This was Grant's "practice smile" for pictures
Loves this little bunny-thought he needed a picture of him
Silly faces
Trip to Toys R Us after his pictures.
He had to have the little wagon to pull all of his goods in.
Eating with Aunt Vicki and Chili's
Big Boy
Would have been a perfect smile for his pictures today-too bad he didn't sport it when I wanted him to.
Vicki received a messy-chocolate kiss from Grant right on the cheek.
messy grant=messy vicki
Always fun times with Auntie Vicki
Had to get outside. Grant helped Dad with some yard work.
FREEDOM! He was so happy to be outside. A bit cold still but he didn't seem to mind.
March Madness-Let me tell you why I think it's called March Madness. I believe it has this name because during this month millions of girlfriends and wives are MAD (using the insane version of mad here) because of all of the damn basketball games that are on TV non stop. Seriously, every time I look there is a game on and my husband is in front of the tube watching it. Ugh! I mean seriously, how much basketball can you watch? I assume it's no different than watching back to back episodes of The View or Oprah on DVR -which I often do. However the difference is I watch those shows in the basement while running on the treadmill and not on the big screen family TV. OK. Enough of harping on Jason. It could be much worse.
Speaking of MADNESS. I am having a horrible time with my back. As mentioned in a previous blog post- I stated that I have been having a difficult time making up my mind what I wanted for my birthday gift . Options to choose from -Sleep Number Pillow or Miche Handbag. Hands down I have decided to to go with the pillow. Anything that will help me get a better nights sleep and give me comfort I will take. Actually, over the weekend I got a half hour massage from Kay Welch in Chapin. It was marvelous. I felt wonderful after I left her house but after a few hours my muscles tensed back up and I felt just the same as I did prior to my massage. That's the thing about massages....its such a temporary relief and temporary treat. I am looking for a permanent fix to my pain. Ummmm...wonder what that is. I feel like I have a decent diet. I eat fruits and vegetables daily and work out daily (ok, sometimes every other day) so what can a girl do to feel better permanently?
Thankfully I got my massage AFTER I took Grant for his 3 year pictures. As picture day for Grant is always a stressful one for me. Because really? Who wants to pay $$ for your child to not smile and not cooperate? Not me. Unfortunately it did not rain...I was hoping it would. Strange uh? Yeah well you will see why when I get the pictures back. Anyways...Grant always has a difficult time with photo shoots. He becomes extremely introverted and shy and will literally look miserable in nearly all of the pictures taken of him. This time I told the photographer that it's best to take nonchalant shots of him and not tell him that he is getting his picture taken. She did terrific at following my instruction however Grant is too smart and too old now for that to work. He knew exactly what was going on and he acted as he typically does. Fortunately Aunt Vicki came with us to liven him up and although it took him a while (a good 20minutes) he eventually came around and started sporting his beautiful smile. Of course he still didn't look at the photographer and say "cheese" but he had so much fun blowing bubbles and splashing around outside that I think she was able to catch some candid smiles. I am anxious to see how they all turned out. We'll see in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed -she got a least a hand full of good ones. As you can see in the above pictures Grant had a wonderful time yesterday with Vicki and I. We took him to Toys R Us, Chili's and Nickerbobs. Lucky Grant that he got to go to a craft store. He did so well. I told him not to touch and he didn't touch a thing and he was just as pleasant as could be.
Speaking of pleasant behavior from Grant. Let me just speak of the opposite of pleasant behavior. NIGHT TERRORS! I don't know how much you know about night terrors, probably just about as much as I did prior to doing some research. For the past week (almost two) Grant has "woke" up nearly exactly two hours after we lay him down at night in complete disarray. He will have his eyes open and will look at you but it as though he is looking right through you or something. He will scream bloody murder -almost the type of scream that indicates that he is in some kind of pain. If you try to talk to him or pick him up he will stiffen his entire body and scream louder. If you attempt to comfort him or ask him any questions it will fuel the fire and make matters worse. At first I thought he was having this problem because he didn't feel well. Then I thought he was just being a "terrible two" year old and choosing to behave this way. This was prior to my research. Now, I KNOW with almost 100% certainty that he is having night terrors. which essentially means that he is not awake -even though his eyes are open. Night terrors are most common in young children ages 2-6 years old. On About.com I found this bit of information -Speaking of MADNESS. I am having a horrible time with my back. As mentioned in a previous blog post- I stated that I have been having a difficult time making up my mind what I wanted for my birthday gift . Options to choose from -Sleep Number Pillow or Miche Handbag. Hands down I have decided to to go with the pillow. Anything that will help me get a better nights sleep and give me comfort I will take. Actually, over the weekend I got a half hour massage from Kay Welch in Chapin. It was marvelous. I felt wonderful after I left her house but after a few hours my muscles tensed back up and I felt just the same as I did prior to my massage. That's the thing about massages....its such a temporary relief and temporary treat. I am looking for a permanent fix to my pain. Ummmm...wonder what that is. I feel like I have a decent diet. I eat fruits and vegetables daily and work out daily (ok, sometimes every other day) so what can a girl do to feel better permanently?
