The Generation Gap

I did something a little unconventional this past week.
It is something that I have been meaning to do for years, literally.
I wasn't exactly sure what to expect and I didn't know if it was a good idea or not, but I wanted to try it.
So, what did I do?
I took my toddler son to go visit residents at a nursing home.

When I was a child, it was called an "Old Folks" home.
I remember my first ever visit to  the "Old Folks" home when I was a child, around the age of 7 or 8.

 You see, my mom was a nurse and she used to work for a nursing  home when I was a child.
She would take me to work with her sometimes. I'm not exactly sure why she did this, but I can recall being scared to death the first time I ever went to the home with her. There were all these elderly people sitting around either watching TV, playing board games or just sitting in their wheel chairs staring out the window.

This was such a foreign place to me. I had never seen so many old people together in once place before.
I didn't like it. I didn't want to stay, I wanted my mom to take me back home.
She didn't take me home and I ended up staying there for her full shift.

I was very shy, I sat down in the cafeteria trying to hide. I didn't want anyone to speak to me, or to even look my way.
Of course I couldn't hide. There I was, a little girl with long, perfectly fixed braids in her hair, with huge brown eyes taking in the sites and smells of the place.
 My mom  introduced me to the residents and then she told me to go play checkers with one lady, so I did.
I can't remember too much more about that day, but I do remember that I left that day with a smile on my face and it gave me a really good feeling inside.  .

I returned to the nursing home many times after that first  visit. I would play board games, take someone for a walk, eat lunch with my new "friends" and sometimes I wouldn't do anything, I would just sit quietly and listen.
That's all they wanted most of the time, was to have someone listen. They wanted to be noticed, to be validated and I provided that for them.
It was a great feeling and I was happy that my mom introduced me to this new world that I never knew existed.

 When my oldest was just a baby, 6 months old, my husband and I traveled to Nebraska to visit his dying Grandma. When we walked through the doors of the nursing home with my son held tightly in my arms, I remember the look on the residents faces as we walked the corridors. It was a look of joy. I saw their eyes light up and I remember thinking that it was the same look that I would get when I would visit the nursing home as a child.
The women wanted to hold the baby and when I handed over my son to one lovely lady, it touched my heart. It made me happy to know that for one moment I could make someone's day. Make them feel loved.
I wanted to continue visiting nursing homes with my son when I returned to my home, but I never made time for it.

 This brings me back to my visit this past week with my toddler.
It was now or never. My youngest son is at the perfect age for us to start visiting nursing homes.
I contacted a local nursing home and let them know that I wanted to come by to visit some residents with my son. The activity director was overjoyed with this news and made arrangements with me to visit during their weekly activities session.

 So, on Wednesday, we went to the nursing home and it turns out, I had nothing to be worried about. We had a great visit!
My son was very shy at first, he clung to my leg and didn't want me to leave his side.
Slowly, but surely he warmed up to the crowd. He walked over to the TV and started to fiddle with the different buttons, he caught his reflection in the mirror and examined himself for a few seconds before moving on to something else. Finally, he  found an exercise ball and started to throw it around the room. He played "Peek a boo" with one grey haired lady and he jumped up and down and made silly faces for everyone and we all laughed.
 I'm not certain that everyone was happy to have a little toddler running around the facility, but for the most part I think he was a hit!
I can't tell you how full my heart was that day. It was a full circle moment for me.
My mom would have been proud.
I will continue to honor my mom's memory by taking my son for weekly visits to the nursing home.
It's the least I can do to close the generation gap.
I encourage you to get out there and do what you can to put a smile on someone's face.
After all, wouldn't you want someone to do the same for you when you're 99?

6 months!

 

I can't believe how fast 6 months has gone by.

You are such a joy to all of us.

You aren't sleeping through the night yet, but you will get there soon.

You love cuddling up into the corner of your crib when you fall asleep.

You love food! Any type of food. In fact, I can cut up an avocado and feed it to you right from the skin and you will eat the whole thing!

You are almost ready to sit up on your own.

You recently discovered your feet and try to suck on your own toes.

You like to be tickled on your tummy. 

You love to be held and sometimes cry when you see me and realize that I'm not holding you.

Your brother and sister still think that you are the greatest thing since sliced bread!

So glad you are in our lives. 

I love you, little guy!

2:57 A.M.

2:57 A.M.
I find myself getting up at very strange hours of the early morning with my little guy.
Seems as though he isn't ready so sleep through the night yet.
As much as I want to complain and cry and pull my hair out, I won't.
I realize that our little ones grow way too fast. Before I know it they'll be off to College.
My oldest son is already 8. I have memories of rocking him to sleep at night when he was a baby.
Now, I'm lucky if I get a hug from him before bedtime each night.
My Mom always said that the time goes by too fast.
I agree.
 Life is good, especially at 2:57 A.M.

