Owen Michael

Little Owen is now one year old.  We just had his one year doctor appointment so I figured I should share his stats and some little tidbits about him, his personality, and how we are getting along with three little kids under five years old.

First, this is all just surreal.  I feel like Owen just can't be mine, and he is too big to be my baby, and he's grown way too quickly.  Doesn't everyone say those things, like "Where has the time gone?"  But really, it's true.  I feel it more strongly now that I have one child who has nothing baby about her.  All of Maryn's baby-ness is gone.  She was holding my hand on the couch the other day, and not a single dimple or chubbiness is on her hand, her arms, or her face.  Of course, I knew she'd grow up.  But watching my kids grow up is sort of like dealing with a loss.  I have "lost" my baby girl, Maryn, and now she is almost five, and she will never, ever, ever be a baby again.  Never.

So that realization has made me yearn for more cuddles with my baby, Owen, but time passes quickly, and here he is already one year old and where has the time gone?  Many mothers wean at 12 months and I can't even bear to think of weaning.  He could probably walk if he wanted to, but what's the rush?  In another few months, I won't even have a baby to carry.  Possibly never again will I have a baby of my own to nurse or carry or sleep on my shoulder.  In some ways I look forward to that day, believe ME.  But in other ways I mourn the loss of my babies.

Weight:  22 lbs. 3 oz.  (50th percentile)
Height:  29.5 inches (50th percentile)
Head Circumference:  19 3/4 (25th percentile)
Teeth:  Owen has six teeth.  I think.  Maybe eight.  :)

Words:  cock-a-doodle-doo, quack, duck, woof woof, Mama, Dada, banana, Maryn, Josiah

Owen loves to throw balls back and forth, loves to take off his diaper, loves to try to touch his poop, loves to eat almost anything, loves to drink water from his straw cup, loves to throw things down the stairs.  He loves to swing, play in the sand, play in the water, go swimming, he loves to slide, too.

Owen can stand up without any assistance but has not taken any steps on his own yet.  He loves to crawl on his feet and hands, bear crawl style.  He puts everything in his mouth for inspection.  He gets into the cabinets all the time.  He likes to try new things, like bugs.  He likes to try to bite his siblings when they have a toy he wants.

I think Owen may be our shy child.  He will stay on my lap for quite a long time in a public place and usually when he goes to play, I suspect he does because Maryn and Josiah are there.  He usually does well in church nursery now if familiar teachers are there, but he doesn't say much or vocalize much when in a new or different place than home.

Owen has the smarts and perseverance of his sister and reminds us of her a lot, but he has the athleticism and bravery of his brother.  It makes for an interesting combination.  He doesn't mind getting in trouble, thinks the word no is pretty funny, and usually doesn't mind to have his hand swatted.  But when someone takes a toy from him, he usually goes and just finds something else to play with.  Or he might scream and try to bite, if it's something he really wants.  He's pretty good at manipulation already, and is good at figuring things out, being sneaky, and being cute.  :)

Owen plays very well by himself, too.  Yay :)

We love our sweet baby Owen.  I'm so glad he's ours!

Owen, 9 months old

 Crawling

 Standing

 Eating table food

Causing trouble!

Owen turned 9 months old on February 21st, and he weighs 20 lbs still.  He has really been moving, playing with his siblings and playing by himself as well.  He has an uncanny ability to spot the smallest object on the floor and pop it in his mouth super fast.  He has an incredible wingspan that allows him to pull things off grocery shelves, kitchen shelving and has also been known to turn around in the grocery cart and pull things from the back, such as celery leaves, and eat them.

He is an adorable, squishy little boy.  I kiss him all day long, and though he is losing much of his chubs, his thighs are still very chubby and I squeeze them all day too :)

He has FOUR teeth!  Two top and two  bottom.

He says Dada, Tickle Tickle, and I think he says "Josiah."

He thinks the word NO is hilarious.

We love our sweet baby Owen.  Also known as Owie Badowie.

Second Kid Potty Training Day Two

Josiah and Potty Training:  Day one was such a huge success potty training Josiah.  He's much better at holding it than Maryn and has a bigger bladder, so it was just a lot less messy.  He was excited, cooperative and maybe a little overzealous.  John was home, which helped motivate him immensely I believe.  Today has not been as much of a success. Actually it hasn't involved a single "success" and has been rather exhausting.  I'm taking a break by 1.) blogging and 2.) bleaching our kitchen.  If our bathroom can't be clean, at least our kitchen will be.  The top of our fridge was dis.gust.ing.  I know for a fact I cleaned it a month ago but yuck, yuck.  How the heck does it get like that in a matter of four weeks?

