Mister Bryson....the boy that has stolen my heart!
I love this kid soooo much! Bryson has to be one of the sweetest children God has ever made, and I'm not just saying that because he's mine. He is exactly what I need at any given time. No matter how hectic my day is, I can just look at his chubby little face and, for the moment, all my troubles disappear.
Speaking of that chubby face, our little guy is finally growing in a direction other than around the midsection. For awhile, we thought he would be short forever, but he is finally starting to stretch out. I joke with Gene, all the time, that Bryson is getting skinny! I look back at pictures of him in his first couple months, when he WAS skinny, and it is hard to believe it is the same baby!
He is growing so fast, right now, and he changes constantly. He is well on his way to 20 pounds now, if not more, and is measuring in at 27 inches. He is not so great at sitting up, yet, but we think he's just to lazy to try. This boy can crawl backwards like you wouldn't believe! He wants to go forward so badly, but he can only get a lunge in every now and then. He'll sit there and rock back and forth on his hands and knees for the longest time before he gives up. He's a hair puller and a pincher...and will probably be a biter when those teeth pop through! It won't be long now!
One of the most hilarious things he does right now is try to tickle your neck. We are always nibbling in his neck to make him giggle and laugh, and recently, he's begun to do it back to us! It absolutely cracks him up!
Bryson is so much fun, and he's easy-going. He's quite the little man, and we are beyond blessed that he is a part of our lives! I know the next milestones are just moments away, and I hope we can relax and have enough time to enjoy him and remember what he was like at this very moment! Until then....
Love and blessings,
Jessie
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Bad Words...
So, it has finally happened... Our child has learned those dreaded bad words, "I CAN'T!" I can recall my parents, teachers and mentors, throughout my lifetime, warning against using these discouraging words, and without their encouragement, I may not have been able to accomplish what I have. In the past few weeks, Kaylee has picked up a number of undesirable behaviors from school, but nothing puts a dagger through my heart quite as swiftly as those words, "I can't..."
I've heard her use them a couple times the past few days, in passing, and decided not to make a big deal about it. I simply told her, "Don't say, 'I can't...'," and I left it at that. We have been running like crazy between meetings, school, soccer, dance and daily responsibilities, so I know that I haven't been giving the attention where it would be best utilized. Behavior problems have me sidetracked, and no matter what I do, I don't feel like I have the answer to our current situation. In fact, I feel like a "bad mom." I can't even draw from personal experience to fix things because, while Kaylee is much like I was as a child, she responds to discipline in a totally different manner. I've tried rewarding the good behavior, but it seems to backfire every single time. We end up right back at square one. I understand this is all a transition time, and Kaylee has to find her place. In the meantime, I'm going through Advil at an alarming rate!
Kaylee had checked a book out at the library and brought it home on Monday. Sadly, we have yet to have a free moment to sit down and work on reading it. I decided, this morning, we needed to give it a try. We had a few minutes to spare before it was time to leave for school, so Kaylee and I sad down and opened up the book! She was off to a great start with, "Once upon a time," and then she froze up. I explained to just try and sound the next word out, but it was a task just to have her look at the page. She got all jittery and uncomfortable, and screamed, "I can't do it! I can't read!" It broke my heart to see her give up so easily. It's not like her. I told her to calm down and try to sound it out - letter by letter. In seconds she had read through an entire sentence, and she was very proud of herself. I praised her and then asked her to try the next sentence. We went through the entire, "I can't..." scenario once more, and again several more times before we finished the first page. By this time, it was time to leave for school. On the way to school, we talked about how dangerous the words, "I can't..." can be. I did my best to try to explain to her how it is better to try and fail than to not try at all. Of course, this is difficult for a five year old to understand, but I tried to use examples about dance, soccer, Bryson learning to talk, etc. I told her how we all must TRY in order to LEARN and SUCCEED. I told her that we don't always succeed - sometimes we fail, but if you know you have given your all, it makes all the difference! I hope some of it soaked in... I guess we will see!
I'm hoping and praying that things begin to flow more easily and that we are able to make the adjustments we need to, as a family, for things to be "normal" once more. I pray that Kaylee can have the confidence in herself that will allow her to learn and grow and have fun - all at the same time! I know we have many more challenges ahead, and we can only take it one day at a time and do our best to figure it out. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Love and blessings,
Jessie
I've heard her use them a couple times the past few days, in passing, and decided not to make a big deal about it. I simply told her, "Don't say, 'I can't...'," and I left it at that. We have been running like crazy between meetings, school, soccer, dance and daily responsibilities, so I know that I haven't been giving the attention where it would be best utilized. Behavior problems have me sidetracked, and no matter what I do, I don't feel like I have the answer to our current situation. In fact, I feel like a "bad mom." I can't even draw from personal experience to fix things because, while Kaylee is much like I was as a child, she responds to discipline in a totally different manner. I've tried rewarding the good behavior, but it seems to backfire every single time. We end up right back at square one. I understand this is all a transition time, and Kaylee has to find her place. In the meantime, I'm going through Advil at an alarming rate!
Kaylee had checked a book out at the library and brought it home on Monday. Sadly, we have yet to have a free moment to sit down and work on reading it. I decided, this morning, we needed to give it a try. We had a few minutes to spare before it was time to leave for school, so Kaylee and I sad down and opened up the book! She was off to a great start with, "Once upon a time," and then she froze up. I explained to just try and sound the next word out, but it was a task just to have her look at the page. She got all jittery and uncomfortable, and screamed, "I can't do it! I can't read!" It broke my heart to see her give up so easily. It's not like her. I told her to calm down and try to sound it out - letter by letter. In seconds she had read through an entire sentence, and she was very proud of herself. I praised her and then asked her to try the next sentence. We went through the entire, "I can't..." scenario once more, and again several more times before we finished the first page. By this time, it was time to leave for school. On the way to school, we talked about how dangerous the words, "I can't..." can be. I did my best to try to explain to her how it is better to try and fail than to not try at all. Of course, this is difficult for a five year old to understand, but I tried to use examples about dance, soccer, Bryson learning to talk, etc. I told her how we all must TRY in order to LEARN and SUCCEED. I told her that we don't always succeed - sometimes we fail, but if you know you have given your all, it makes all the difference! I hope some of it soaked in... I guess we will see!
I'm hoping and praying that things begin to flow more easily and that we are able to make the adjustments we need to, as a family, for things to be "normal" once more. I pray that Kaylee can have the confidence in herself that will allow her to learn and grow and have fun - all at the same time! I know we have many more challenges ahead, and we can only take it one day at a time and do our best to figure it out. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Love and blessings,
Jessie
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