Monday, June 28, 2010

Portland











This past weekend, Aaron, Jake and I went to Portland in celebration of my nephew Henri's 2nd birthday. What usual takes 6 hours or less to drive instead took us 9... Aaron says the era of baby-travel has begun. Friday morning was Henri's party in the park and nearly all of both sides of the family were able to be there along with some of Henri's "friends." Friday evening we had family pics done at Mt. Tabor. The task of having all 10 of us looking at the camera, and the kiddos not fussing was quite a challenge and I'm hoping at least one of them turned out. I got to spend most of the day Saturday with my sister, which is such a rare treat. Aaron took Jake to hang out in the park with his side of the family while Carrie and I hit up NW 23rd St. and Forever 21. I wish we lived closer and could do sister shopping dates more often. Aaron, Carrie, Beau (who is living in Portland now), and I enjoyed dinner out while my mom stayed back at the hotel to make sure Jake stayed asleep. Sunday morning we were all up early and thankfully the drive back only took 6 1/2 hours! great trip, great family!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

a Glorious weekend!




We had awesome 75-80 degree weather this weekend--finally! Saturday morning we were up early to grab some Starbucks on our way to the annual Liberty Lake Yard Sale....basically like the Black Friday of yardsales. We had so-so success, but then spent the rest of the day working out in the yard. Then, nice and sunburnt, it was out to dinner with my boys. Jacob is still pretty congested and snotty so the two of us stayed home from church and hooked up with dad to grocery shop. After naptime today, we loaded up the puppers and headed to Hayden Lake for an early evening swim and walk around the dock. We capped off the evening with a barbeque and hot fudge sundaes. Summer is finally here and boy does it feel gooood.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Little Republican (or maybe Independent) in the making


Aaron went to vote at last weeks Primary Election after work. He had Jake with him, who he says was flirting with all of the older volunteer gals. I'm not surprised.

Exer-saucer




While he was in utero I had no intentions of plopping my baby in a toy and walking away to make dinner. That was then; this is now. My mom got Jacob an ExerSaucer a few weeks ago because the care givers at the hospital day care where Jacob goes says he just loves it. Turns out he does love it! We did have to take off like 75% of the little toy attachments though b/c he was getting overstimulated big time. THANKS MOM/GRAM!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

starting solids







Jacob has begun to eat solid foods as of a couple of weeks ago. The jury is still out on whether or not he's a fan. We're trying to go "by the book" as far as starting with rice cereal and then graduating to veggies, giving each one a week before trying the next. Aaron bought me a food mill for Mother's Day and when my parents were here last week, my mom bought me a bamboo steamer, so I'm having all kinds of fun steaming/mashing/grinding/pureeing vegetables. So far, Jake's had squash and carrots. He doesn't like either as much as the rice cereal, but we're giving it time and just having fun!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

4 month check up


Jacob had his 4 month check up today...where is the time going? Everything is still good. We are blessed with a very healthy little boy. His height and weight are both still in the 90+%. He got his vaccines and only cried for a moment until I picked him up--the tough little boy! Dr. Prince did say that she is surprised that two mellow adults have produced such a busy, active, and chatty baby. We are very thankful for such a healthy little man!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Home, Sweet Home




Aaron, Jacob and I just got back from a wonderful time on the Oregon Coast. Aaron had a conference in Seaside on Wednesday, Thursday, and part of the day Friday, and we were able to tag along. Friday night was spent in Cannon Beach and Saturday night in Portland. We had a super fun, super smooth trip and Jake was quite the trooper. (I'll blog more about the details later) After Jake spent the last part of ride home fussing in his car seat, we pulled in around 6 o'clock and put the whiny boy on the changing table to get undressed before bathtime. Usually he doesn't like being set down when he's fussy, but tonight when Aaron set him down, he just looked around at the surroundings in his bedroom and just started giggling and giggling. For about 5 minutes he was almost giddy! He was just looking around at the walls and the ceiling and the curtains and just laughing. It was as if he had missed being in his familiar environment--it was hilarious! I guess he's a homebody like his mama :) Even though we had a very special time, I think it's safe to say that we're all glad to be home.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

for some reason, we are having such a difficult time getting our video camera files to convert to this blog...sorry it's such a choppy video. oh well!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Peek-a-Boo

This week, I discovered that Jacob really gets a kick out of the game "peek-a-boo." Here is a video of Aaron and Jake "playing."