Maryn has been such a great help and encourager!

Maryn and Charlotte Mason:  I am reading a book called "When Children Love to Learn."  There is so much truth in this book.  I am learning a ton about myself, education, God and my relationship with him.  I'm learning a little bit about why I have such a works-righteousness mentality, and I'm learning why FlyLady has been so successful for me (it's about learning good habits, not completing a to-do list or getting a reward).  I've learned that I really have to work on 1.)  Being sweet to my kids and 2.)  Not trying to manipulate them with my looks, my sarcasm or whatever.  I'll be officially homeschooling in just about a year and a half (that's when we will have to register with the state), so I gotta get mySELF into these routines and habits if I expect the same from my kids.

We were outside and Maryn said, "Mom look!  I wonder why the ground is all cracked?"  I looked and it was clear that after the rain we had the other night, the dirt was then drying in the sunshine and cracking.  Yay!  I was so excited she was making these observations in nature (Shutup!  I know I'm a dork:))!  But instead of a big lecture I just asked her why she thought it might be cracking, and was it wet or dry?  She said it was wet but it was drying in the sun.  I stopped myself from going into a big "lecture."  I'm so glad I did, because instead of listening to me ramble, she continued to venture around the yard looking for cracks.  She ended up seeing a place where a groundhog had made tunnels and she and a friend had a little adventure looking at things on the ground.  The Charlotte Mason method is a lot about not spoon-feeding and lecturing our kids, but in exploring the world for themselves and making more of their own connections, doing their own research, asking questions, etc.

Owen and Milestones:  Owen has been hitting a lot of milestones lately.  It's even more exciting with the third baby when they get new toofers, learn to sit up, wave, clap, etc.  It seems not long ago Maryn learned to do these things and this bittersweet reminder of how quickly they grow has been making John and I hold on to her a little tighter.

On Christmas Eve, Owen learned how to clap.  He did it for a few days but seems to have forgotten about it.  But he has been waving consistently and I swear it's the cutest thing I have ever seen.  lol okay, I say that about everything, I know.

He is getting interested in crawling and pulling up on things but HAS NOT done either yet (thank God...just kidding...sort of...).  He's not totally back to himself since our illness.  He had a terrible ear infection and is on antibiotics now.  He's feeling so much better but I think the antibiotics make him feel yucky.

Sleeping:  The kids have been sleeping better.  We had a great night last night.  And by "great" I mean, I woke up with Owen to nurse at 12:30, 3:30 (and changed his poopy diaper!), and 6:30.  Josiah was up at 6 and I made him go back to bed.  But after I got Owen back down, everyone slept past 7:30!  Meaning...wait for it....I TOOK A SHOWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I also read my Bible!!!!!  And I made the bed, got dressed, and had a cup of coffee with my handsome manly man!

Family Picture :)

Maryn learning to twirl her spaghetti

Shootin hoops!  He's such an all-star.

Spaghetti Face

We have been playing pirates all day.  Here's Maryn with her scary pirate flag.  Arrgghh!

Surgery

So one of the reasons I haven't posted is because Google says I have to pay more money to load pictures on here.  Boo.  I think we'll figure something out soon though.  I just wanted to jot down a few things here tonight.

We took Josiah to an ENT a few weeks ago and the doctor thought that Josiah's tonsils and allergies were not bad enough to require surgery till he was older.  I told the doctor at that appointment I was worried about his sleep because it seems like he stops breathing in his sleep, but the doctor kind of looked at me like I was crazy and said we could record the sound of him sleeping on our phone and bring it in for him to listen.  So we did and the doctor agreed he does indeed have some sleep apnea.  Also, yesterday at his appointment, his tonsils looked miserable (far worse than our first appointment) and his ears still had fluid in them, so the doctor wants to get his adenoids and tonsils out as soon as possible and possibly put tubes in his ears.

I am feeling so relieved!  I have expected and wanted Josiah to have this surgery since he was born.  He's always sounded awful to me while he sleeps but our pediatrician and every other doctor that has seen him has said he sounds fine.  But he doesn't sound fine at night at all and has always had weird waking up issues, including sleep walking and talking.

