Toddler Talk Thursday-Late Night Wake Up Calls

It has been awhile since I have joined in on Toddler Talk Thursday but this weeks topic caught my eye.  The question was "Does your toddler sleep through the night".  Ha, ha! I had to post about this one.  Sleeping and night time waking has been an issue for Jadon for a long time.  Lately things seem to be going great but we are getting ready to have a disruption to our routine and that always makes Jadon wake in the night.

It is pretty common for Jadon to wake at least once or twice in the night.  Most of the time he just wants to be covered back up and have his crib music toy started and he will go back to sleep.  I don't know what wakes him.  Things always seem to get worse after each surgery also.  A change in routine really seems to throw off his sleep schedule too.

As recent has a few months ago it was even common to have to get up with him and rock for awhile to help him get back to sleep.  He is not hungry or thirsty.  He never asks for anything but some cuddle time.  It is almost like he just needs to know we are still there.  He has been through a lot in his short little life though.  A lot he probably does not understands and just needs that comfort.

I had prepared myself to have many sleepless night after this last surgery but that did not happen.  He has really been sleeping great.  Somehow he has found ways to sleep comfortably with that huge cast on!

Found him like this the other morning.  He had tucked his stuffed frog between his head and his casted arm for a pillow!  I thought that was so smart!

I am hoping that the good sleep habits we have seen recently continue.  Two years with little sleep was starting to wear on this Mommy!  We have not been brave enough to make the switch over to the toddler bed yet.  Jadon takes about 45 minuted to fall asleep at night and I like him contained during that time.  Yes, that is selfish, but by the time we make it to bedtime I don't have much energy left.  Going to have to mentally prepare myself before the switch.  I think the first night will be rough.  I know it is coming soon though!

If you have questions about why Jadon has had to have multiple surgeries in his short little life please visit his blog HERE.

We have really started to have a lot of issues with Jadon saying no, throwing fits, and not sharing. I would love to hear how other parents deal with this issue.

One Cute Tot

Jadon is one of several cute tots featured on the site Totally Tots today!  This is a site we love to visit to get fun play ideas!  Go over there and check it out!!  There are tons of tons of great play ideas for tots and their moms to do!! 

Food-a-licious Friday

Just thought it would be fun to share my meal plan for the next week with you.  I subscribe to a few blogs that do this and I always enjoy seeing what others are having for dinner.  Sometimes they share links to recipes I have never tried before.  I love a new recipe!  I am not scared to try something new.  If it fails, it fails.  If it ends up being fabulous then I have a new recipe to add into the rotation!  Woohoo!  There is nothing I hate more than eating the same thing every week.  Blah!

We go grocery shopping on Friday nights (exciting huh?) so I work on my meal plan during the day on Fridays.  Here is what is on deck for the next week!

Saturday (Parents Night Out this week):
Walmart Take and Bake Pizza's (delicious-my kids love them!)

Sunday:
Spicy Potato Soup and Gondola Sandwiches

Spicy Potato Soup Recipe (From Aunt Brenda but I believe originally from Taste of Home magazine)
1 lb of ground beef
4 cups of cubed potato
1 sm. onion
24 oz. tomato sauce
4 cups water
2 tsp. salt ( I leave this out)
1 1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. of hot pepper

Brown ground beef and onion.  Drain.  Combine all ingredients and cook until potatoes tender. 

Monday:
Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken (Gina's Skinny Recipes)

Tuesday:
Grandma's Famous Spaghetti and Meatballs
Garlic Breadsticks (Our Best Bites)

Wednesday:
Chicken Pot Pie-The Pioneer Woman Cooks Cookbook

Thursday:
Bull's Eye Burgers (Rachael Ray)
Fries

Friday-Eat Out (Grocery Night)

Well, that is the plan for the next week.  I would like to plan for two weeks but I just have not worked up to that yet.  Enjoy!

Clever Boy

Today was a pretty quiet day.  After the storm we got last night we decided not to venture out this morning.  Did not feel like having three muddy boys running back in the house.  The boys seemed okay with that.  We did color with markers which was pretty exciting!  Usually we color with crayons.  Jadon had a little predicament.  Usually he uses Righty to hold the marker while he takes the cap off with Lefty but Righty is not available right now so Jadon had to figure out something else and you know he did.  Let's just say he has marker on his neck now.  Yup...he puts the markers under his chin and holds it in place while he pulls the cap off.  Love it! 

We are working on shapes so we named these shaped while we colored.

Well.....that is about it for today!!

Getting Ready for the Iditawagon.

We had another fun evening in our house!  We helped Jacob prepare his teams "sled" for the Iditawagon Race they do every year at school.  It is really pretty fun.  Every year one of the teachers has the kids put together teams and they have their own version of the Iditarod race.  One kid is the musher.  The others are dogs.  They have to find room on their "sleds" for some specific items like a dog water bowl, food, etc.....

