Our Whole New Menu

About a month before our big move north, we had to make a drastic change in our family.  With two of three babies, the younger two, having digestive issues with milk and just going lactose free for them was not working very well.  We thought long and hard about shifting our whole family not only to a lactose free, but dairy free menu.  This was going to be HUGE!

Our oldest has quite an affection for dairy in any form.  Milk, cheese, you name it.  Not only that, but we would have to be very diligent about reading labels because dairy sneaks into the strangest places in commercial products.  Casein, Whey, milk, butter, milk powder, and then you have the products that have potentially come into contact with some form of "milk".  We were confused.  We were determined.  We had two, sometimes very miserable, babies that needed everyone in our home on board with changing our lifestyles to make them well.  We jumped right in.

My husband and I both agree that going dairy free for us also meant not diving into soy products because of the risk of lots of exposure to plant based estrogen for our growing young men.  I know lots of men who grew up on soy products, but we decided that was not the way we were going to go.  Our new Vitamix blender became our very best purchase to date in regards to our family.

I could blend up batches of coconut and almond milk.  Make dairy free dressings and sauces in no time, and give our babies a nutritionally dense smoothie every day to help supplement the vitamins that they were no longer receiving from dairy products.  It is a truly fantastic machine, and it is the only way that our family could make it with the price of dairy free milks on the market.  Someday I will share our smoothie recipe, which is pretty versatile, but I usually just throw things in and eyeball it so I will actually have to measure it out in order to do that. 

After one month of being off all forms of dairy our two youngest babies finally were not having the digestive problems of the past.  No diarrhea, which had plagued our middle child for over a year.  No throwing up at least once or twice a week.  Improvement of skin rashes that had begun to develop on both children.  Even their attitude and energy levels improved...all 3 of them benefitted in this way!  The real surprise was that my husband and myself had noticed changes in our own bodies and attitudes.  THIS was the what we needed to do for our family.

Our pediatrician had not felt the need to test our kids for sensitivities or allergies, even when presented with the symptoms, because they were growing and "healthy" otherwise.  But, as a momma it breaks you down to not know why your kids are having some digestive problem, or a strange skin break out, and you don't know what to do about it. 

It was my husband and I that took our middle son off of lactose, with small improvement in his body.  And it was our drive to truly fix the problem and change our entire menu for the entire household, FOR these little people God gave us, that really made the difference.  My husband even had a co-worker get almost angry at him for going dairy free like we did, because he didn't see the point if he wasn't allergic as well.  Like we now tell our oldest child...sometimes you do what is best for the people you care about even if it is an inconvenience to you. This is probably the second greatest lesson we learned by doing this.  The first is to not be afraid to try everything to make your babies well because it is the right thing to do.

Strength of a Man

Yesterday was Father's Day. I can say that I may not have been born to the man who I feel had a greater hand in raising me and my sisters, but he's my dad, just as much as my own father. For some this is a sad day of remembrance for someone they lost. Someone who wasn't around, or didn't act like a father should to his children. But, for others it is a true celebration of the title given to men who truly raise their children up.

I have married such a man. He is a FATHER. Up at night, play outside, be patient when he doesn't want to be...father. Our children are blessed to have him. He is laying the groundwork for the fathers I hope our boys become, and the man who our daughter chooses to have a family with. He is laying a foundation of strength, love, and hard work.

Our pastor made reference to how boys play together today in church when he was talking about the role of a father. The wrestling, and rough housing that makes some of us mommas cringe is really a test drive of their manly muscles. They want to know they are strong, capable, and able.

I noticed our boys played much differently than my sister's and myself did as kids. They can be so sick that they don't want to eat or drink, and yet they will get up to wrestle. The weaker they feel the more they are ready to try to take on the world. And, I guess that is their true design.

How do we cultivate this budding manhood in our boys, and still avoid the bleeding and broken bones or coming to real blows. I think that is a balance that must be established early. My step brothers put each other in the ER several times, but always at their mother's house. My husband and his sister did the same because their mom believed in letting them "fight it out". I don't remember doing this to my sisters or any of my boy cousins doing it to their siblings. I think manhood is about strength under control, and that is how I am going to encourage our boys.

A man is capable of hurting someone, but knows he shouldn't and doesn't. A man should also be capable of gentleness, and use it often. There are many layers to strength and not all have to do with muscles, some are about character, and how they treat those they are responsible for. This is the strength of a MAN.

