January

We have been loosely using the Before Five in a Row preschool curriculum for a year now. I really like it because it is literature based and you can make it as simple or complex as you want. The sky really is the limit with this one. 

I've attempted a rather involved plan before Calvin was born & it was pretty easy to implement seeing as Anderson was the only child. But this year, since I have an infant in the mix, I've decided to keep it simple. The plan is to "row" one book a month. Our row will include 4 crafts, 4 supplemental activities, 4 related picture books & 1 chapter book. And we have all month to get it done. 

January's row is The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

The 5 (yes, I was trying to limit myself to 4 but found lots of good ones so I felt 5 was me practicing self-control...lol...nerd status) books we borrowed from the library are:

His favorite has been Hibernation Station. It is about a train full of animals that hibernate & has really interesting pictures. He has also enjoyed Owl Moon. It's a really beautifully written book. 

Animals in Winter is really great for introducing science concepts & new words. Hibernation & Migration are two we've talked about a lot. Plus there are some winter activity ideas in the back of this book.

I love the pictures in It's Winter but he's not very interested in this book and The Big Snow is too long. We haven't gotten past the second page.

Our chapter book is:

 

One of the first supplemental activities we did was the winter sensory bin. I had this mix saved from last year & he loved it last year so I wasn't sure if he would like it as much this year since he's older but he LOVED it. I just mixed Epsom salt, white tissue paper, silver tinsel & various "snow treasures" (jingle bells, snowman eyes & shiny gift bows). I just let him explore & play in the snow & then we tried to find the various treasures. Also, the Epsom salt is great for "drawing" in so we drew different shapes & letters.

After finding all the snow treasures we put them on the table & separated them. Then I laid out his number flash cards. We counted each set of treasures & I had him find the correct flash card number. This was a fun number recognition activity as he doesn't know them yet.

A simple & cheap activity that he loves are gel window clings. I get ours from the Target dollar section or Dollar Tree. While he was putting these up I asked him some questions about our chapter book that we're reading to see how much he's comprehending & I was really impressed with how much he remembered. I wasn't sure how the chapter book reading would go but I'm so glad I decided to try it. We both enjoy the book!

He has some really fun animal flash cards from my friend, Ilia. He loves, loves, loves looking through them. I laid out all of the winter animals we've been reading about & threw in some other non-winter animal cards & asked him to pick out the animals that live in cold climates or hibernate during winter. Really simple & fun for him.

Another great activity we did was play in the snow! This was a super easy recipe: 3 cups baking soda + 1/2 cup white conditioner. It was moldable, cool to the touch & made my kitchen smell great! 

I gave him some mini cookie cutters to help him create shapes in the snow but his favorite thing to do was make a track with his finger (like Peter's stick track). He also enjoyed piling all the snow in one corner & letting the bear cookie cutter (which he's named Jesse Bear) slide down the mountain like Peter does in the book.

It was also really easy to clean up which is a plus since he quickly made snow balls to throw & the snow did not stay contained in the sensory box for long! Anderson wanted to help me sweep up after & since it was so easy to sweep he actually did a great job. I thought about getting some colored conditioner & making some "colored snow" & letting him practice sweeping with it. We'll see if I'm brave enough to make a mess on purpose! {Spoiler Alert: probably not!}

We also did several winter crafts. Anderson LOVES to do a "cwaft"! You can check out my January pinterest board for the different craft tutorials. 

Also, at the last Tot Time at our local library the story was The Snowy Day & they did a paper plate snowman face. Lots of fun! And in the grab bag that they get there were winter coloring sheets & a cute poem about a snowman & a bunny rabbit. We quickly memorized it & have enjoyed repeating it & "acting" it out. I'm always so amazed at Toddler Memory Skillz!