Jacob's team is using our go-cart minus the engine.  So Matt and Jacob pumped up the tires tonight, attached the required box to hold the gear, and attached the rope that the "dogs" will use to pull.  Then of course we had to test it out!  LOL! 

Matt wore out pretty quick.

So the kids got put to work as the "dogs".....

Matt and Jadon were the mushers.  They wanted to make sure that is was not too heavy to pull and also that it would stear okay.

Lots of laughs and fun was had by all!  Should be a good race on Friday!

Aunt Emily requested that I post one of the rockstar video pics Matt took that I talked about in the last post.  Here it is! 

Monday's Are Fun Days

Today was a pretty good day.  Started off a little rocky.  The lack of sleep I suffered over the weekend while Jadon was sick was making move a little slow this morning.  But as the sun came out and I saw on the weather that the high was supposed to be almost 70 degrees I started to perk up!  Woohoo!  Another outdoor fun day!  Well....We had a little issue with that this morning.  One of my daycare kids forgot his shoes.  Actually he did not his mom did.  She evidently picked him up out of bed and loaded him in the car forgetting to grab his shoes.  Ugh!  That meant no outside time for us!  Thankfully she arrived at lunch with his shoes.  She ran home on her lunch break to get them.  Whew!

Jacob came home from school ready to be outside.  I love that!  While I was getting the other boys ready to go outside he went ahead and took Jadon out to play.  When we got outside this was what they were up to....

As you can see from the look on Jadon's face they were having a blast.  I was a little nervous.  I want Jadon to be a boy and have fun but does it have to be while he is recovery from shoulder surgery and a tendon transfer.  I know those doctors assured me that cast is indestructible but.....leave it to my kid!

I could not say no when I saw how much Jadon was loving it.  I just followed along telling Jake to slow down when he got a little too speedy. 

Socks was found sunning herself on the rolled up truck bed cover.  She is so pretty!

Tonight we burned off our prairie grass so it can grow back nice and thick this year!

Shelby said walking through the paths surrounded by fire she felt like she should be in a music video so her Dad was taking pics of her acting out the thoughts in her head!  LOL!

After we were done burning we decided to walk down our neighbors lane and visit his horse, Lightening.  Lightening just loves the attention as you can see from this pic of him patiently waiting for Jadon to come pet him. 

Jadon loves Lightening just a little too! 

I am really loving the warmer weather.  We love to be outside! 

Luck of the Irish?

Happy St. Patricks Day!  We have had a fantastic day.  Maybe it was luck but whatever it was I am lovin' it!  It is really the awesome weather we had today that made it great!  The boys LOVE to be outdoors.  They thrive out in nature.  They can run, jump, be as loud as they want, and act like maniacs.  Everything they want to do inside but there are rules about that.  Boo!  We spent a good portion of our morning playing outside today.

Ride on toys were first on the agenda.

That face says it all.  This boy is happy!

Moved on to the playhouse where we played a fun game of peekaboo.  Jadon ran from one window to the other and yelled peekaboo and I would run around the corner and surprise him.

And.....down the slide we go.  Again and again and again.  Jadon can't do the ladder so I have to lift him up everytime but that is what Mommy's are for right?

I don't know why he was closing his face as he got to the bottom.

And another slide picture later in the day.  We went right back outside after naptime.  I was not sure I was going to get Jadon inside when it was time for dinner. 

Jadon was sure making me nervous while we were outside.  Of coure there was the whole climbing and going down the slide, but he also decided to get on a ride on toy and ride it down a hill in our yard.  I turned just in time to see him flying pretty fast down the hill.  No one else was doing this.  It was totally his own idea.  Ugh!  Will someone please tell this kid he just had surgery! Lord!

Grandma Cindy brought us corned beef and cabbage for dinner and it was YUMMY!!!  We finished off our evening with a special treat.  I found this recipe for homemade shamrock shakes on the blog Brown Eyed Baker.  They were so good!  Jadon kept saying "MMmmmmmm".

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hangin In There!

Wow!  Once again I have really been neglecting this blog!  Since I posted last Jadon celebrated b-day number two, we went to Philly for Jadon's surgery (Visit Jadon's Journey HERE to see more on that), and we threw my sister a great bridal shower!

I have had a few phone calls this week asking after Jadon and how he is doing!  People are concerned that our dear sweet toddler is miserable and uncomfortable.  With that huge cast on you would think that he is miserable. Let me reassure you, like I did them, that our toddler is soldiering through this most recent challenge just like everything that has come before.  He is playing, happy, and adapting.  Me....I would be whining, complaining, and being a big baby.  Not Jadon.  Here are some pics of some recent play times to prove to you that we still have a very happy boy.

Stacking cups

Using his feet since he can't use Righty.

Enjoying one of his b-day gifts.  This is a Joey magnetic dress up doll that come with cowboy, superhero, police, and firefighters clothes to dress him up with. 

Love that face......"Hmm...does that look right" is what I imagine him thinking.

See...looks pretty happy right?

Looks like a pretty typical day of play right?  I will be back to post some of the pics from Jadon's birthday party later!