But when we got home I opened the folder the ENT office gave us and the pamphlet right inside is titled "Pediatric Surgery," and ugh, those words give me the shivers.  Sooooooo instead of just floating through this surgery thing like it's nothing, I am going to try to practice letting myself feel and be emotional, and yet cast all my anxiety on God, because He cares for me, and He cares for our sweet boy Josiah!

I think this surgery is going to mean great changes for him.   I think he will sleep a lot better, feel a lot better, be much more active (yay) in some ways but maybe more attentive in some ways, too.  He's gone through life feeling tired, I think, and honestly John and I are pretty tired, too!

Here's to a more comfortable life and better sleep.  Your prayers are greatly appreciated!  We have never gone through anything like this with our kids before!  Usually I am the one having surgery and for some strange reason I really prefer it that way.

Maryn is jealous.  Of course.  :-p

Special Moments

Maryn is figuring out reading!  And here she is doing a little word family game from Aunt Cathy.

These two are getting really close.  Maryn is so great with him.

Josiah loves to play with the rice while Maryn paints and draws and colors.

I love to do real art (rather than just "crafts"), and I am grateful I have such a gifted  student.  Josiah is doing very well painting and coloring as well.  I am so excited :)

Neighbors Elise, Bekah and I got together and made these sweet wreaths!  Guests are supposed to write on the leaves what they are thankful for.  So far Maryn has added to the wreath:  Art Supplies and People.  Ha!

This is Maryn laughing at Josiah as he drank his paint water.

This is an adorable painting of The Princess and the Pea!

Josiah is quite a handful lately.  I wondered why they were being so quiet.   He and Maryn had spread very thick, expensive shea baby lotion in their hair, on their clothes, and all over their bodies.

I guess things like this are a rite of passage.

And this sweet baby.  I just have no words.

He's sitting up pretty well.  And drooling a lot.

So cute I could just die.  :)

8 Weeks and Ready to Get Back to Whatever is Normal

Owen turned 8 weeks old today.  He is doing great.  Eating well, as you can see:

 He sleeps well, and would be sleeping in his own bed and his own room now if he had one.  I'm not sure what we're going to do with the kids' sleeping situation.

Anyway, with Owen turning 8 weeks I decided it was time to get a little more on the ball with our other two. So I got up early today.  I had a plan, a routine.  I took some advice from my friend's blog MyHomeTableau.com to simplify.  We put a lot of toys away for rotation.  I tried to not let there be more than three dishes dirty without washing them all.  I cleaned the house during "quiet time" and then we left for a magic show at the library from 2-4:30 so that the house was clean and dinner was ready to be made in time for John to get home at 5:00.  When he got home both kids were in their rooms pouting because 5:00 pm is. so. hard.

Josiah and Maryn have been extremely difficult.  I feel like I'm trying so hard to be nice to them, but they make it so stinkin hard with Josiah's constant whining and Maryn's irritating habits.  So I'm hoping that reducing their toys (and messes), getting them into a very predictable routine, and getting back into consistent, loving discipline will get us all back on track.

Today, we made a replica of Solomon's Temple.  I bet you didn't know it had a little boy poking out the top of it!  We made beaded necklaces, invited over a neighbor friend, played Memory, BINGO, Go Fish and Crazy 8s, saw a Magic Show at the library, checked out new books, watched a Thomas and Friends show and Word World, and read a bunch of books.  I tried to stay off the internet, and I tried to not think about the 1,249 things I should be doing for VBS, the cooking blog, RA duties, cleaning out the fridge, the tub and John's white T-shirts.  It was a good time, actually.  But the thing about 2 year olds and 3 year olds is that, no matter how much time you spend with them...

they will always want more.  And that can be exhausting.

You can't talk to them like they're the bully in 5th grade and say, "Just leave me alone!"  Because words like that break their little hearts.

People say I'll miss these days.  I know that's true.  I know these will be my favorite days.  I'll read my blog ten years from now and wish I had Josiah's big brown eyes gazing up at me for ANOTHER snack.  To hold him up so he can see inside the washer.  I know I'll miss Maryn wanting to play all those games with me and get super excited about the necklace I made her.  I know I'll miss the gooey chubbiness of Owen's fat cheeks and incredible baby smiles.

But sometimes it really is just hard.

Without Maryn!

We have been without Maryn since Tuesday!