I have various, general "school" activities on hand for him too that I use if he's bored or if I'm setting up a craft:

Usborne wipe clean dot-to-dot book

Usborne Create Your Own Calendar

Imagination Magnets by Mindware (his favorite thing to do)

Wipe clean letters board ($ section at Target)

Wipe clean numbers board ($ section at Target)

Number flash cards 

Alphabet flash cards

Animal flash cards

Pre-school numbers worksheets ($ section at Target)

Numbers worksheets ($ section at Target)

Usborne sticker books

Melissa & Doug lace & trace animal boards

Puzzles

Crayons & coloring books (love that this can be considered a school activity! Preschool is the best!)

            {Playing with his Imagination Magnets}

        {His Usborne Create Your Own Calendar}

What fun "school" things have you been doing this month? I always enjoy hearing about others' school happenings! 

Two

Anderson is TWO!

Didn't I just write the One post? Here I am writing Two. What a blessing!

I'm amazed at how much he has changed, grown, learned this year. It is truly astounding to watch God's design for the human body literally take shape. He has gotten so much taller & has become so much more verbal.

Some highlights from the year:

He took swimming lessons this spring & absolutely hated it but thankfully this summer he LOVED swimming in the pool. I give all the credit to the puddle jumper!

We went on a long road trip & saw some new states he hadn't been to yet!

I weaned him this fall which was bittersweet for sure. And NOT easy.

He moved off of the baby hall at the church nursery to the sunday school hall. *tear*

He got some new cousins this year (Noah, Ava Jaymes, and Millie)!

Some of my favorite Anderson words/pharses are:

"Crackees" - crackers
"Oh cold me!" - I'm cold
"Pocko" - cup (sadly, he's learned the word cup now)
"Moush, Noshe, Cheen" - mouth, nose, chin
"Nice" - he says this after he makes a good football throw, after we do "cheers" at the table, pretty much anytime he's pleased with what's just happened. It's hilarious!
"Oh Waining?" - due to the yucky weather lately everytime I open the door he asks if it's raining.
"I dub oo" - just this week he's starting saying I love you! It's been breaking my heart that he wouldn't say it & it's still few & far between but when he does I melt on the inside!

Favorite Colors:

Pink
Green {with the exception of pink all colors are "Geen or "Not Geen" but he is quickly improving his color-recognizing skills, many thanks to Play-Doh!}

Favorite Things:

Balls {especially footballs}

His tennis shoes - seriously, he's slept in them. He LOVES them!

Kitty-Kitty - he's so obsessed with the cat. If he knows the cat is inside he'll yell, "Kitty-Kitty! Kitty-Kitty!" Also, I've recently told him, "Don't put money on the cat" {I have no idea why but he loves putting coins all over him}, "You can't sit on the cat", "Be sweet to the cat", "Don't throw the ball at the cat", "No no touch the cat food" {he loves to pick up one tiny piece of cat food & try to feed it to him}. Surprisingly, the cat has become more tolerant of him recently, maybe it's just because he's tired of running so much ;-)

Trains - anytime he sees a train or we talk about a train he says, "All Aboud {no "r" sound}" while he does his arm up & down "Choo-Choo"! It's so adorable!

Hats

2 of anything {especially 2 hats}

Mickey Mouse - he LOVES to watch Mickey Mouse clubhouse! "Watch Mickin, Mama!" He knows almost all of the characters: "Geefy" {Goofy}, "Donal" {Donald}, "Meenee", "Mickin" {Mickey}. He dances to the songs & says, "Hotdog!" I love watching him watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

Cheers - this is a fairly new favorite thing & I'm not sure how long it will last but right now he loves to do "cheers" with our cups when we are sitting at the table. I'm not sure where he learned this or if he has just seen us do it with wine glasses before & is just now able to express that he knows what it is but he really loves to do cheers. We eventually have to say, "Ok, no more cheers, it's time to eat."

