Life Lessons

It really is no surprise that Chloe has no concept of money. We have not done our job adequately to prepare her and teach her the value of money. In her mind, there is an endless supply and whatever she has is enough to buy whatever she wants. Coins are shiny and cool, but who cares about the green paper stuff. Is it any wonder that she thinks like this? How often do we actually use cash? Today, most people use their debit cards. They are accepted everywhere- even McDonalds! You go to the store, pick out what you need/want, take it to the cashier and hand them your card. Any and all sizes & amounts are paid with the same plastic card. We have direct deposit so Chloe never sees money taken to the bank. But with the push of a few buttons, money will magically pop out of an ATM! And the little plastic card is never turned away. It's an endless supply of money. We don't use a piggy bank for savings, so she doesn't actually see money put away and saved, just spent. She has that part down! When she gets money, we put it in her piggy bank. Some of it goes into her purse and she gets to spend it. But why can't she use the money in her piggy bank to buy more toys, she wants to know.

After reading what I had just written I can see that I have a new task ahead of me. I love being a parent, but it is so easy to forget that EVERY thing and everyday is a life lesson. There is so much to teach them about living successful lives and only so many years to do it. It easy for us to teach them about spiritual things- it's what we do- but some things, like money, we just take for granted and assume. Or think that it's too early. But the earlier the better. Now that Logan is a month old, it's time he learns to balance a checkbook!

Pics

A few pictures from this last week. Over the weekend, Karon and Bella came to visit. I love this last picture because Logan never would look up. He wouldn't take his eyes off Bella- I think he was trying to make sure she didn't eat him! She is teething and trying to eat everything and everyone.

Thanks, Shannon!

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New Pics! 3 Weeks

I know it's been a while! Logan is still an amazing baby! He sleeps about 6 hours at night, which is great for me! I am still amazed at how snuggly and peaceful he is. Chloe was so independent and on the go from the very beginning that I missed out on all the snuggling and "baby" times. He very rarely cries, mostly just makes noises or grunts. He has lots of awake time during the day and is so very observant. He hasn't lost his baby hair but the tips are turning light brown. It really looks like we colored it! Everyday he is looking more and more like Jeremy. I was late making his 2 week appointment so we had a 3 week appointment and skipped the 4th week. He weighed 8 lbs 13 oz, putting him in the 75 percentile and was 21.5", the 90th percentile- we are thinking he's going to make it to 5'10" one day!

Logan is a great joy and such a blessing to us! Because he is so easy going, we have continued with life as we know it. He is willing to go wherever as long as he is around us. He likes being around people- which is ideal for us! Chloe is still our little helper and baby expert. I love seeing how proud she is of him and how much she adores him. The only issue we've run into is trying to keep her from "helping" when we're not looking. Last night we were watching a movie and Logan started making noises. I could tell Chloe was irritated by it, but she very sweetly said to him, "Logan, it's rude to interrupt and talk while we're watching a movie." At least she listens to us about interrupting!

This week has gone by so fast. In addition to Logan, we have our Vision Conference going on this week. It's been busy busy! Chloe loves having a little brother. She has been such a great helper around the house. The first picture of her holding him is a constant sight around our house. Also, Jeremy loves having a son with so much hair that naturally styles into a fauxhawk! And I had to take pictures of him in one of my favorite shirts. I love the Pumpkin Patch brand! They have such cute boy clothes. Logan is such a good baby! He only gets up about once at night and is so content during the day. I've been working some from home and it is surprisingly easy with him. All is going well and we are doing great. Keeping busy, but when are we not?!?

With this pregnancy, Jeremy and I had different plans and thoughts on labor and delivery than we did with Chloe. Overall, it was a much better experience at the midwife's than at the hospital. I'm not at the point where I will say I would do it all over again, but I'm sure eventually I will. I started having contractions regularly Tuesday at 12:40am. I skipped the 7 & 5 min. ones and went straight to 3 minutes apart. After an hour of those, I called the midwife to let her know we were going to head that direction. We got there around 2:45 and got ourselves settled in. The birthcenter is so nice, it is like a huge bedroom with plenty of couches and chairs. I was only at a 3 at that time. So we waited a little while. At 4:50 I was dialated enough that she broke my water. The contractions kept getting stronger and I began to question whether we had made the right decision since I couldn't get drugs at the birthcenter. After she broke my water, I went and sat in the jacuzzi tub for a while (where I stayed until it was time to push). I felt so bad for Jeremy and his mom. As the contractions got stronger, I went from my breathing to warrior cries to real cries. No matter how hard a begged, no one could get me the drugs I wanted! When Nancy had left the room and I told Jeremy and Deena, "Quick, she's out of the room. Let's go to the hospital!" I was too far along to take any drugs, but I didn't know that at the time. At one point Nancy told me that I didn't really want any drugs, they weren't good for me or the baby. Dead serious I asked, "How bad would they affect him?" When she checked me for the last time, she told me to hang in there, I would be having this baby within 5 minutes. That was great news! After about 4-5 good pushes, Logan came out! Jeremy got to catch him and cut the umbilical cord! In the pictures of the last post he looks really purple, I think because the cord was wrapped around him pretty tight. Logan Steele Carpenter was born at 6:18am (after just 5 1/2 hours!) weighing 8 lbs even and 21" long. We weren't expecting him to be so big! But I didn't need an episiotomy and I didn't tear! I rested at the birthcenter for a couple hours and then we came home. It really was a great experience. Nancy is so clean and neat there was hardly any mess and it was such a calm atmosphere. Recovery has been great. I haven't needed any pain medicine and have been up and around the house. Deena has been with us since Sunday and it has been so nice to not worry about cooking or cleaning and just having that needed extra support. And Chloe loves having Gramma here to play with! Tuesday night Logan slept 7 hours- such a considerate child! Last night he only slept about 5 hours, but that still makes a great difference for me! He is so peaceful and content, truly a great baby. He makes plenty of noises but really only cries when he's cold from being changed. Chloe is my biggest helper! She gets me water all the time, helps throw away his diapers, wants to hold him all the time, gives him kisses constantly, and prays for him almost everytime he starts to fall asleep. She is so excited to be our big helper that we haven't run into jealousy issues. Dealing with 2 children really is a great juggling act, but I am loving every minute of it!