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Jacob's "Ferberization"

I will be the first to admit that I had been one of those parents who thought that letting your baby "cry it out" was one of the meanest, most heartless, cruel things a parent could "do" to their child. But I also have to admit that as of this time last week, Aaron and I were at the end of our rope. Jacob was waking up as many as 15 times per night, ranging from 6 times in one hour to an occasional 4 hour stretch. We always ruled out hunger, but it seemed there was absolutely nothing we could do to keep him asleep. The minute either of us would pick him up, he'd fall right back asleep, but usually awake again shortly after being put back down. In fact, Aaron, who has been adamant about not having him in bed with us after the first couple of weeks, said last tuesday night, "Kate, I don't think I can do this anymore; if he has to start sleeping with us again, fine." So, over the last few weeks, during my spare sleep deprived moments, I began scouring the internet for recommendations on overcoming "frequent night wakings." Turns out, this is an incredibly hot topic in the world of parenting. I think the only more hotly debated topic seems to be co-sleeping with your baby. Basically, there are two camps: the "you're the parent and got yourself into this, so be a good parent, DEAL WITH IT, and tend your baby when he or she cries"; and the CIO (cry it out) no matter how long it takes camp. I would say that I definitely lean more towards the deal-with-it camp, because it just breaks my heart to hear him cry and I do feel like it is my job to help him navigate this tender time when he really cannot communicate whether he is crying b/c he is teething, has gas, needs to burb, is scared by himself in his crib, etc. The solution I decided to go with was the "Ferber Method" which some would say leans more toward the CIO camp. But I got the book (Solving Your Child's Sleep Problems by sleep scientist Richard Ferber) on Wednesday afternoon, read nearly all 300 pages and began the program late Thursday afternoon. It uses a "progressive waiting" approach to putting your child to sleep and helping him fall back asleep on his own, both at nighttime and during naps. Basically, you make sure to put the baby down to sleep while he is tired, but still awake. He will cry. You leave the sleeping area for 1 minute at first, then you can go back in and talk to, pat, calm your baby w/out picking him up. Then you can go back at 3 minutes if he is still upset, do the same thing; then back in at 5, 7, 10 minutes if he hasn't soothed himself to sleep. The next day, these waiting periods get longer (starts at 3, then 5, 10, 15). The thing I liked about this was that I could go check on Jake at let him know that he hadn't been abandoned. So although he cried at first, it was mad, but not scared or sad. So I waited for him to get sleepy, swaddled him up tight at usual, and, instead of boucing, rocking, walking him to sleep, I sat down in my rocker, sang "Jesus Loves Me" two times through and, holding my breath, laid him down in his crib. He cried for 30 minutes straight. It felt like 2 hours. Aaron came home while this was going on to find me sitting there, sobbing. I felt like such a terrible, awful parent. What kind of parent does this to a baby, I wondered, soaking in guilt and tears. First attempt: failure. Never fell asleep when we made it to the allotted crying time. I picked him up and he just clung to me and tried to catch his breath. We were both relieved. Thursday night, could barely keep him awake enough after nursing to put him down awake. It seems so counter-intuitive to wake up your child to put him to sleep; however, this is a critical part of the learning process, Dr. Ferber asserts. So we did just that, woke him up enough to know that he was being put down; he fussed for about 30 seconds, and fell asleep. Jacob only woke up 0nce thursday night to eat and easliy went back down until 5 am friday. Friday morning naptime came and once he got tired, we did the same routine: swaddle, sing Jesus loves me in the rocking chair and laid down. He was not happy. I walked out to my bathroom to grab my toothbrush. I could hear him wailing from his nursery. Here we go again, I thought. Instead, before my Sonicare had gone through its two minute cycle, Jacob had soothed himself, and fallen asleep! Fluke, I thought to myself. But the other two remaining naps were equally easy, as was Friday nights sleep, again, waking only once to eat and then staying asleep until 6 a.m. This is not a fluke! It is an absolute relief! It's like all along Jake has wanted to be able to fall asleep, but has not known how! I am so proud of him. Last night, for the first time ever, HE SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT! 8 pm-6 am! He didn't even wake up to eat. This morning, Aaron rolled over, looked at me, and asked "Did our son just sleep through the night?" "Yes he did." "Praise Jesus." I agree. Praise Jesus. He has so kindly guided us through what could have been an incredibly rough transition. I was so concerned that some trust/abandonment issues could have arisen, but that certainly has not seemed to be the case at all. Instead, after just 3 days, we have a son who is happier, more rested through the day, and has taught himself the life skill of being able to put himself to sleep. I am so very, very thankful. What a sigh of relief. We'll see how tonight goes......