3 Months

I haven't posted on here in 2 months! Little guy is growing fast...here he is at 3 months.

Two Months!

Our little guy turned 2 months on the 24th.

We discovered that he loves music and singing.

His brother and sister will sing to him and he'll coo along with them.

It's very sweet to hear him sing.

He has discovered his thumb and is able to calm himself down when he's upset by sucking on it.

Getting bigger and bigger every day.

This too shall Pass

This is what my Mom would always say when ever I was dealing with a difficult situation.
I need those words of encouragement and hope today.
I love my baby boy and I'm so glad he's here on this earth with us.
However, I'm having a difficult time dealing with him lately. He wants to be held by his Mom 24/7.
Believe me, I'd love to do nothing else but sit around all day and hold my precious baby, but I also have 2 other children and a Husband who are in need of my attention too.
I need to take a shower and clean the house and do laundry so this leaves me limited time to hold him.
I needed a break today! I put him in his crib while I jumped into the shower, needless to say he cried the whole time.
I feel awful for letting him cry but I didn't have a choice.
I do know that someday "This too shall pass".
It gives me hope that the days won't always be this difficult.
Excuse me now while I go and hold my baby.

1 month old!

Our little guy is one month old today!
Wow. It sure does go by fast.
We are so happy to have him here with us, completing our family.
He's still trying to figure things out. He loves to be held and cuddled.

1 Week Old!

Our cute little guy turned 1 week old on Thursday.
We are so happy to have him complete our family. He is just the sweetest baby. If I could have a guarantee that all my babies would be as sweet as him, I'd have a dozen!
I'll enjoy him for now, the time goes by fast and before I know it, he'll be turning one.

Isn't he just the cutest little monkey you ever saw?

Our Baby is here!

Our precious baby boy arrived this morning at 11:37am.
He weighed in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. and measured 19 1/2 inches long.
It was a quick delivery and Mom and baby are doing well.
Life is good!

Is it March already?

Wow. Time sure does fly. I only have 108 more days to go until this little one inside my tummy makes an appearance.
The kids only have a little over 2 months left until summer vacation.
It is going to be a busy summer, we'll have lots of visitors. I told my kids that there are going to be a lot of changes in their lives after this little one comes along.
They are both very excited for the baby, but I know the novelty is going to ware off in a couple of months or so.
They are good kids and they've been helping me out around the house tons! I'm so grateful for them.
My husband has been super too! He never complains about having to help me out around the house.
He even helps with making dinner when I'm just too tired to make it.
I have two baby showers coming up soon.
One of them will be in Phoenix where all of my family lives. I'm really looking forward to seeing my family and spending time with old friends. Some of my friends I've known since high school, which seems funny because it is my 20 year reunion this year.
The other shower will be here at home. Lots of friends from church and school will be attending.
We have such a close knit community here that it will be really nice to have everyone together for such a special occasion.
I'm feeling good, glad my nausea is all gone, now it's time for the home stretch.
Come on, June......let's do this thing!

Just Kickin it.

The baby is sitting very low in my tummy. He/she just seems to kick the heck out of my bladder. Ouch. Not comfortable at all, but I'm happy every time I feel the baby kick.
On a more exciting note, both of my children have felt the baby kick!
My son felt the baby kick a few days ago. It was funny to see the reaction on his face. His eyes just about popped out of his head and he said, "I felt it, it kicked me!" My daughter finally felt the baby kick last night. She was so happy to feel it for the first time because every other time she tried to feel the baby kick, it wouldn't.
I'm 21 weeks today, half way there.
I'm not sure if my son will want to feel the baby kick anymore because later that evening he said, "It's a little creepy. It kind of feels like you have an alien inside there."
So true, my son, so true.

Wanna know if it's a boy or a girl?

I want to know too.
However, we won't be finding out the sex of the baby.
Sorry to disappoint you, along with all my other friends and family, but we've decided to not find out.
We didn't find out the sex with our first two pregnancies and it was the best surprise in the world.
It killed me to not know if I was having a boy or a girl.
I'm the kind of girl who does not like surprises!
I was the kind of girl who snuck around the Christmas tree at night when my Parents were asleep and I would search for my presents and carefully peel open one side of the package to see what my gift would be.
Bad, I know.
That's just me.
Fortunately, my Husband talked me into waiting.
Thank you, sweetie for talking me into doing something that I didn't want to do, it truly was worth the wait with each birth.
There was no sneaking around this time.

So just keep in mind, if you know someone who is pregnant and they don't want to know the sex of the baby, be nice to them. Don't ridicule them or exclaim, "What? You don't want to know what you're having?"
I'm sure they have their reasons. They just might want to be as surprised as we were when I thought for sure I was having a boy and I heard those beautiful words I'd been waiting to hear, "Congratulations, it's a girl!"