Praying - this one is the most meaningful & the sweetest. He loves to pray & whenever I say, "Anderson, we need to pray." He immediately runs over, bows his head, closes his eyes & puts his little hands together. Sometimes he evens prays out loud with me & it usually goes something like this, "Nonnie, Poppa, Ganma, Anna, Uncle Aimee. AMEEN!" Also, when he lays down for a nap we pray and when he lays down for bedtime we pray & it's just a very sweet time. We kept him in the church service with us last week & when we would whisper, "It's time to pray" he would bow his head, close his eyes & put his hands together. I could feel his little eyes watch me after a few moments since he wasn't sure if we were still praying & I would show him that we were & he would assume the position again. It was so sweet & I nearly cried. The Lord shows me, through my sweet son, His faithfulness & how little moments of discipline (easy & hard) are fruitful! What a blessing!

Anderson, we couldn't love you more. You bring joy, fun & laughter to our family. Everyday is something new and learning right along with you is the best adventure! I love you, son and I'm grateful for every moment we share with you! 
XoXo,
Mama

Anderson Says

Anderson has started talking a lot over the past month or two. It's lots of fun to hear him say new words on a daily basis and it's way fun when he puts them together in little sentences. 

Of course I find his babblings adorable so I'm basically recording them here for memory's sake.

We have this conversation all day long, every day. Well, Monday-Friday anyway:

Anderson: "DaDas a wuk? Kekes all gone?"

Me: "Yes, DaDa's at work & the cookies are all gone."

Anderson: "Dadas a wuk & kekes all gone."

We have to confirm the cookie part multiple times because as most of you know, he's a cookie monster. For a while the first thing he requested when he woke up in the morning was "kekes", for lunch: "kekes", after nap: "kekes", for dinner: "kekes", after dinner: "kekes" and even one time IN HIS SLEEP! I kid you not.

Now when he wakes up he looks at me & says, "Mama...*followed by a kiss*....Eggs! Pease!" Eggs are a much healthier breakfast option than cookies so 95% of the time we have scrambled eggs for breakfast!

*Edit: I've been writing this post for a while & he does still ask for eggs every morning so Andrew makes them for him but he also enjoys eating my berry oatmeal with me as well. The boy can eat!

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The family joke right now is that Anderson is a little french boy. He puts "le" in front of a lot of words.

"OOOOO! Le Papa!"

"Le ball?"

"Le biiiiiiiiite!"

And my favorite :French phrase":

"OOOOOO! Le Punkum!"

It's pretty cute & very funny! I'll have to see if I can get a quick video of him saying his little phrases but in the meantime enjoy his adorable face photographed by the ever sweet & talented Mary Margaret Smith!

Cooking School: A Toddler's Tale

Anderson & I love going to the library. There are so many wonderful books for me to comb through and he enjoys the ipads, puppets & puzzles. We went on Sunday afternoon but this time Andrew went with us! It was great because he and Anderman played together while I literally sat on the floor for an hour going through books.

I discovered some new, fun authors one of whom is Anne Rockwell. I had never heard of her but maybe you have. She's been around for a while & has written so many books!

We borrowed Apples and Pumpkins in honor of the first day of fall & Pots and Pans.

We have both enjoyed them so much that I've added them to Anderson's Amazon Wish List so that I can remember them when I'm purchasing his Christmas & birthday gifts this year. Our library has several of Rockwell's books and I can't wait to borrow more!

This morning we read a whole stack of different books, including Rockwell's and then we went to the kitchen, which I think is Anderson's favorite room. He can usually see the cats through the window, it's the "food room" and we just naturally spend a lot of time in there. He has another book that talks about the different rooms in a house & the kitchen is always his favorite one to look at.

Rockwell's Pots and Pans is a simple but beautiful picture book. It has short sentences and goes through the different items found in a kitchen. Items like a rolling pin, measuring spoons and even a wok! 

I pulled out as many of the items mentioned that we have {we don't have a butter warmer or a wok!} & let him see them & pointed to them as I re-read him the book. 