Compliment often...
Play...
Wrestle...
Hug..
And encourage your young men to find their strength, under control...

26, and an Unexpected Blessing

Today my new number is 26. I am now over my mid-twenties. But, as with my birthdays the last 5 years it doesn't really feel like my birthday.

I am an identical twin and in my head I always think "our birthday", so celebrating without my siter here has never been fun for me. But, the last time I felt like my birthday was actually celebrated was several years ago.

Today my husband got up for work at 5am. Got ready, and came back to say good bye...no "happy birthday". This is not the first time, the second time, the third time, or the 4th time that those words came from someone other than him first. But, I am trying to change my reaction to this, because it hurts.

My first instinct is to be really angry because I make such efforts for everyone else on their birthday, but that doesn't create peace in our home. It makes him angry that I am so angry, and then we argue. So, this morning I spent time looking for verses in the bible to pray during the day that will help stop my anger in its tracks.

Proverbs 10:12- Hatred stirreth up strife: but love covereth all sins (KJV)

Psalms 100:4- Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. (KJV)

Titus 2:3,4,5- The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obeidient to their own husbands, that the word of god be not blasphemed (KJV)

I am trying to pray my way to a more peaceful heart today. and isn't it strange that in our blustery state we have tornadoes on the menu for our weather pleasure. I need to pray a lot today.

As I am writing this my 3 year old just shouted "Happy Birthday!" to me, twice. I haven't talked to anyone, or said anything about today being my birthday out loud. I was just pouring my heart out here trying to keep my frustration at bay. It instantly made me cry. How would my son know that I needed that today? In this very moment I believe that he was impressed by God to say it to me because there was no other way he could have known to say it to me today. Thank you God for talking to my baby and giving me that little encouragement today. I needed it.

Fishing with Daddy

There is nothing like taking a 3, 2, and 1 year old fishing!

My husband has been waiting for this day from the moment he heard "it's a boy!".

His favorite outdoor activity, and one he wishes his father had enjoyed, or sometimes tolerated, so they could spend time together. So, he is on his way to being that daddy now.

Momma packed a cold dinner of cheesey bread, pizza hummus, carrots, and fruit...daddy got the tackle ready.

...while earlier in the day mommy had picked up the casting net for the first time in her life, and after watching one YouTube tutorial, she completely OWNED it! Daddy has been trying to do it for over a year, and mommy helped him (I have permission from him to boast on my skills, haha). But, back to our sunset fishing picnic...

Load the tackle, check.
Load the kids, check.
Load the food, check.
Hit the road, check.

Our firecracker spent his time throwing things into the water like daddy with the net...and so did mister sassy-pants. Pepper girl and mommy watched and ate our dinner. The boys were biz-ay! So, pepper ate all the kiwi...

My husband learned just how long rocks can hold the attention of young boys, and that they didn't care if they caught anything or even got a bite. This was about quality time.

An outing together, a first together. Not a long trip, but just right for where our kids are right now.

Happy Easter, Christ is Risen!

Minute Mom

Today, for the third time in two weeks, we went out as a family and someone stopped by our table and told me that my children were wonderfully well behaved. They have NO IDEA how much I have needed to hear that!

Our Firecracker is a very emotional 3 year old who wears 5T pants, for the lenth. You can imagine that he has some stopping power when he doesn't want to go somewhere, and sometimes a temper to match. I spent most of my childhood and teens working with children and he is a puzzle to me in many ways. He throws tantrums, with his whole body sometimes, and doesn't like to sit still very often. He is my challenge and his brother and sister tend to get swept along with us during the more difficult moments. But, I have been trying to work on changing how I do things and see what happened.... I had read on someone's blog that she couldn't remember her mother ever saying "just a minute", or "be there in a sec". This was something that I could hear myself saying a lot, especially to my Firecracker. He would want to show me something, and I would say "in a minute", and then he would move on to something else and I would never come see what he wanted to show me. I decided, that I didn't want to be the Minute mom. I din't want the only thing they could remember me saying was something like that. I realize that we are not always available, but I am going to try my best to be there for every moment I can be. This change I made has come about in the last couple weeks, and I think it has something to do with his new attitude. Do you ever find yourself saying these things a lot? We all do it, but I would challenge you to change your method and see what comes of it. Attention can change a child, and the change is dependant on the attention they are given. Make it good meaningful, and as fun as you can and you might just see their little hearts change in front of your eyes.

