Not to be outdone

Guess who rolled over finally?? Yes, Carly did. One might speculate that she noticed that her big brother was getting a lot of praise for his latest accomplishments and she didn't want to get left out. She recently rolled over - from her belly to her back - with much fanfare and cheering of her own. And then we put her back on her belly - she rolled over again, put her back to do it again, and again, until she made it quite known that she wanted to be on her back!

[Don't all parents do that? try to get their kid to repeat a new trick again and again until the baby cries in frustration?!]

And then it hit me, with our latest child's triumph, our latest Godly Blessing, and for a brief moment, I got scared...

Scared of what will inevitably happen - there's no way we can stop it, it WILL HAPPEN!!

3 kids under 5 - all totally mobile!! geeeeeeez, please no!! Our "Modified Man-to-Man defense" [that's what Kristin and I call it - she takes either Kady or Camden, I the other, and we both listen for Carly] will need modification! Will a "Zone Defense" be enough?

But then I think again...how marvelous it will be to hear the laughter. Lovely laughter. Kady and Camden play so well together [well, most of the time, just like any other siblings!] They'll run through the house laughing and giggling and we just sit back and watch. Such fun. One of the sweetest sounds known to parenting. Add in another one and you have even more fun, right? We'll see...

But I digress, back to Carly. Although she has the belly-to-back roll over figured out, she hasn't gotten the back to belly yet. So we're ok for maybe another week. Amazing. God's Gifts, created in His Image - for us to watch over. Such responsibility!!!!

Keeping up with all the changes around here is challenging too...stay tuned!!

Left? Or Right? for me, Definitely LEFT!

Left-brained?

I’m pretty sure I am. Kristin will probably agree – quickly.

Think of Joe Friday on "Dragnet." Although I have more of a sense of humor, there are plenty of times where I’m a "The facts, Ma'am, just the facts" kind of guy.

I found this article on the internet. In case you didn't know, left-brained people are linear, focus on the literal meanings of words, tend to like logic and reason, and often score low on 'reading' nonverbal communication such as gestures and expressions. (We're usually a little of both, and to get into "whole brain thinking," to develop ouremotional intelligence.)

Here are the “The Top 10 Ways to Respond to a Left-Brained Person” – an article by Susan Dunn.

1. Give a reason (one reason will do), and answer the direct question.

Say: No, I haven't completed the Pleading. I had to file the Motion to Compel first. It had priority.

Do Not Say: I was busy; I had too much to do; I had to do something else. (Anticipate this: Did you or did you not, and if not, why not?)

2. Quantify and avoid vague references to time and money. Do not use words like "something," "sort of," "stuff," and "a long time." Avoid 'superfluous' adjectives and adverbs.

Say: It will take 4 days to get your shirt back from the dry cleaners. If I take it in today, you won't get it back in time for your trip Friday.

Do Not Say: Don't ask me to do stuff like that. It would take waaaay too long.

Say: This machine will cost you no more than $100 and no less than $50.

Do Not Say: It'll cost a lot, a ridiculous amount; We can't afford that.

3. Be serious. Avoid humor, sarcasm, double entendre, or anything ambivalent or ambiguous.

Say: I will have that for you by 5:00 this afternoon.

Do Not Say: You're joking aren't you? Tell me you're joking. (They aren't.)

Say: I can't do that by 1:00 and here's why. ... You will have to ask someone else to do it.

Do Not Say: In your dreams; Me and what 5 other people? Sure (sarcastically); anything you counteract with gestures and expressions (such as rolling your eyes to indicate 'no way'), will be missed.

4. Do not use metaphors.

Say: He talks that way because that's how they teach you to talk in the military.

Do Not Say: You can't change a leopard's spot. [I don't know what this means!]

Say: Yes, he has moved every three years.

Do Not Say: A rolling stone gathers no moss.

5. Do not be vague or refer to intuition. Refer to logic and authority when possible.

Say: He didn't go to school because he had strep throat and the doctor told me to keep him home for 3 days.

Do Not Say: I kept him home from school because I could tell he felt bad.

6. Talk about the trees, not the forest.

Say: Because this is the first 'First Anniversary Banquet,' there is no data I can analyze that can accurately predict the monetary success of this event.

Do Not Say: I don't know. How could I know? We've never done this before.

