Homeschool

Yes it's true we've made the switch to homeschooling. There wasn't that much of a switch since Bear wasn't in school but it's been a change on all of us.
We are setting up the classroom still and we are almost done with it. So this whole week we've been doing work downstairs. At first Bear was a little against it but with some encouragement he's really jumped on.
Our day lately has been...
6am wake up, brush teeth, eat breakfast, morning chores, let mom drink some coffee :)
7am morning board (calendar, days in school, weather, money counting)
8am work boxes this was a great idea I found on a couple of homeschooling blogs. You have a certain number of boxes and in each one is a different activity. Since the room is not complete I've just been bringing each activity downstairs but when they're ready zack will get to take the box out and work
10-11 The last work box is usually a craft, sensory, fun activity, video, or a movie. Today it's Ponyo since he listened to me all morning and worked real hard.
11 lunch and then nap around noon.

When he wakes up we find something else to do. Park, library, music etc. we will find something for him to do. this schedule above is Monday-Thursday and on Fridays we got this awesome bible that's hands on. So we will read one story on Fridays and do the activities. Also on Fridays will be our co-ops.

This weeks theme was firefighter. He really loves it and we even talked a little about September 11th and Daddy's very important job for our country.

Please excuse the iPhone pics I will be adding more once I get the chance..
Also I am on my iPhone posting this so please excuse any typos.

I've got 99 problems and Sleep Aint One.

Oh to look back on the days when Mr.Bear was formula fed and slept for 12 hours every night. I feel back then I had him pretty trained in the sleep category. When it was time for bed we had him bathed, fed. read to, and BAM! he was out on his own, in his own bed, and in his OWN ROOM! Those days were pretty blissful. Then came the day that would change all days in history of our parenting days. The day he climbed out of his crib. We pretended not to notice the first few months and then Sailor Man had to eventually go in his room, lay on the floor, and wait till he fell asleep. Right then and there was when it all came crashing down. Then comes little Hippy Baby and his wonderful breastfeeding ways. With breastfeeding usually comes co-sleeping. Not always...but it sure makes things on Mom much more easier.

Now 1 year later Hippy Baby and I are still co-sleeping. Sailor Man is still in Mr. Bears room except now they share a bed. Is this normal? Maybe not for most but it is for us. Do I miss the nights of snuggling up to my husband waking up to his bad breath? You bet I do! But when we sat down and really thought about it and really put the boys first we made a decision that while they're young we will enjoy sleeping with them. After all they're only little for so long and when they're big teenage almost men we will miss the days when they wanted to snuggle up with Mom and Dad. I am pretty sure getting a "good morning" from them will feel like Christmas.

If you want to really understand co-sleeping we look at it like this...

1.)  Have you ever been in bed alone and really really wished your spouse, boyfriend, Mom, Edward was there? Do you fall asleep much easier when they're around. We as humans sleep much better when we're with someone. Sure having a nice big bed to ourselves is nice but nothing beats that warmth of someone you love and care about right next to you. Now imagine how a small baby or child feels alone in their crib/bed. We feel the boys sleep better with us therefore less waking up a bazillion times a night on our part.

2.) Studies show that co-sleeping helps prevent SIDs. Preventing the infant from entering into sleep states that are too deep. In addition, the parents' own breathing may help the infant to "remember" to breathe (McKenna, 1990; Mosko, 1996; Richard, 1998). I felt much safer having Hippy Baby by my side in his early days. Even though my husband and I are active sleepers we we're very aware that he was with us.

3.) Helps with breastfeeding. Like I said above Mr. Bear was formula fed. I feel in my heart that I was so concerned with him taking a bottle, sleeping on his own, and through the night that it ruined breastfeeding for us. We ended up listening to others bad advice and giving him formula. With Hippy Baby we have made it to the 1 year mark with breastfeeding and I couldn't have been more proud of both of us. 

As always when you co-sleep please practice it safely. Here is some links on how to co-sleep safely and some more information on it.

http://www.attachmentparenting.org/support/articles/artbenefitscosleep.php

http://www.attachmentparenting.org/infantsleepsafety/

http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/sleep-problems/sleep-safety/safe-co-sleeping-habits

http://kellymom.com/parenting/nighttime/familybed/

In a year….

So much can change in 1 year. This past year since Hippie Babies birth it has been a whirlwind of changes. Both Mr. Sailor and I have changed our mindsets on a lot of things from parenting to religion and back again. We have truly matured and now fully understand each other much more than what we have before. I feel 100% that this is mainly because we we're moved across the world and have had to solely rely on each other. Yes, I am making friends but in the end we are on this amazing adventure together. We are experiencing things that others only dream about and there's in no other person I want by my side to experience it all.

But this post isn't about us it's about Hippy Baby. Who just turned 1 on the 2nd.

Hippy Baby graced us with his presence on September 2nd 2011 after 12 hours of labor and 5 minutes of pushing at 5:36am he was ready to conquer the world. Weighing in at 7Ibs 9oz. and a long 21 inches. You can read more about his birth story here. I guess my best way to describe Elis first is through pictures so here we go.

September 2nd 2011

We were surprised at how quickly he calmed down

Daddy got to hold him first

Meeting his Mommy.

Some brotherly love.

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

1 YEAR!!!!!

This picture just sums up our year with Hippy Baby. It's been absolutely amazing! Love you our sweet boy.