Buzz Lightyear

Many of you know that Johnny has a fascination with Buzz Lightyear. His obsession with watching the movie all day has lessened but he still carries him around in a little backpack everywhere he goes. The other day I noticed that Buzz would talk to Johnny and Johnny would talk back to him. I told Johnny the other day that he needed to get in bed and the conversation went like this...

Buzz: You need to go to bed Johnny

Johnny: OK, Buzz

I also told Johnny that something he was doing was yucky and the conversation went like this...

Buzz: That's yucky Johnny

Johnny: OK, Buzz

I find it funny that Buzz always uses Johnny's name when he is talking to him and Johnny always responds by using Buzz's name. I guess when you are one in the same you don't want to confuse yourself.

Get the Gates Ready

As you can tell from the pictures, Coen is almost crawling. He gets up on his knees and rocks but doesn't move far. He has scooted a little but that is about it. I guess it is almost time to get the gates out so he doesn't take a stumble down the stairs.

Toilet Bubbles

Today I decided to take desperate measures. I have had no luck with Johnny and his potty training. He is just not interested. He doesn't want to sit on the potty, he doesn't care if he is in a pull-up and he definitely doesn't care that he has a messy diaper. So I took someones advice and put him on the toilet and let him blow bubbles. He didn't go, but he did stay on the seat longer then a millisecond. So there is some progress. He was very sad when he got up off the toilet and wanted the bubbles and I had to explain to him that he only got the bubbles when he sat on the potty. So I am hoping there will be progress real soon. If not then maybe I you will be famous and in the Guinness Book of World Records as the mother of a child that was never potty trained. I sure hope not. But it would kind of be fun knowing you are famous! Don't cha think?

Way To Go PAIGE!!

Today Paige got to go to a special lunch because she was student of the month. She got a new water bottle with her school name on it and a few gift certificates to restaurants too. I am very proud of her. As the note says she was student of the month for being kind. She told me it was because she was nice to people at school. It always makes you feel good as a parent when you hear that your child is nice to others and is their friend. Since we live in a relatively small suburban town we tend to run into a lot of Paige's classmates when we are out and about. And every time we see them Paige always says hi to them and is very excited to see someone she knows. She really is a very sweet girl. I am very lucky to be her mom.

A Farewell To Breastfeeding

I am sad to say that I will not be breastfeeding my baby anymore(maybe only at night). A few months ago I found out the my baby was loosing weight. It was at this point I realized I was not producing enough milk. So I started to take supplements which initially helped but for some reason these past few weeks my production went down to pretty much nothing. Because of Coen's lack of gaining weight my pediatrician has been monitoring him. Well, today I went into to see him and sure enough he hadn't gained much again (Coen also has an ear infection).My Dr. then told me that I need to be giving him more formula because he is not gaining weight. I have struggled with this. I feel so bad that I have to give him a bottle. I know I shouldn't because there is nothing I can do, and I know that there are millions of babies that are feed formula and they are fine. But for some reason I feel guilty about this. My Dr. had to sit me down and tell me that he got breast milk exclusively for six months and that was great but now that I am not producing enough I have to give him formula so he can gain weight. He has but Coen on a very regimented schedule of solid foods alternated with a bottle. I also talked to my Dr. about a medicine that I heard can help milk production and he told me that I can try it but that I would have to pump or feed Coen every two hours and then feed him a bottle too. He then told me that since I already have two other children that it probably would be too much for me. And this is not taking into account that my middle child is a handful. So that option will not work. I will still feed Coen at night just for comfort since he doesn't get much milk anyway. So I bid a sad farewell to breastfeeding and a unwelcome hello to expensive formula! I know great timing, gas prices sky high and now having to buy formula!YIKES!

That's Too Dangerous

Many of you know Paige. And many of you know that she is not what you would call a dare devil. Actually, she is anything but that. Last night John was giving them a piggy back ride and wanted to start from the bottom of the stairs and take them up the stairs and into their rooms. Paige lost it. She started to cry and say "that's too dangerous"and "that's not safe". I couldn't help but chuckle under my breath. She was crying and very distraught. As this was going on Johnny came down the stairs jumped on his dad's back without a care and climbed the stairs on his dad's back. We have two kids who could not be more different. Johnny is our little thrill seeker and Paige is our little cautious child. It is so amazing to me how children come to us so different and have their own personalities even from birth.