1st Month of Preschool

Before we had our first child, my husband and I decided that homeschooling was what we wanted for our babies. We both were not satisfied with our experiences in public school as children, and driving past some of the inner city schools, that we are zoned for, it appears that our children will be attending school in a refurbished prison. No kidding, bars on all the windows, brick building, with 8' fences around their play yard. That is NOT what we wanted for our kids.

I started researching homeschool preschool options last year, and I was introduced to ABC Jesus Loves Me. We have been working pretty closely to their curriculum, substituing things that work better for our very busy 3yr old boy.

It has been quite a first month. 2 rounds of sickness, various appointments that interfered with our school schedule, and many other snafus. But, in spite of it all, He has learned! I can see it, and hear it!

My "baby" is talking clearer, asking to "do school", and singing songs. He is a little more patient, and he finally lets me read whole books to him without ripping them out of my hand so that he can "read" them himself. He has discovered the difference between day and night, and he knows "Jesus loves me!", I am one proud momma!

So far his favorite is alphabet work, and he likes the interactive programs that help him to make the letter sounds. And his second favorite activity is art.

I just found some printables that I think he is going to love for next week. One is a Big/Little alphabet matching game, and Dot marker sheets that are fall themed.

I am so glad that God put it in our hearts to teach our children at home! I am astonished by our kids, and how I can be enough for them, even when it comes to their education. His joy in learning makes me feel like a much better mom than I have feeling I was.

It just hit...

It's Saturday night...we've done our grocery shopping...our babies are all in bed and should be sleeping (should right?)...and here I am working on my baby's preschool curriculum!

My baby, my first one anyway. A week from Monday this wonderfully silly, rambunctious little man is going to not only start his first day of Preschool...he's going to be 3!

He's now potty trained, he can count to 19(even though there is no 16 when he does, and I love him for it), he asks questions like "what doing mommy" and if I say OW he says "ok mommy?". My sweet BIG-little man is growing up!

It's there and gone so fast! And it hits you at the strangest moments. The time we have to teach and watch our kids is fleeting. I know he's only going to be 3, and he's still technically a baby...he will always be MY baby...but I feel like I want time to slow down.

I want to savor this time and file it away for the times when he doesn't like me very much and tells me all about it....the times that I have to slow him down because he's trying to "grow up" too fast.

I am so excited watching this little boy grow....and I am so curious about the man he will become. But, it is only his third year...I get to keep my little boy a little bit longer. Cherish your babies, pray about the men and women they are going to become, let them get dirty and make mistakes...but enjoy it while it lasts!

Our Lovin' Boy

See this handsome little man right here? He's my Lovin' Boy! We used to have to ask him to "give us lovins", but as they grow up...they tend to change a little. Now, we can't get him to stop hugging...EVERYONE!

I guess it is our doing that he's so lovey with people. We make sure to hug and kiss him a lot, and give him praise when we think he needs it. And now that baby man is here, we make sure he gives his bubba some lovin' too. We especially do this when he accidentally...or intentionally...takes something from him, or bumps him in some way. Sometimes he "pets" his brother on the head, or gives him a big hug. We are just trying to make sure that hurting is always followed by loving, and so far it works very well. He has only tried to hit his little brother a handful of times.

Today was one instance where he just suprised me! We had to wait a very long time to be seen at our WIC office, and thankfully they were playing Cars 2 which is a movie that we have at home and our little man adores! There was a little boy there who had been hitting, and taking toys from other kids, and had even pushed and taken from our little man and he never tried to retaliate against this boy. In spite of this litte boy and us being there over an hour, and he had been a little cooped up, he saw this 5 or 6 year old boy come in and he just walked right over and started giving him hugs. He followed that poor boy and did it a few more times before I could get him to stop. I am trying to teach him that some people have boundaries...I used to, and still am one of them from time to time....but it's not always successful. I can't believe that after being pushed and bugged by one little boy and not fighting back..he picked a random kid to just start hugging on! I was a proud momma!

The other afternoon he got up from his nap, and spent the first 20 minutes running across the room to the couch so he could run back to me and give me a big hug. If any of you knew me previous to meeting my husband and being a mom, hugging was NOT on my list of favorite things! I went out of my way, and still with certain people this is still the case, to avoid hugging anyone at all! So, the fact that I have been blessed with, not only a very huggable husband, but a also a huggable little boy is God's great big laugh at my expense! I admit that I LOVE hugs from my men!