Thankfully I got my massage AFTER I took Grant for his 3 year pictures. As picture day for Grant is always a stressful one for me. Because really? Who wants to pay $$ for your child to not smile and not cooperate? Not me. Unfortunately it did not rain...I was hoping it would. Strange uh? Yeah well you will see why when I get the pictures back. Anyways...Grant always has a difficult time with photo shoots. He becomes extremely introverted and shy and will literally look miserable in nearly all of the pictures taken of him. This time I told the photographer that it's best to take nonchalant shots of him and not tell him that he is getting his picture taken. She did terrific at following my instruction however Grant is too smart and too old now for that to work. He knew exactly what was going on and he acted as he typically does. Fortunately Aunt Vicki came with us to liven him up and although it took him a while (a good 20minutes) he eventually came around and started sporting his beautiful smile. Of course he still didn't look at the photographer and say "cheese" but he had so much fun blowing bubbles and splashing around outside that I think she was able to catch some candid smiles. I am anxious to see how they all turned out. We'll see in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed -she got a least a hand full of good ones. As you can see in the above pictures Grant had a wonderful time yesterday with Vicki and I. We took him to Toys R Us, Chili's and Nickerbobs. Lucky Grant that he got to go to a craft store. He did so well. I told him not to touch and he didn't touch a thing and he was just as pleasant as could be.
"When you hear how most experts describe night terrors, it is easy to see why parents find them distressing. Children who have night terrors are usually described as 'bolting upright' with their eyes wide open, with a look of fear and panic, and letting out a 'blood curdling scream'. These kids will usually also be sweating, breathing fast and have a rapid heart rate (autonomic signs). And although it will seem like they are awake, during a night terror, children will appear confused, will not be consolable and won't recognize you. Typical night terrors last about 5 to 30 minutes and afterwards, children usually return to a regular sleep. "
BabyCenter states that 5% of children experience night terrors. They recommend waking the child up a few minutes prior to the expected terror to try to skip over that phase of sleep. It's almost like clockwork with Grant. Almost exactly two hours after he falls asleep he will have a night terror. Do I really want to wake him up after one hour and 45 minutes of sleeping? I don't know.
Many websites discussing the topic stated that if the child's parent(s) have a history of night terrors or sleepwalking as a child that it would increase the child's likelihood of experiencing night terrors. With this being said...I was a horrible sleep walker as a child. I once almost climbed out onto the roof of our two story house...seriously, I was pulled back by my sister with one foot in and one foot out of the window..I also used to go to the bathroom and turn the light switch on and off and also almost peed in our kitchen trash can one night. Thankfully that phase passed and I haven't experienced it since I was a child but I feel somewhat to blame for Grants sleep disturbance. And apparently, Jason also used to do some sleep walking as a child. Umm.
So, what do you do if this happens to your child? You are to enter their room calmly and quietly without talking or saying his/or name. Calmly touch him and stay near by until he/she calms down. So, does it work? YES IT DOES. I tried this last night and it worked like a charm. He had no screaming (just a strange stare and was on his knees beside his bed) and he went right back to sleep within seconds. Before, I would talk to him, pick him up, and try to calm him which as mentioned before -that seemed to fuel the fire and he would become extremely loud, stiff, and uncooperative. Let me tell you, this has probably been one of the most frustrating and frightening thing I have ever had to experience while being a mother. i am so happy that we were able to figure it out and also educate myself on how to respond when this happens. Hopefully this is a short lived phase and it will diminish soon. Fingers crossed.
BabyCenter states that 5% of children experience night terrors. They recommend waking the child up a few minutes prior to the expected terror to try to skip over that phase of sleep. It's almost like clockwork with Grant. Almost exactly two hours after he falls asleep he will have a night terror. Do I really want to wake him up after one hour and 45 minutes of sleeping? I don't know.
Many websites discussing the topic stated that if the child's parent(s) have a history of night terrors or sleepwalking as a child that it would increase the child's likelihood of experiencing night terrors. With this being said...I was a horrible sleep walker as a child. I once almost climbed out onto the roof of our two story house...seriously, I was pulled back by my sister with one foot in and one foot out of the window..I also used to go to the bathroom and turn the light switch on and off and also almost peed in our kitchen trash can one night. Thankfully that phase passed and I haven't experienced it since I was a child but I feel somewhat to blame for Grants sleep disturbance. And apparently, Jason also used to do some sleep walking as a child. Umm.
So, what do you do if this happens to your child? You are to enter their room calmly and quietly without talking or saying his/or name. Calmly touch him and stay near by until he/she calms down. So, does it work? YES IT DOES. I tried this last night and it worked like a charm. He had no screaming (just a strange stare and was on his knees beside his bed) and he went right back to sleep within seconds. Before, I would talk to him, pick him up, and try to calm him which as mentioned before -that seemed to fuel the fire and he would become extremely loud, stiff, and uncooperative. Let me tell you, this has probably been one of the most frustrating and frightening thing I have ever had to experience while being a mother. i am so happy that we were able to figure it out and also educate myself on how to respond when this happens. Hopefully this is a short lived phase and it will diminish soon. Fingers crossed.
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