The first day or two was pretty nice.  I got some great one-on-one time with Josiah and running around to appointments was a lot easier.  Maryn just doesn't do well in places like that.  We also went to Kroger, and it actually went very well.  I've been getting Owen on more of a "routine," and it has really helped his belly, which means he's taking some nice long naps.

But now we kind of miss her.  Although if she was here, I'm pretty sure I would not be blogging right now.  I've had some awesome quiet times the last few days, and have read half of a novel!  I've been working hard on our new cooking blog (cookingwithmaryn@blogspot.com) and have been trying to clean up a good bit after our sickness.  Today was packing day.  We are going to leave in just a couple hours to go get our baby girl!

I can't wait to see her!  I hope she will let us cuddle with her and give her lots of hugs and kisses.

But all in all, I think this little trip to grandma and grandpa's house was really good for all of us.  I'm so proud of her (mostly I'm proud of myself, haha!), and I know the relationship between her, my parents, my Aunt Cathy and all the Ohio family has really gotten stronger.  She will remember these trips her entire life.

Happy Summer!

PS:  It's 102 degrees here.  No joke.  John's a/c in the Santa Fe doesn't work.  So let's pray he makes it home safe.  Maybe he'll buy a tank top to drive home in.  :-o

Owen's One Month Dr. Visit

Owen will be six weeks old on Monday, and we just had his one month visit with the pediatrician yesterday. It's no surprise that he is a very healthy little boy.  He has excellent head control, strong arms and legs, and healthy eyes, ears and belly.  He weighs 12 lbs. 7 oz. and he is 23 inches long.  He is the average size of a 3 month old!  

We got out his 3-6 months clothes when we got home, and they fit very well.  He was getting scrunched in those 0-3 months clothes, but I thought surely it was my imagination.

Owen is a delight.  He smiles a lot now, and is even trying to laugh and coo, although he can't quite get it out yet.  He really watches our faces and our mouths closely, even imitating some of our mouths' movements.  He hasn't rolled over in a while, probably because he's getting a little chubby.  But look how cute he is.  I could eat him up.

My baby fetish

Some people have a thing for baby feet.

Or baby faces, or baby cheeks,

Or baby bums.

This is my baby fetish:

 Arm chubs.  :)

Look at the dimpled elbow!

When the dimpled elbows disappear and become bony little scabbed up elbows, it's time to have another.  Because we all need some baby arm chubs in our life.  :)

THREE kids getting BIG!

Here's Maryn and Josiah being sweet.  But they aren't always this sweet to Owen.  We've had quite a few little "incidents" lately that have been uh, a little scary.  :)   I remind myself that babies are fragile but God is sovereign.  I pray for his life daily...:)  I say that in gest, but really, I do wonder how so many infants make it through infancy with big siblings around.

 Owen really gets cuter every day, and his face is changing.  So far I think he looks more like my dad's side of the family.  Perfect, since his middle name is Michael!  Maryn is a cross between John and me, Josiah is all John....MAYBE Owen will take after my family more.  We shall see!

He continues to roll over belly to back and today he almost rolled over back to belly.  I think he could do it if he had a reason to.  After our long car ride yesterday, I got him out (he had been crying) and he just smiled and smiled at me!  And he just wanted to stare at me the rest of the day.

I love being loved by a sweet little baby.  There's nothing like it.

 Maryn.  Acting like Daddy, with her headphones, his watch, his phone, and his Kindle Fire.

 Josiah's legs got stuck in his crib's slats this morning.  I was a little worried because his one foot was so swollen, white and cold.  Scary.  It was a good day to try napping in Maryn's room, in the toddler bed.  They will be sharing a room soon!  I honestly have no idea how it will work.  I am pretty sure it won't work at all.  Prayers please!  And any advice is welcome.

Life with Josiah has been pretty tough lately.  We are treading new territory here with a "normal" toddler.  I realize now that Maryn was never a normal toddler.  Ha!  If you know her, you know what I mean.  Oh Josiah, I love you.  You and your sticky hands, your crayon messes, your dirty face, and always smelling like ketchup and peanut butter even when you haven't had ketchup OR peanut butter in days or weeks.

Life with three!  Fun as can be!

aggghhh

I'm going to be really honest here and tell you that my oldest two children are driving me insane.  I can't imagine what's come over them :)

Anyway.

Here's Owen getting a sponge bath.  :)  

 I thought this little duck towel suit wouldn't get used, but it was actually perfect for sponge bathing.  He stayed warm and cozy.  Apparently not warm and cozy enough though...

 ALL CLEAN!  Hiii!