It was fun to watch him make the connections & say "Oooh!" over & over again. His favorite items were the wire whisk & the rolling pin. He took a turn "mixing" with the wire whisk in each of the different pots.

This was such an easy activity to do and my favorite part is that it is centered around a book. This makes me so excited to start Before Five in a Row with him before too long! 

Another fun activity to do would be to lay out all of the items & ask him  to show me "the wire whisk" while I point to it in the book! We might just do that when he wakes up from nap!


What are some of your favorite book-centered activities to do with pre-schoolers?

Attachment Parenting. By Accident.

When I was pregnant with Anderson I knew just a few things:

1. I was having a boy
2. That I wanted to have a unmedicated labor & delivery
3. That I wanted to breastfeed

The only reasons I even wanted to do #'s 2 & 3 is because that is what my mom had done.

But, after we decided to use a doula she pointed us to lots of resources that confirmed our decision to have an unmedicated birth & expanded my reasoning beyond just, "That's what my mom did."

I had baby showers, received a nice supply of Pampers diapers, lots of great items off of my registry and set up the crib in the nursery. We were all set to have our baby.

I would spend countless hours in the nursery, lovingly decorating, organizing and dreaming of the late nights to come. I would sit in the rocking chair and even read a few of his books aloud. I would run my hands over the soft fabrics that filled his crib. I organized the diapers on the changing table. I couldn't wait for all my mommy dreams to come true.

And they did come true but in a completely different way than I imagined.

Despite the fact that my labor was forever long and terribly painful I did it. I went "unmedicated". I had my baby & he was healthy & wonderful. He immediately took to breastfeeding and I just couldn't believe how smoothly that was going.

I had heard some pretty difficult BF'ing stories so I was nervous but really he did great! I'm not bragging because it certainly wasn't due to any "breastfeeding skills" I might have had. I think it was just a blessing from the Lord that that aspect of motherhood was going so well.

I had such a long, painful recovery and BF'ing felt like the only thing I could do right. Actually, it felt like the only thing I could do. Standing up, sitting down, walking, moving in general was all very painful. Of course we had the bassinet set up in our room as we were prepared to have our bundle of joy with us for a few months before we put him in his nursery. 

Our second night in the hospital Anderson had woken up and Andrew changed his diaper, re-swaddled him and handed him to me for me to nurse him. I fed him, kissed him & admired him through my post-partum fog. I then laid him back in his hospital bassinet and closed my eyes. A few minutes later I could hear him stirring and begin to cry a little. He wasn't screaming or anything but just doing that pitiful newborn cry.

I picked him up, kissed him & wondered what was wrong. Then I thought he probably missed me; after all he had been used to being with me 24/7. I held him close and he immediately calmed down. I laid him on my chest and he went right to sleep. Then I went to sleep. And we slept for 4 solid hours!

I woke up feeling so refreshed and so in love with our baby. The nurse came around for the routine checks and I told her about how well we had slept. I just knew she was going to tell me what wonderful motherly instincts I had & how she was so impressed.

Wrong.

"Oh! Co-sleeping is very dangerous! It is one of the leading causes of infant death in Jefferson county." ...Well that sounded terrible & awful. I wasn't 100% sure what co-sleeping meant but I assumed it meant sleeping with your baby. I agreed I didn't want to do anything dangerous and thought about how I probably wouldn't do that anymore.

Fast forward to being home, sleepless nights, weeks that run together because when you're nursing every 2-3 hours days don't end, there's no such thing as bedtime and you cry a lot. Compound that with terrible physical pain and you've got a great recipe for exhaustion in every sense possible.

One night Anderson was a little restless despite all of the love, diaper changes, kisses, feeding we had done. He had settled down a bit but I couldn't. As soon as I would fall asleep I would pop up wide awake & stare at him. I was so afraid to go to sleep. I hit my breaking point.

