only be educational programming. Our child would not sleep in the bed with us. Our child would not have bottles of formula. Our child would not use a pacifier. Our child would not be allowed to have candy, soft drinks, or fast food... You can see where I'm going with this. I think most people come up with a list like this when they are contemplating parenthood. It makes you feel like you're a great parent - maybe the best ever. No one could ever live up to your standards, and you're okay with that. Bless their hearts, they just don't know better. And then, the baby arrives. You do your best - everything the books say you should do - and NOTHING works. Your confidence begins to fade. You start (begrudgingly) taking advice from your parents, family, friends, you even start listening to the random advice thrown at you from complete strangers in the line at the grocery store. And still, nothing works. You're exhausted, your baby hasn't stopped crying in days, and you only briefly remember what it feels like to brush your hair or change out of your pajamas while it's still light outside. Every bit of your confidence has completely been flushed down the toilet. You begin to wonder, would it really be that bad if the baby took a pacifier, or slept in our bed, or... You mention this to your well rested husband who begins to suggest that you stick to your original idea, but then he starts to come around to your thinking when he sees the look on your face. Desperate times, my friend, desperate times. JA ended up sleeping in the bed with us until he was five months old. He (and I) finally got more than thirty minutes of sleep at a time, and it was wonderful!!! It doesn't appear to have caused any permanent damage - he made the transition to his crib very easily. We caved in on the pacifier as well, but he never took it - he's a thumb sucker, and I think that's adorable! He has watched TV. All three of us watch Jeopardy every night. I have recently let him watch a few things on Sprout (he loves Thomas!), and we have started collecting VeggieTales DVDs. He doesn't get to see alot of TV, but he has been exposed, and that's okay. I backed down on another of our 'lofty goals' today. JA had a couple of McNuggets. I know, I know - shame, shame! He hasn't been eating well the last couple of weeks. He only wants bread and fruit. I've tried everything I could think of, and he still makes a face and spits it out. So, I thought, he needs to eat something, let's try the drive-thru. He ate one and a half nuggets along with some whole wheat bread, strawberries, and a teeny, tiny bit of carrots. I was so excited that he finally ate some meat that I didn't feel too horrible about giving him (gasp!) fast food.
It really goes back to being able to do things in moderation. A little TV isn't terribly bad, but allowing a child to watch TV for eight hours a day can't be helping their physical or mental development. Occasionally eating something from the drive-thru isn't the healthiest choice, but it's much better than having fast food two or three times a day. I guess it's just important to remember that we aren't perfect and neither is he, but we are doing the best we can, and that's really all you can do.