2006 it was 956

In the year 2006 Coen was ranked 956 in popularity. Apparently between then and now it has moved up significantly. I have always heard people say they never knew that their child's name was so popular until they named their child that name. Well, it has happened to me. I had never heard of anyone with that name until recently. Now I hear it everywhere. And all the little boys with this name are under one. So when Coen is in elementary school his name will seem as common as mine was. It is kind of funny how I found his name. I wanted to name him Kade, but a neighbor had just named their son that, and I like Kael (good thing we didn't name him that because John cousin whose wife is also Michelle Black named their son this a month after we had Coen) but my BIL mentioned that it was a lettuce so I went to a baby name website and looked at names that started with "C" and "K" and I came across Cohen. Well, that spelling is a Jewish last name. I have nothing against a Jewish name, I just didn't want my child to have a first name that was typically a last name, so I changed the spelling to omit the "h". Apparently a lot of parents did the same thing, so not only are there many little Coen's out there but they have the same spelling. It just makes me laugh to think the one child that I thought we were naming a name that was uncommon, not weird but cute would end up being our most popular baby name yet. Paige is a name that everyone has heard of but there are not tons of them around. John is a very common name and still is listed in the top 20 most popular names but for some reason I have not come across many little boys named John. But since I have been blogging and frequently other blogs I have noticed the name Coen is so popular. Oh well, even if his name is popular he still is so cute, fun and a happy baby.

The New Map

Did anyone notice the new map I have on my blog. If not it is to the left of the screen at the top. I got this idea from my friend Kristina's blog. I thought it was so cool. You can see where people are that are looking at your blog. Kind a cool if I might say so myself.

To all you stay at home moms....

I read this article on fox's website and thought it was interesting. I recall a few years back reading about a women who was demanding a huge settlement from her husband during divorce proceedings because she had stayed home with their children for over 20 years while he worked as a doctor. She computed the settlement by multiplying her years of service by a salary much like the one in the above article. She noted in her settlement that she didn't have a pension, a 401K or any type of retirement for her job. She stated she never had sick leave, vacation pay etc. I had never heard of such a case before, but honestly it did make sense. Might I note I believe that her husband had an affair. You hear all the time of a mother who has stayed home raised her children and then her husband leaves her for a younger women. Not only does this women feel like she is being thrown to the trash but a lot of the time the husband doesn't want to pay alimony or anything. I believe what this women did was appropriate, she should be compensated for her years of service. Staying at home with your children is a job. I remember a few months back I got a phone call about doing a survey. The first thing the man asked was what is your occupation, I said "oh, I don't do anything, I am a stay at home mom." He quickly came back with "that's a job and one of hardest and demanding there is." That same week in YW we had a similar lesson on staying at home and how we should not be apologetic for it. I realized then that I shouldn't be apologetic about it that I should hang my head high and say " I am the proud mother of three who is so lucky to stay home with my children, so in other words my job is CEO of my Home".

Lucky Ducks

Johnny was playing the game Lucky Ducks today and was having a great time. It was time to pick up Paige from school so we had to clean it all up. Everything was put back in the box but the ducks. I couldn't find them anywhere. I looked on the couch and this is what I found.


They were apparently luckier ducks then I thought. They got to take a nap without Johnny waking them up. Yes, those are wet wipes that he used. I guess I will have to add duck blankets to the list of wet wipes purposes now. I never knew Johnny could be so maternal.

Birthday Present

Tonight Paige was telling me that she only has May, June and July until her birthday. She then told her dad the same thing. After she told her dad she leaned over to me and whispers "and I want makeup". I was like "what?" John swiftly came over and told her that she would not be getting makeup and that she would have to wait for 7 years before that was to happen. I think she now realizes that she will not be getting makeup, at least for the time being. But I bet this topic will come up again in the near future.

BATH AND BODY WORKS SALE!!!

This is a shout out to all of you who love Bath and Body Works like I do. They are having their big sale the one where certain lotions are 5 for $30 and their wallflowers are $6. The reason why I am blogging about this is because I was talking to one of my YW and she works at JC Penney and she said that there are a group of women that have a phone tree for JC Penney sales. Yes, you heard me right if a women goes into JC Penney and finds a killer sale she will then call her person on the phone tree and the rest is history. I thought wow what a cool idea. So I am not going to start a phone tree but I thought that I would post this sale on my blog for any of those who are interested! Happy Shopping!