Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thankful

Dear Gabe,
Happy Thanksgiving, my wonderful little boy. I am looking at this picture of you with your cousin Katie and I am tearing up - again at the thought of how much I love you. You were such a good boy today. It was an absolute joy to sit back and watch you play with your cousins. Watching you with your family is always something I like to do. You're a Herrman. I can see it when you play. I can see it in the faces you make and the things you say. I can see it in your sense of humor. You have that playful mischieviousness about you that your Daddy has. You just fit, Gabe. You were meant to be a part of our family.

I'm so thankful, Gabe. I'm thankful that your extended family has always loved you and has welcomed you into this family, holding nothing back from the very beginning. I never imagined our extended families would do anything but love you, but it's a hundred times more amazing than I imagined. Watching you call everyone by name today made me stop and think, "Wow. This is his family and he loves them. He wants to chase Katie. He wants to be right next to Braden when he's playing video games. This is his FAMILY."

It continues to amaze me that God knew all of this. He knew you were meant to be with us. He knew that I would be capable of opening my heart completely to a child I wasn't able to carry. He knew he could prepare your birth mom to let you go and know you'd be loved. He knew when I didn't know. He knew when I doubted and thought I'd never be a mother. He knew. I'm so thankful today that He knew what I didn't know.

I'm thankful today for your birth mom. I have been thinking a lot about her today. I don't know if she'll ever be able to comprehend the joy that she has brought into my life. I've seen her with you Gabe and you have brought her that same joy. She is proud of you and so am I. I'm thankful that you have two families who love you more than words can ever say.

Happy Thanksgiving, Gabe Douglas.

All My Love,
Mommy

Friday, November 14, 2008

Super Nanny

Ok, so we're having some troubles ... Gabers is not wanting to go to bed at night. Last night, he stayed up until 11:00. Thankfully, I was home today, so he didn't have to get up early, but we can't let that continue to go on... Yeah, we definitely need to put a stop to that!

I do find it really awesome that he wants to stay up with us. I think that's so great that he wants to spend time with Mommy & Daddy. However, once 9:00 hits, I'm ready for some downtime. I think as parents and as a couple you definitely need that time. Time to just chill out, time to talk, or time to watch a tv show that isn't Handy Manny or one of the three Disney/Pixar movies a certain little guy is obsessed with. Any other parents out there, do you agree??

It's not that I'm not 100% devoted to my child... I am. I love spending time with him. However, I think to be a better mom, I need some downtime as well. Time to recharge my batteries.

So, this brings me to the title of the post - Super Nanny. Tonight I watched an episode of Super Nanny that suggested a method of getting your child to go to sleep and stay in their bed. This boy on the show got out of bed nearly 100x before going to sleep! And each time, his mom had to pick him up and put him back in bed. She was allowed to say something the first two times she went in the room, but after that, she just put him back in bed. I've heard from a friend that this works too. So, tonight, that's what we did. Gabe was not happy at all. I went back up to his room every 5 minutes or so and silently placed him back in his bed. This went on for a little over an hour. The entire time he was yelling, "No! Mommy bed!" or "Mommmmmmmy!!!!". He was NOT happy. But, every five minutes, I'd go back up (he'd be standing at the gate to his room crying) and I'd silently put him back into his bed.

This was hard... really hard. Greg couldn't do it. He went up one time and was up there for several minutes. When I went up to see what was going on, Greg was holding Gabe, talking to him, a book was out... Um, HELLO!!! Super Nanny said not to do that once you decided it was bed time! I was crying because I felt like my efforts were shot. I felt like the bad guy.

So, finally after that hour, I went up AGAIN, and this time, Gabe was laying in his bed drinking his bottle. Ahhh.... finally! Now, we just gotta get rid of that baba.... (I'm making Greg do that one!)

I need some advice from you other Mommas out there... Have you had this issue with your kids? If so, how did you handle it? The Super Nanny way? Or, is that too mean? I know it was really, really hard for us. But, the end result was him going to sleep up in his big boy bed, by himself. Will he eventually get the hang of it? I feel like I'm always guessing/hoping that I'm doing the right thing for Gabe. Time outs have been going really well for discipline. I've been trying to get him to eat better. This parenting thing is tough!

But, it really, truly is worth every minute.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Too-Dah

Ok, so this is just one of those moments that I didn't want to forget, so I had to get it down...

Gabe is kind of obsessed with "Shish" (Finding Nemo) and "TooDah" (Toy Story). A lot of the time, he just generalizes Toy Story as TooDah... meaning he'll call the movie TooDah, or he'll call the individual characters TooDah. Poor Steve and Tami didn't know what he was talking about when they babysat him for us!

Anywho... While on vacation, we went into like the hugest Disney store ever. I wanted to bring Gabe back a "prize" but didn't know what it would be. Then, I saw TooDah. That was the prize he was getting... no doubt about it! I gingerly carried TooDah through the airport so his cowboy hat wouldn't get bent up. I got a lot of looks from people there... like they thought it was my toy - like a comfort thing I couldn't live without or something! Come on people, I'm 29 years old... I do not need a woobie! So, TooDah made it home ok. Yesterday morning, after Gabe woke up, we thought we'd give him his TooDah. Here's the adorable part that I had to record (his response to TooDah):

"OH, BIG TooDah!!"

Greg and I just looked at each other and burst out laughing! It was SO stinkin' cute! We love you, Gabers... it's so good to be back home with you.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Grandma for President

We want Grandma for President.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Our Handy Manny

Just wanted to post a few more pictures of our little Handy Manny. He was so good for Halloween! He had a great time Tick or Teeting... He did great for not having taken a nap. However, he did fall asleep in the car between stops!