Sleepless in Frisco

It's been a bit of a rough week in the Copeland household. Riley just hasn't been himself and we've had several sleepless nights- which is rough on a pregnant lady. He'd had a cold for awhile so I decided there must be something more. I took him to the Dr. Thursday and they didn't find anything. We were still spending the whole evening with an inconsolable two year old. Hours of crying. Tonight he finally asked me if I could take his ear off, which since I could not he then wanted kisses on his ear. It was 8 pm on a Saturday night so off we went to the ER. I kept thinking we were just at the dr...but I couldn't ignore "take my ear off". Sure enough he has an infection in both ears. (First time ear infection mom over here.) 

Unfortunately, he won't willingly take any of the medications. We try forcing it, but he gags it up immediately and we can't seem to get him to take it in juice or anything. Keep in mind Craig gives medication to screaming children every day so he's pretty good at it and still can't get it in Riley. If he still refuses tomorrow we will probably have to head back and do a series of antibiotic shots. 
Finally, got him in bed at 12:30 AM and I head to the drugstore again bc I was out of Tylenol and I have a killer sore throat (pregnant- can't take anything). As I pull back into the neighborhood at 1 AM, completely exhausted from the day/week a stretch limo also pulls in. Tonight was prom. I burst into tears. 
I'm ashamed to admit for a brief moment I thought man, what would it be like to be in that limo coming home from prom? They're probably all laughing, not a care in the world. Just getting ready to graduate and live the dream! Those were the days, and I hoped they stopped and remembered the moment. I'm sure they were all thin and fit. And they probably had hours to spend getting beautiful for the night. I bet they didn't share the shower with a two year old or put their makeup on with someone wrapped around their leg whining.  I bet they could sleep in tomorrow, or at least through the night without a crying baby.
And then my 30 seconds of shame were over. I loved high school and had a blast. I had great friends and great experiences. But I would never want to "go back" if it meant giving up what I have. I'm going through each day with the love of my life by my side. I have a little boy who says to me when he wakes up, "Momma! I missed you!". We have another blessing on the way. Craig has a great job. We we have a home, cars and everything we need. Wonderful friends and family. And the Gospel. I have so much to be grateful for and to enjoy. How lucky am I that the worst thing that happened to me this week is a sore throat and a little boy with ear infections? Sometimes I get worn down in the moment, but I wouldn't trade this beautiful life we have for anything. Not even the screaming, crying 2 year old. I would cease to exist without that boy.
Time to give this whole sleep thing a shot.

Cornelius P. Mud FAILS again.

Each day Riley continues to pick the Are you Ready for Baby? book to read before his nap. Today, I again asked, "Do you want a baby?"
Again he replied, "No, poop and cry."
"Why don't you want a baby, Riley?"
"Send. Him. Back."
LOL. This is NOT going well.

Riley's thoughts on a new baby...

I bought Riley this book as my first step in preparing him for the baby that will rock his world. After reading it today, 

I asked, "Do you want a baby brother?" 

Riley, "NO." 

Me, "A baby sister?"

Riley, "NO. Poop and cry."

End of discussion.

We've got a ways to go.

Easter 2012

Easter was pretty low key for us this year. Craig was out of town Friday and Saturday and Riley and I didn't even go to an Easter egg hunt! The church Easter activity began at 8 AM Saturday and Riley doesn't wake up that early and it just didn't seem worth having a tired toddler all day by myself. Sunday morning was rainy, but by that evening we hid some eggs in the backyard and gave Riley his Easter basket.

Craig, his brother Cameron and wife Anne, are on a 21 day cleanse so they couldn't eat anything tasty for Easter. Luckily someone invited us all over to dinner so at least I got to eat some delicious food!

Most importantly we're grateful for our Savior and his Resurrection and the hope and joy that brings to our lives. And for this little cutie. Sometimes cuteness is his saving grace.

I had to include all of these because for those who don't know him, they show his personality so well.

Riley Update

It seems recently when I've blogged about Riley, the challenges he brings come to mind. So...an update.

Sleeping. Since we've returned from the cruise (almost 2 weeks ago) he's been going to bed great. I didn't tackle any new sleep tactics before the cruise, because I knew vacation would interrupt it anyways. From the moment we got back, he's gone to bed great. He often plays in his bed for an hour before going to sleep, which puts him staying up way too late, but he's happy. Some nights we fall asleep listening to him chatter on the monitor. Most nights and naps he hasn't cried a bit. The few times he has were more of a whine than the desperate heart-breaking cry from before, and he's done before I even make it down the stairs. It's been a huge stress-relief for me. I'm really working to stick to his bedtime routine, and I have to play all my cards perfectly. For example, brushing teeth needs to be in between books. Honestly, the biggest change I've had to make is my own attitude. I dreaded bed time because it had become such  battle and I was exhausted myself by then. I was frustrated and impatient every night- I didn't want to ask 10 times to come get in the bath or come get your diaper on. I've tried to come to terms with bedtime is a 30-40 minute routine. (He takes his bath before bed). It's longer than I want to spend, but if I'm patient I'm able to get him to be cooperative about things and my negative mood doesn't rub off on him. 

He also seemed to start understanding the his cousins Gavin and Mason don't cry when they go to bed (because I told him so) and I think he felt a little peer pressure if they weren't crying. It's nice when you can start to reason with them ever so slightly.

Hitting. A few short months ago I could barely take Riley out of the house. He would seriously hit any kid who walked by, or even worse would beeline across a room if he saw a kid just to hit him. When I say room, I mean Target, the grocery store, restaurants, church. It was insane. I don't know why it was happening or where he learned it. No siblings and he doesn't watch much tv and certainly not anything violent. Thank goodness it seems to have passed. He will still occasionally get in a tiff over a toy of if he's hit first- things that I feel are "normal" two year old aggressiveness. Needless to say he did not play well with others before and he's done a 180. He's learned the word "friends" and gets so excited to play with friends. Usually he calls them friend instead of their name and it's really cute. He has the sweetest sounding little voice and now that he's behaving nicely if you saw him at the park you'd never believe the stories I tell. Completely different kid. He's so excited to play with a  friend and cries when a friend leaves. I can finally step back and relax when another kid is around. Another huge stress-relief.

So, right now we are in a good phase. I know it could change tomorrow and new challenges will come, but it's so nice to sit back and just enjoy for the moment. These moments make it easier to remember why we've let this little boy consume our lives and how grateful we are that he does. I'm going to catch my breath and be ready to go again when the calm has ended!

Jesus and the Muppets

A few nights ago when Riley was picking out his bedtime books, he picked this one up and stared at it for a moment. Finally, he exclaimed, "Jesus! And the Muppets!"
What is going on in that head???  Too cute. It must be a coincidence that he picked up on such a deeper meaning of the story? Or the beard.