I was just drifting to sleep when I popped up yelling, "The baby! The baby! Where is the baby?!" Of course Andrew immediately woke up and showed me that Anderson was fine and right next to me in his bassinet. I was crying, "I know everyone says I need to try to let him sleep on his own & that nurse said I shouldn't sleep with my baby but I just can't sleep without him with me." I cried and cried. 

My husband gently told me, "Laura, he's our baby. We know what's best for him and us and we have to do what's best for our family. If you want to hold him, hold him." He was so right. I was so thankful.

I picked up my baby, snuggled him close & we slept until morning. This became our routine. Around 10:00 Andrew would change him, swaddle him and give him to me. I would nurse him and then put him in his little swing next to our bed. Whenever he woke up for his next feeding Andrew would change his diaper and hand him to me. I would feed him and then just lay him on my chest where he would stay until morning. 

It worked out wonderfully and although there's no such thing as "perfect sleep" with an infant we got along just fine and for the most part felt rested. During his naps during the day I would nurse him to sleep and hold him while he napped. Honestly, I was so exhausted physically that I would usually fall asleep too and I was in so much physical pain that there was no way I was going to try to get up just to put my baby in his crib. Of course he got used to napping on me and for about his whole first year he preferred to nap on me.

Yes, there were days that I was completely frustrated that he only wanted to nap on me but I tried to remind myself that it wouldn't last forever and there would come a day when he wouldn't do this anymore. Guess what, that day is here. That day has been here. He loves laying in his bed and napping. He lets me know when he is ready by saying, "Night-Night" 100x's until I take him downstairs. He runs to lay on his bed and I lay beside him. I nurse him, rub his feet and he's out. In fact, he usually rolls away from me and I know he's out. I get up and go about my day.

Yes, I still nurse him. Yes, he is 19 months old. No, I had no idea extended breastfeeding was "a thing" just like I didn't know co-sleeping was "a thing". I didn't even know Attachment Parenting was "a thing". But like I said, all my mommy dreams were coming true but just in a different way than I imagined.

As I mentioned we had immediate BF'ing success and he was a BF'ing champ. Every week at our support group he was gaining excellent weight and the lactation nurse told me how blessed I was to have such an efficient eater and growing baby. He loved to nurse {still does} and I was told to feed him on demand. Baby upset? Nurse him. Baby hungry? Nurse him. Won't sleep? Nurse him. Overwhelmed? Nurse him, etc...

So I did. I nursed him. As his 1st birthday quickly approached I went back to the support group to ask how in the world I was going to wean him. The LC told me he wouldn't be ready anytime soon and really there was no rush; the WHO actually recommends BF'ing until age 2. I tried not to worry about it but there have been times when I've felt ready to stop. Then there are other times where just the thought of stopping brings tears to my eyes. All that to say it's not perfect. Extended BF'ing is hard at times & wonderful at other times. I've always said I would let him decide when he's ready to wean and for now that's where we are but tomorrow that could change.

The same is true of co-sleeping. There are times where we love it and relish every moment. Then of course there are times where we are frustrated and decide we want him out but for now he's staying.

There's no perfect parenting style. Every parent faces challenges and frustration and joys and successes regardless of how they choose to parent. I didn't know cloth diapers were "a thing". I didn't know extended BF'ing was "a thing", I didn't know co-sleeping was "a thing", I didn't know baby-wearing was "a thing"; but these are all things that our family does. Not because we believe every family should do it this way but because we've just been following what's been most natural and best for our family. We practice AP because it works for us. 

We didn't research it all and plan it all out. Honestly, it has mostly happened because for the first 3 months of Anderson's life it hurt to move and it was just easier to keep him on me in any way possible. He's healthy and happy and so are we!

What are some ways that your life has changed unexpectedly from becoming a parent?

For an encouraging word READ THIS! 

Baby-wearing when we met Jill Duggar!