Thursday, April 8, 2010

and away he ROLLS

I walked in the door from work on Tuesday night and Aaron says, "check your email." He's not really a demanding sort of person, as most of you know, so, still in my work uniform, I sat down and opening my inbox, found the message he was wanting me to see. It was a video taken just moments before from his Iphone of Jake on our bed rolling over all by himself! This may sound lame, but I was so excited that he had captured the moment--it was sort of like I got to be there! Our little man is growing up too quickly! I am doing my best to really savor every moment, because they are passing by at warp speed. In fact, in the last 10 days alone, Jake has giggled, rolled over by himself, and slept "through the night" (sort of a relative term) for the first time. I just hope I can soak it all up! I am so incredibly grateful that my husband is more than willing to allow me to stay at home part-time and that the Lord has afforded me with a job that allows me to do so.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

HAPPY EASTER

It was such a gorgeous day here in Coeur d'Alene here today, which is a surprise b/c it has snowed the last 3 days and was supposed to rain or snow today as well. It doesn't change the fact that we have a risen Savior, but having such a gorgeous day was just a reminder to me that the Lord will have his way...at all times. Weather forecasts, poor health diagnoses, awful national leadership, etc. He IS. I heard a message from Jon Courson on the radio last Sunday when I was sick in bed. It was a reminder that even as the women were going to the tomb after Jesus had died, full of sorrow and fully convinced he was dead and gone forever, they arrived only to find that the massive stone had been rolled away and Jesus was not there. Jon's reminder to us was that even when we are convinced that whatever it is in life that we feel cannot be overcome or is too big to deal with, remember: THE STONE HAS BEEN ROLLED AWAY. He IS. He is already there, he's known the trial/issue/temptatation/battle/whatever was coming, and He IS. Big enough, strong enough, faithful enough, good enough to see us through and give us exactly what we need as we need it. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now, but that has just really impacted my heart this past Easter Week. So, all that to say that I really enjoyed the sunshine that we weren't supposed to have!!
It was so fun getting Jake all dressed and ready for his first Easter Service today. He didn't make it very long before spitting up all over it. I don't know how this kid gains any weight at all with all the food he spits back at me (and into my mouth the other day...YUCK!). The good news is that he doesn't seem to mind the acid reflux issue all that much anymore, which is such a blessing! He is working REALLY hard at trying to roll over, which on one hand is encouraging b/c it means he is right on track developmentally; yet, on the other hand it means that my days of being able to walk away from the changing table when I forgot his pants downstairs or I hear my phone ringing are OVER. The world of mobility has opened....here we go. These pics were taken today at church and also at home. (He has had a cold recently, so sorry about the boogers...)

****Pictures aren't loading...I'll have to upload later

Friday, April 2, 2010


My first Blog!

This is so way overdue, but as those of you who have kids can attest, life gets BUSY. Not in a "laundry list of things to check off the list and accomplish today" kind of way, but in a "took me 2 1/2 hours to get my hair dry b/c of all the spit-up, crying, diaper change, need to eat NOW, won't stay down for a nap" kind of way. Jacob Benjamin Beamish. He has rocked my world. In the best, best way possible. Aaron and I were really not sure how we would do with bringing a 3rd party into our very lovely, very mellow, very established relationship. But I'll tell you what, we adore our boy more every day and wouldn't go back if we could (except at various hours in the middle of the night!) I am very excited about starting this blog as something of a "baby book" to keep record of the various happenings in our new life as a 3-some. More to come...