I am so glad to have such a lovin' boy. I would rather he grow up trying to hug and kiss everyone...he kissed my nurse square on the mouth, and made her afternoon the other day...than have a child who likes no one, and tries to hurt people! Thank God for Lovin' Boys!

I forgot to knock on wood!

See how empty my kitchen looks? No, we are not moving...this is how I clean! This spur of the moment floor mopping comes as a result of our Little Man.

We started potty training from a different approach two weeks ago today. Things have been going very well, so well in fact that I just had to brag on him on my facebook page yesterday! He was peeing and pooping on the potty with minimal accidents, while we are home. He even stopped himself from having an accident and went and sat to do his business! But, as bragging goes...I forgot to knock on wood, and I was even sitting at the kitchen table, the most convienient wood in the house!

Today has NOT been successful! Three times he needed to pee, and three times he peed right where he was standing! I don't know why he's doing it, all I can figure is that after yesterday it had nowhere else to go but...frustrating! I tell on myself by saying that I almost took the easy way out after the second time, and put a diaper on him, and it took everything I had not to the third time.

I realize accidents and days like this are a part of the process, but I really need some adult support today...and all I have for "older" company is...my chairs!

But I have to say they are probably a little angry with me because the little man christened them two of the three times he didn't pee in the potty today...

A Nice Encounter

Our little man, at barely over 2, is really not so little. He's over 3 feet tall, and wears 4T clothing for the length. Our long and skinny boy is deceptively "older" looking, and with that comes an anticipated set of complications. People THINK he's older without asking his age, so they just assume he's behind or lacking in some way. No kidding I have had people ask me this!

He's getting better about talking, but only talks to you if he wants to...so, feel special if he does!

And here's the reason I wrote about my little man today....

I was at Walmart a couple days ago, and was in the checkout line. He couldn't understand why he could eat a banana right away, and had a little meltdown....again, he's barely over 2, meltdowns happen. And, as usual I was getting the "look" from people and I heard someone in the other aisle say,"thats why we don't have kids"....FYI people can hear you one aisle over when you say things like that! In the lane a woman behind me asked how old my little man was. When I told her his age she automatically said exactly what everyone else does.."he's BIG for 2!" ..but, then she suprised me by adding that I shouldn't let people push him too hard because they are going to want him to act older because of his size.

WHOA, its gonna snow! Someone who actually thought the same thing I do, and was nice about it! I believe that kids are forced to grow up too fast. I think that requiring that they know how to read before kindergarten is robbing them of their childhood...not to mention those prevcious years where you and the adults in the room can spell things you don't want the kids to know. My aunt got around this after we knew how to spell by speaking pig latin with her sister...but, I don't think my husband would care to learn pig latin.

My husband and I have every intention of letting our babies be little. Making messes, mistakes, and even more messes...that's how they learn! So, let them grow up at a steady pace, and they will enjoy their childhood more, and so will you!

Our little artist

Usually I'm very supportive of our 2yr old's creativity...today I am shaking my head! Let me start by saying that he can be very sneaky, not in a truly naughty sense, but sneaky nonetheless. And when given the right tools hr gets the job done to his satisfaction!

So, we went to the BX today, and the base is having fire prevention month and they were giving away toys and such to the kids. He got a hat, and a cup, and crayons with his coloring book....maybe you can see where this is going? We walked around, and I thought my husband had stuck the crayons in the diaper bag, and I had forgotten about them.

On the way home nothing was out of the ordinary, his seat is behind mine, and we have a compact car. You would think that one of us might have seen something....daddy had even talked to him at some stoplights because he likes to try to roll the window down...again, nothing was out of the ordinary!

I went into the house and my husband followed with getting the kiddos out, and then I hear,"hunee, do you want to know what our son did?"....we had just gotten home, there was literally NOTHING he could have done in the house...note: in the house! My husband came back to where I was and said,"did you know what was in his fire house cup?", and I said I thought it was empty....my husband told me he had left the crayons in the cup, when he handed it to our son in the car..see where I'm going now? He had decided the panel next to him in the car was not colorful enough, and had remedied the problem. See?...he got the job done with the tools given!

All I can do is laugh and shake my head!...I'm not a person who is so stuck on stuff that I'm going to punish him for something that was at least partially my fault. He's a child, and today he did exactly what they do. The only thing worse than lack of creativity is making them scared to be so...I admit the car is not the right place, but it happened. Life will go on...we will wash it off the best we can...and we will choose to laugh instead of be angry with him, because he acted his age!