These days I think it's considered "toddler-wearing" ;-)

All Anderson

We've been having some minor internet woes this week but hopefully I'll get some more posts published. As it is, enjoy some pics of Little Man because much to your surprise, I have not posted every picture I've taken of him on other forms of social media.

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Anderson LOVES his Uncle Stephen. He always has. At times he even chooses Uncle Stephen over Mama or Dada. He watches Uncle Stephen & wants to be just like him! What are we going to do when Stephen leaves for State next week???

He wore Uncle Stephen's State lanyard all afternoon. Even to the grocery store!

And one morning he wanted me to put ear buds in just like he'd seen Uncle Stephen do.

Anderson is so loving. He's always been a snuggler and he loves to give kisses & hugs! One of his favorite things to do is sit in a lap & read books. He gets his touchy-lovey side from his Dada & his love of books from his Mama!

One Saturday his friend Selah came to the pool & when he saw her he immediately ran over to her to give her a hug & a kiss. It was too sweet!

One afternoon he showered Baby Noah with kisses & cuddles and I couldn't get over the sweetness!

And almost every single night before he falls asleep he sticks one of his feet in the air & gives a little grunt which is the command to rub his feet. One morning he had a case of the sillies & I stuck my foot at him & did The Grunt & he plopped right down on my bed & began to rub!

And speaking of bedtime, the child LOVES bedtime. He lets me know the minute he gets sleepy by saying, "Night-Night" "Night-Night" "Night-Night". And he'll do a wave to signal he's going to bed. We lay on his bed, cuddle, nurse & then I rub his little feet. I guess it's no wonder he loves bedtime!

Another thing he loves is balls. He must always have a ball in his hand and really he prefers a ball in each hand but he will settle for just one. "Ba!" "Ba!" "Ba!" He can spot a "Ba!" from a 1/2 mile away!

 

He also loves to help. He is always closing doors, sweeping with his little broom or wanting to be in the mix one way or another. Yesterday I let him help me carry a bag of groceries inside & despite the fact that he had a fever he loved every second of being a big helper!

And lastly {for now} he loves taking his shoes off in the car. It's the first thing he does after he safely tucks his "Ba!" in the side of his car seat. I guess he was just too tired to finish the job on this particular car ride!

1st Haircut

I love how long Anderson's hair was getting. I have not wanted to cut it and in fact all I have done before now was trim it ever so slightly in the front right before Easter.

But it was time. His hair was all in his face and he couldn't see. My heart broke a little. 19 months is a good run! I gave him his 1st haircut last night and he actually did great!

I watched a YouTube tutorial that was very helpful and I warned Andrew not to be mad at me if it didn't look professional {graciously he agreed}. 

Armed with my hair cutting scissors from Sally Hansen, a little comb and my iPhone I got to cutting. Let's pause for a moment to talk about the importance of the iPhone. It has Peek-A-Boo Barn on there & some other games which are great for distracation & getting him to hold still.

He sat in Andrew's lap and played his game. Now, when Peek-A-Boo Barn last updated it took away the children's adorable, sweet voices & replaced them with some robotic sounding lady!!! Who decided that would be ok?!?! That's why everyone loves the Peek-A-Boo games! We were all seriously sad and if you have any information on this case please share.

So, while Anderson played with robot-lady I began...

When he realized the whole family was watching on he no longer wanted to be facing away so Aunt Anna held him for a bit {check out my super-professional, certified at-home-haircut technique}...

Then, suprisingly, even DaDa got in on the cutting action! And, he was great! He said, "I'm trying to layer it," while he snipped and fluffed. I laughed! But I don't know why I was surprised because he cuts his own hair and has cut Stephen & Nathan's hair too. I suppose he's the family barber. Need a cheap haircut? Come on over, apparently we've got skillz!

I must say that while it didn't come out perfect it did come out pretty well! He really looks good and now he really looks like a Little Boy and not a Baby *tear*

Here's a shot of the back...

And yes, I saved the lock that I snipped from the back. I'm a Total Mom!

