Bye Bye Paci

The Saturday after my boys had been in Idaho for 4 days, my mom informed me that Rowan hadn't had his paci almost the entire time he'd been up there. Marshall has tried on a few occasions to get me on the bandwagon to get Rowan off his pacifier, and I didn't want to join in. Rowan's paci and a chunk of hair to hold has always been his way to calm himself.


Because he hadn't had it that long, I finally decided that I was ready. Doesn't that just sound ridiculous? I had to be ready? Row's turning 3 in January, and our pediatric dentist suggested that it be gone by then. The first night wasn't bad. The boys were so tired from going all week, that they both went to bed without a fight.
The next day at church was a different story. Rowan would thrash and scream, I think Marshall had to take him out 5-6 different times to give him a "pep talk." Throughout the next few days, he started really resisting naps, bedtime, moping, crying, and looking at me with those big hazel eyes and asking for "ma paaaci." There were a few times that I almost broke down and gave it to him. He's gotten better for Marshall in going to bed and down to naps, but not for me. Some days I feel so frustrated, one of those days being today. He is SO tired, but fights, cries and screams when I try to put him down. I finally gave in today, and just put a movie on. I obviously needed a few minutes to regroup, and that's why I sit here.....typing about a paci.


I've come to conclusion that if he wants to nap, he will. I'm tired of fighting him, and miss how he used to go down so well with his paci. I've worked the past 4 nights, and Marsh says he's doing really well at bedtime. I think Rowan just knows his mom is a pushover, so he pushes the boundaries with me. I'll admit it, I am a pushover. I'm probably not going to change this way as a parent, it's just who I am. Guess I'll leave bedtimes up to Marshall. :) PS - for those that know Rowan and his hair fetish, it is no more. It was attached with the paci, and it's gone now too. Makes me the tiniest bit sad.

Top Of Utah Marathon

Top of Utah was this last weekend, and I'm still surprised that I was able to finish a full marathon! It was exciting, scary, painful, fun, all in one.


Friday night, Marshall and I met up with my brother Jason. We went out to dinner and then headed up to Brigham City where we were going to stay the night. Marshall and I were actually staying at a different motel than Jason, but we got there, and come to find out, I had booked the room with some corporate coupon code. It was just a coupon code online?! Originally, we were paying $60 for our room, and when we got there they wanted to charge us $120. Jason was able to get his room changed to two queen beds, so we just went and stayed with him, which I was super grateful for. By the time we got settled, it was close to 11. We had to be up at 3:30 so we could leave by 4, so obviously we weren't going to get a lot of sleep. I invested in some melatonin and it actually helped me sleep. After 4 hours of sleep, we were up and on our way. I learned the hard way from my half marathon not to drink anything until I get running. The marathon started at 7 am, and to say I was nervous would be an understatement.
When I hit the halfway point, I was right around 2 hours and 20 minutes, so I was excited to be on track to finish in under 5 hours. I couldn't believe how great I felt at half way, and even at mile 15-16. Once I hit 18, I started to drag a bit, 19 was harder, and by mile 21, I had to stop and walk. I spent the last 5 miles doing a walk/run combo. It ended up taking me about 5 hours and 12 minutes to finish, which is about an 11:50 minute mile. Overall, I feel pretty proud of this, and the accomplishment that I finished. I've never had my legs hurt as badly as they have the last few days though. Running that far is REALLY hard on your body, but was definitely a cool experience! (PS, you can set the video below to hd.)

Looking Back

Tonight I'm feeling a little emotional. Just for the moment. It's actually been quite a good day. My boys are headed up to Idaho for 3 days tomorrow. Marshall has a convention in Salt Lake, and will be staying downtown for 3 nights. I have work, school, a cpr class to take, a bunch of errands to run to get stuff ready for next semester's clinicals and get a passport for our trip in December, so it made sense that they go spend some time with their grandparents so we didn't have to do a ton of juggling. Since Chandler was born almost 5 years ago, I haven't been away from my boys for more than a night trip. Why is it that when I constantly feel like I need a break, I feel really sad that they are going to be gone for 3 days? Of course they will have a great time. 2 nights at Puppy & Papa's (My parents, the puppy name is a long story), and one night at Gma & Gpa Snedaker's house. So as I sit here, thinking that I should go to bed, I've been looking back on old videos and pictures. Looking at the first year of the boys, it makes me the tiniest bit baby hungry....for about 3 minutes. It's no secret that we are waiting until I am done with school to try for #3, so it will be a few years before there's a baby in this house again. (Plus, if you are ever around my VERY active boys, you would understand our waiting even more.) Anyways, I just wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures of my cute little guys....just so you all can reminise with me. Then maybe I'll cry for a moment or two (I'm tired.) and call it a night.

Chandler

Rowan

Bedtime Stories

Ever since Chandler took interest in books - at about 18 months, we read books before bed. He gets to pick out a couple. I think it helps him wind down and he loves books in general. Last night, he found an anatomy book of mine on the floor. I bought it because of the awesome pictures and the fact that it's been 7 years since I took Anat & Phys and need to brush up. He wanted that as one of his bedtime stories. It's interesting to see a child's perspective when you try to explain what is going on inside of them. He couldn't get over the fact that he has "worms" in his body. (aka, intestines.) He was saying some of the cutest things, and I think some things were clicking.

More From the Coast

My dad e-mailed me more pictures from the coast and there were some of the boys that I loved plus some group shots. Naturally, I wanted to share!

Doesn't he have the SWEETEST face?

Yep, love him.

Chandler playing the ipad with cousin Nadia

Group Shots

Hey look, the ocean!!

Silly. We are done at this point. :)

Now I'm wishing I was on vacation again...sigh.