 Here's our buddy Eli coloring with Josiah while Eli's mama, Elise, vacuumed our whole house!  Yippee!  She's trying to make Owen's new little buddy come out.  His name is Aiden.  They live downstairs and Aiden's due date was today!

Rainy Days

We have been having a good old time indoors as we celebrate our rainy days lately.  Okay, so it hasn't really been raining.  It was actually the "first week of summer," and Memorial Day Weekend.  I may sound like a teenager when I say this, but everyone was out and about, traveling, visiting, and pretty much having the best week ever.  But we were stuck indoors.

Being stuck indoors doesn't bother me all that much, but I have felt extremely sorry for Maryn and a little bad for Josiah, too.  Our zoo membership has run out, so there's probably no hope for going to the zoo this summer.  Poor Josiah has yet to see an elephant since he's become obsessed with them.  And Maryn points out to me at least three times a week, "We haven't gone to the zoo in a long time."

I know, sweetie.  I know.

So I try to make things fun for them.  But all the neighborhood kids are having so. much. fun. right outside their windows.  Maryn has been such a big girl, such a great helper, and hasn't thrown a fit yet about not being out there.  But it breaks my heart.  I guess this is what the Baby Blues looks like when you have older kids.  

Hopefully my belly will be feeling better soon, and we'll get out there, at least in the mornings before it gets blazing hot.

 Poor Josiah had to wear Maryn's PINK paint shirt.  :)

Washing a baby...this kept them busy for quite a while.

 We made these adorable snakes.  We did some learning about reptiles and snakes, too.

 Maryn and Josiah made a hide out under the baby swing, so I got them to make Indian (Native American :)) headbands.  Cutest picture ever.

 Owen.  He's so cute.  We are taking him to the doctor soon because he's had gunky eyes.  I think probably just clogged tear ducts.  He rolled over the other day, at 9 days old.  I couldn't believe it.  I am going to try to get him to do it again here soon.  And he has grown out of newborn diapers.  He's definitely our biggest baby so far.  And look at him...he's so contemplative.

 I think he's probably a genius.  He's a lot like Maryn in the way he watches me.  I know they say newborns are blind as bats, but I don't believe it.  This baby studies my face and even reaches for me--I know it!  He turns immediately when he hears my voice and SMILED, genuinely smiled at me when I sang to him.  It was the I Love You (from Barney) song.  What a precious sweet boy.

John got home at 10 am today and has the whole weekend off.  I get him for almost four straight days!

And we got a new washer today.  It is NICE.  Like, really nice.  Happy birthday to me.

Josiah is 19 months old!

We had Josiah's 18 months appointment last Friday.  So I figure this is an appropriate time to update my blog on his development and what he's up to.  Here he is playing with our neighbor's baby, Roslyn.  He LOVES babies.  LOVES them.  He almost hyperventilates when he sees a little baby.  He loved Roslyn's toes, and was able to find all her body parts we try to work on with him (eyes, ears, toes, belly button, nose) which he can rarely find on himself!

 He really tried to pick her up a lot.  Having a baby in the house will be interesting.

Here he is painting with watercolors.  What a great artist he is becoming!

 And guess what Josiah did for a long time this morning?  He played dress up!  Oh my word, it was so cute.  Maryn led him out of her room and said, "Look!  I snapped up the firefighter jacket and now Josiah is a fireman!"

He also dressed up as a samarai and a cowboy.  I think we'll be getting him some superhero costumes for his second birthday.  He just loved it.

I had some questions for the nurse practitioner about his feet turning out when he walks.  She said she thinks they'll work their way back in.  I also asked about his speech development and she said it seems like there's nothing to worry about.

She noticed him pretending as he took care of a baby doll in the room, which she said is great and right on track.  And then she got out the little letter blocks and asked, "Is he a stacker or a knocker-downer?"  And he just sat there and stacked up about 7 or 8 of those tiny blocks.  It looked like it was going to topple, so he used both his arms to hold it steady so it wouldn't fall!  It was so cute.

He weighed 23 lbs. and is almost 32 inches. 20th percentile in both areas. He is just a little guy.  

It was interesting to be in the pediatricians' office with just Josiah.  He is so much more calm than Maryn, who literally runs circles around that place and doesn't stop the entire time we're there.  Josiah sat in the chair in the waiting room, looked at the fish for a while (and they all came over to the corner to look at him, too), and was unbelievably cooperative for the nurse practitioner.