Teach your children, but don't punish them for things that you has a part in...that's the stuff that makes them think you were a jerk later on...oh, and its JUST A CAR!

I Love It When You.....

....and then fill in the blank..
....come to me when I ask you to
....put your toys in the bucket
....take no-thank-you bites of food I know you don't care for
....go lay in bed, when I ask, because I shouldn't have to Chase you
....use your big boy words
....drink water
....speak nicely to me

All of these I have used on my (this Saturday) 2 yr old son. And you know what? He gets a big grin on his face, and claps for himself. I almost think these phrases matter more to him than "yeah" or "good job"....and since I tend not to use "good" and "bad" as descriptions for him because I don't want him to confuse the behavior with HIM....this is how I show our little boy I'm proud of him and his actions.

...oh, and it works on husbands too ;-)

I strive to think of what I say to my children before I say it. And I think that encouragement can be an even greater reward than a gift. And I'm happy to say that this has served me, and my husband, well in our short parenting journey. We have a very secure toddler, who knows he is loved very much. He also has a healthy dose of pride in his efforts...not merely out of vanity...but because he knows that we stand behind his efforts wether they are completely successful or not.

Showing your children you are proud of them is less important than actually telling them. You are not fanning their ego! Ego and healthy pride are mutually exclusive when in the right balance....so give it a little try. pick something ordinary...one of those little victories, and tell your child, or your husband, that you are proud of THEM!

Discipline Vs. Punishment

My husband and I are taking some classes so that we can do special childcare. The classes are an overview of child development and how to parent children who aren't yours from the start. Last week we covered Discipline.

This is certainly a touchy subject. There are so many methods, and ideas about what is right and what is wrong. The more "learned" we, get the farther we get from the root of why discipline is important. And this class has further cemented this idea for me.

There was a chart in our book that had two headings DISCIPLINE and PUNISHMENT. Now, my earlier thoughts were that the two went hand in hand. Discipline being the act of fixing unwanted behavior and punishment being the "how" you fixed it. Not the case according to them. Discipline is acceptable, but it cant "hurt" them. Punishment is NOT ALLOWED because it may damage them in some way.

When you start disecting how we teach our children right and wrong you can come up with the conclusion that nearly everything we do is in it's barest form is a type of "punishment" and that Discipline, according to their standards, is in the eye of beholder. One example being...They said hard labor is punshiment(digging a hole) but cleaning out the gutters is discipline...no joke, that was the example! Are those two things any different? To me, no.

In this world you only get about 18% or less of your children's lives to teach them what they need to learn to be functional adults. Success is not measured in what they become, who they marry, or how their children one day turn out. I believe that success is measured by what you did with your 18%. Did you care enough to discipline them instead of always trying to be their friend? Did you impart your wisdom on them even when they gave you the "whatever" as an answer every time? Did you make them see their mistakes, but also help them learn to turn it into a victory? Did you love them every single day, even when you didn't like their behavior? If you say yes to some or all of these you have succeded!


No method is perfect, all are like walking a tight rope...you go too far to one side and you may hurt their heart. And that is to be avoided, because that will make them resent you. And if you go too far to the other, and they will never take you seriously. We have over half of their lives to be their friend. They will love you more, and appreciate you more, for being strong enough to discipline them while you still could.

I Need Back-up

Growing up my parents were a team. There was no playing one off the other...believe me, I tried that a grand total of ONE time...outcome was not favorable. This encompassed all their decisions too, but it was the usual phrase from dad,"go ask ma", that had the 5 of us just automatically asking mom first.

When people outside of our family group, such as other adult family or just adults in general, asked us to do things the expectation of obedience was no different, and they backed them up to!

My husband and I have adopted this teamwork, along with the belief that our children need to learn to respect all the authority figures on their lives. We know we won't always agree with these people, but we try to stick with the plan as long as it won't harm them in some way. It's not easy to watch other people parent your kids, but sometimes its the only way to teach them to respect their future authority figures.

I think I can!

You remember he story of the little engine that could? The one where the train is having a hard time making it up the hill, but it keeps repeating.."I think I can, I think I can!"?

As a mom, somedays you have to give yourself a peptalk..."I think I can, I think I can!"