7. Stick to the topic.

Say: Yes, I got hold of Mr. Sanchez. He will meet with you on Friday.

Do Not Say: Yes, I got hold of Mr. Sanchez. Did you know he's getting married next week? She's a lawyer from Argentina. The wedding will be in Austin... and yes, he'll be here on Friday.

8. Supply context, and alert when changing subjects.

Say: Regarding the meeting with Bob and Jim last week..., and here's the report. Now, in another matter... [and pause for them to switch gears].

Do Not Say: Here are the financial figures, and by the way, Mary didn't like it when Bob and Jim...

9. To convince them of something, build your case with logic and reason, not emotion.

Say: I THINK I've earned a raise. I raised my sales 10% and brought in 5 new clients with increased revenue of $150,000.

Don't Say: I FEEL I deserve a raise. It's demeaning to be the lowest paid in the department. We'd all feel better if...

10. Be brief, factual, and to-the-point, talk slowly, enunciate, avoid pronouns, and make references clear. (Oh and keep your hands still!)

Say: Buy the Mazda. It's the best value. It costs 20% less and Edward [trusted mechanic] said it's in better condition.

Do Not Say: My gut says get the Mazda. He [gesture] liked it too. Plus it's got a lot of stuff the other one doesn't. Just hurry up and decide. This is driving me nuts (hands waving, voice getting emotional).

I must say, I really liked this article. It provided lots of logical, clear, concise information. I found myself shaking my head ‘yes, yes’ on every point. Hmmmm…Left brained? Obviously…

By the way, the author/website has a link on it where you can go and figure out what your “brain dominance” may be. Left? Right? Little of both?

Check this website out – either click on the link, or copy/paste into your browser.

http://www.ipn.at/ipn.asp?BHX

I actually scored a 10 [out of 10] for Left Brain Dominance.
The first tip I received was “slow down!” Hmph, Go Figure!

Hopefully this will help you in communicating with other folks you have discovered to be “left-brained”.

BIG Week for our Little Boy

Wow. Not even 2 years old, yet growing every day.

Every day new things, new reasons to smile. Amazing.

God has blessed our family tremendously!!

This was a BIG week for Camden. He went from sleeping in his crib to sleeping in a regular "big boy" bed. Night time AND naps. bye bye to 1 crib!! Yahoo!!

Check out the picture. He even sleeps in a big boy bed when at Gramma's house! All we have to do is take a bedrail, and he's all set! Wow, what a great transitional moment! He does get told "DO NOT GET OUT OF THIS BED" multiple times when getting tucked in, and after the first 2 nights, he really understands - either that, or he realizes that sleeping in the bed is much softer than sleeping on the floor [which is where we found him the first 2 mornings.]

So, this summer, one of our two cribs will be taking a trip to NY - never to return!! [Enjoy Scott & Jen!]

But wait, there's more...

On a whim, we brought the potty out of the closet. It was probably a subconscious effort to get to only changing one rear end multiple times per day [yes, Carly's - although she's now in size 3 diapers]. Initially, Camden didn't want anything to do with the potty, it was fun to look at, but [and yes, I use that term loosely, and with only 1 "t"] he wouldn't sit on it.

Well, one evening before bathtime, he decided to sit on it. And then he pushed....and then, HOORAYs in the house!! Camden went #2 on the potty!! A breakthrough! We praised his triumph for 20 minutes. We flushed it and waved goodbye [Yes, Camden too!]

No picture for that moment, sorry.

We tried the next day = nothing, the next = nothing. and so it goes. I guess we got lucky. We still try - he sits on it every morning before getting dressed, and every evening before putting on his pjs. I think we did have another success, but we've been stuck at 2 poops in the potty since.

But wait, there's more...[told you it was a BIG Week!!]

In recent weeks it had become a struggle to put our smallest son into his booster seat at the table. He never seemed to want to stay in it for long. He also frequently would want to sit at the table, just to sit there, and/or to color like his big sister. So this week, we put his booster seat in the basement - to await his little sister, when she's good and ready.

No problems! He stays at the table just fine! He loves it! and so do we!! PLUS, we now have one more chair available for company, to use while changing lightbulbs, or getting stuff waaay up in the closet...

My oh My - how they grow...