He is getting rather sneaky and naughty though.  And violent.  He loves to beat on his sister, who doesn't really retaliate although I think she starts most of it.  We've had a few big temper tantrums but I think we're on our way to training him out of that.  And he definitely understands "no" now and will often obey when I tell him no.  

He also likes to walk on the wild side a bit.  He loves to somersaults right off the couch, jump from the couch or chair to the ottoman even if the ottoman is clearly too far away to make it.  He rode his bike right off a step outside and had the worst scrape down his nose.  It even severed the little thing connecting his lip to his gums.  Ouch.  That hurt for a couple days, but it healed quickly.  He hasn't really learned his lesson from that fall.  I have stopped him from going off the same step a couple times since then.  

Josiah is very musical.  He loves music.  His favorite is classic rock.  I've tried many other kinds, but classic rock always gets him dancing and smiling.  He loves it when I turn off the DVD player in the van and play music instead.  He loves his guitar and keyboard from Mamaw, and loves guitar solos in rock songs.  He's so funny.

Josiah is still my little love bug.  He loves everyone and has a special gift of making people feel special.  Especially me!  I love being his Mommy.

Future Chef?

Just look how excited he is to "cook!"  Josiah has been a very enthusiastic chef in the real kitchen, in the Play Doh kitchen and in Maryn's play kitchen.  He loves to cook.  And the best part, he loves to share his creations with others.  I love it.  And I love my sweet little guy.

 Yep, he is totally psyched the entire time he cooks.

Josiah's sleep schedule got so messed up this weekend.  I tried to change his nap time to 1:00 or so, but um...that didn't work out so well.  He was up till 10, 11, 11:30 pm the last few nights.  Last night I just went with it, and spent some great quality time with my baby (sniff, sniff).  He LOVED baking cookies with his mama!  This is something Maryn and I usually do while he sleeps.  So this was a very special treat.

 He ate lots of cookie dough.  And he LAUGHED at every ingredient I put in the bowl, especially the brown sugar.  He giggled at the mixer spinning everything together.  How could I let this sweet child cry in his bed?  Why would I do such a thing?  We had loads more fun in the kitchen, and I didn't miss my television or facebook one bit, and the laundry got folded in the morning.

Penguins with Maryn and Updates with Josiah :)

We had such a fun day!  I woke up early, at 6:15, because the kiddos have been sleeping in till 8:30 pretty consistently.  I thought I could have breakfast with my hubby, have some quiet time, take a shower, etc.  And then this little one came down the hall at 6:30 am, ready to go:

 We have been learning about penguins.  Here Maryn is with her Mommy penguin, who has gone to the ocean to catch fish.  She left her mate with her baby for four months!

 Ella Grace visited today for a few hours, and here she is with the Daddy penguin.  He carried the egg on his feet those whole four months (we used a Kix cereal piece as the egg).  Then the egg hatched.  Here's the Mommy meeting her baby for the first time!

I also made two loaves of bread in the bread machine and experimented with some recipes and a new bread pan, but still not quite what I wanted.  I don't know why my amazing bread baking friends don't share their secrets.  My bread tastes good, like most homemade bread, but it's smaller and denser than Miss JoAnna's and Miss Hope's. Boo.  Everything they touch turns to gold.  Why are some people like that?

My little mister, Josiah, is saying lots of words, using lots of signs, growing more and more independent each day.  But the best part is that he's starting to really remember animal sounds.  Ah!  So cute!  His favorite is the elephant.  He can also do a cat and anything growly.  But his growl is the cutest thing.  He's not very intimidating :)

He has learned two new words.  "Mess," and "Sit!"  Ha!  I wonder how he learned those :)

He folds his hands when we sit to eat, ready to pray.  He walks to the bathroom when we're done to wash his hands.  He walks to the kitchen to get some milk when it's time for bed.  And knows just what to do at teeth brushing time.

He often lays down without a whimper at bed time, but is STILL waking up 30 minutes to three hours into his sleep.  It's driving us crazy.  We thought we nailed it down as a lactose thing, but it's not adding up.  I don't think it's his belly.  I suspect he's having nightmares/falling dreams...he wakes up freaking out, just wanting Mommy, and the only thing that consoles him is Mommy.

So it goes, life with kids.  If it's not one thing, it's another.  Once you think you have something figured out (like a way to have a quiet time, or a way to have an easy nighttime), it all goes out the window.