I think I can...
...convince a 20 month old that spinach and tomatoes are to be eaten, not spit out or gagged on.
...do all the laundry in the laundry room all by myself.
...get a little bit of peace...maybe not :-(.
...act like a "mommy", and wait out his temper tantrum, and then give him a hug because at the end of the day I still love him!
...coordinate dinner and naptime(so that the above scenario doesn't happen).

As you can see, sometimes you can be your own cheerleader! GO TEAM!!!!

Good Parent?

I have heard people ask themselves this question, usually when things are going "wrong". The "wrong" can be anything. Misbehavior, acting out, either a true or perceived parenting mistake, really it can be from ANYTHING.

Here's what makes a good parent.....You NEVER give up!

You will always have things going on, there will never be enough hours in the day, there will never be a perfect day. You WILL make mistakes, you will lose your temper, you will punish the wrong child for another's misbehavior, you will pray every time you go to the store that your grumpy child can wait to throw the "I'm tired fit" until your shopping is done.

And again, good parents NEVER GIVE UP!

You teach them as much as you can in the time you are given. You teach them responsibility and kindness. Wether they use it or not is really up to them. You won't be there someday, and their conscience is going to surprisingly be your voice...haven't you heard your parents in your head? I have!

Love them, teach them, and never give up no matter what. These are what good parents are made of!

Finger Paint

So when you become a mom you know some days will test your self control...today was one of those days!

I put our little man down for a nap. He usually makes a fuss, but its not a big deal. Today he just didn't settle down, so I went to get him.....

Now, I didn't hear anything strange, but when I opened the door I knew what he had been doing! HE HAD BEEN FINGER PAINTING WITH POOP! Ok, I consider myself a "seasoned" kid watcher, and I've seen just about everything you can think of....but of course my own child had to be the one to throw something new my way.

Every day with your kids is an adventure. Some adventures are great, and some are not. Some make you laugh and others make you wish you could dip the WHOLE house in bleach...but these are (as the soap opera has made famous) the "days of our lives!"

My 18 month old threw me for a loop...betcha I'm not the only one this happens to :-)

FFS-Whats mine is yours

Our little man wasn't an "only child" very long. Some have said that it wasn't long enough, but I feel that it was just right. And, this story seems to prove my point.

Our baby man was very upset, and I couldn't get to him. So, our little man took his binkie out of his mouth and tried to stick it in baby man's mouth. Now, mind you, little man is only 18 months old, and LOVES his binkie! Then, he tried to make the swing rock for baby man by pushing it....HOW CUTE IS THAT?

I am constantly amazed by how our boys react to eachother. This type of acceptance is thought of as rare, and astonishing, for babies so young. I just think that our oldest was meant to be a nurturer and he's taking his cues of how to treat his brother from me and my hubby, and how we treat him.

I know that our next baby may get a much different reception from its brothers, but I hope that our little man teaches our baby man well on how to be an awesome, and loving, big brother!

Trial and Error

Our son is a VERY busy boy. He's been busy since he was in the womb. And like any busy baby he must act his age, and do things just to see what will happen

TRIAL: what happens when I try to slide out of bed through the the ladder at the end?
ERROR: Toddler heads cannot fit through the slats in the ladder, and u will be stuck until mommy and daddy come help get you out.
* there is now netting over all slats on his bed, he can no longer get through them

TRIAL: Hopping down off of the pew at church without help is going to be awesome!
ERROR: When getting off the pew, if you don't want help, make sure you hold onto something or you will fall
*he caught himself with his forehead, and cut it open

TRIAL: I don't want to sit in my carseat, I think I will get out!
ERROR: Seats are not negotiable...just like seat belts.

As you can see we have "learning" coming out of our ears in our house...

Gentleness

Trying to teach a toddler to be gentle is like telling Oscar the grouch to be happy. You have to say it, and SHOW it, about 4000 times and then hope they don't break anything.
Having our newest son has been a blessing in many ways. We now know God thinks I have the patience for a lot of men in my life, and few women right now :-), even though I was raised in a female dominated house. It has also shown me and my husband that what we have taught our oldest has been good things.
Every chance he gets he touches his brother....but always on the hair, and we don't know why...but he is gentle! I've never seen a 16 month old be so gentle! When he gets excited because we tell him how good he is touching brother he will touch a little hard, but he always goes back and tries to be more gentle. He also tries to give the baby his binkie when he cries. And to top it off he was sharing his toys with the baby, while the baby was asleep but sharing is sharing.
I'm sure every parent has moments where they realize they have done something RIGHT...and this is one of them for us!