Did you save a lock of hair from your child's 1st hair cut?

{Disclosure for crappy iPhone photos: I've never claimed to be a good photographer. My lack of skillz (<< I know it's not actually spelled that way) + a squirming toddler do not equal frame-worthy photographs, only blog-worthy, no offense to my blog!}

5:33am & I Feel Crunchtastic

Why am I writing a blog post at 5:33am on a Sunday morning? WHY?!

Because...I have to tell you. I MUST tell you what just happened. So, like last week I wrote about how we've started using essential oils.

My husband is currently living in constant fear that I'm going to pack us up and move us out to a hippie compound where we can mourn the loss of old oak groves.

Don't worry honey, I'm still sane. That's why I'm writing a blog post at 5:33am.

So, let's get to the point.

Anderson has been fighting some hideous fever virus for a little over 48 hours now. Ask me how fun it is to have a sick, feverish toddler.

Ask me how fun it is to have a sick, feverish toddler who won't eat.

Ask me how fun it is to have a sick, feverish toddler who won't eat and only wants to nurse {yes, he's 18 months & I still nurse him. That can be another blog post for another day.}

Ask me how fun it is to have a sick, feverish toddler who won't eat, only wants to nurse and only wants to be outside where it's like 100 degrees but you don't want him to play outside because he's had a fever & if he plays outside it's not going to help him rest and stay cool & hydrated but he keeps pitching a fit & signing "please" while pointing out the window a thrillion times a day so YOU LET him play OUTSIDE because hello! You have your sanity to think about.

Saturday morning he had a terrible 103.3 fever. His skin was bright red, he was burning up to the touch and very lethargic. I immediately gave him 5ml's of Tylenol all the while praying and touching him with a wet rag.

It was awful. He just laid on me.

An hour later he was still hot to the touch and red. I took his temp. 101.9.

I googled how quickly a fever was supposed to drop after acetemenophine had been given. It said 1 degree an hour so I guess it was working. But he still felt and looked awful. 

I pulled out my oils. I put Thieves {a blend that has anti-viral properties}, Peppermint and DiGize {which also has anti-viral properties. Like it's been known to stop the stomach bug. And while this isn't a stomach virus I figured it's intelligent plant life and might be of assistance. Either way, it couldn't hurt.}

I mixed one drop of each of the oils with some coconut oil & rubbed it on the bottoms of his feet. I put some socks on him & prayed this would help.

He's walking around the bedroom whining and carrying on and I PROMISE less than 10 minutes later he gets really still. He fills up his diaper in the worst way possible and then literally starts playing peek-a-boo in my closet...

I'm sorry, what? Wasn't this the same child that was just fussing & carrying on?

I have to believe that the DiGize helped him "go" and get rid of some toxins.

The day carried on and hours later his fever began to climb again. I tried my trio of oils again and once again less than 10 minutes later he "went" and seemed to feel better. He was able to nap for 2 1/2 hours!! It was a blessing.

Saturday night we got in bed {yes, we co-sleep. That can be another post for another day.} and he laid on his back and held up one of his feet for me to rub his oils on. It melted my crunchy heart. It also told me that he LIKES the oils.

Of course I was already reaching for the coconut oil. I {ran out of Thieves from that morning. AHHHH!} used some Peppermint, Peace & Calming and Frankincense. I also gave him 5 more ml's of Tylenol.

He was out.

Well, about an hour ago {4:45am} he started moving around & I could feel his soft sweet skin was burning up. I groaned. I took his temp and the thermometer read 102. I groaned again and Andrew asked, "WHY?!"

As I was going to bed earlier I had read that applying Peppermint to the back of the neck can help with fevers. Dare I try it? What if it didn't work & his fever spiked back up above 103? What if he had a febrile seizure? What if? What if? What if???

I mixed some coconut oil and ONE drop of Peppermint. I applied it to the bottoms of his feet and put his socks back on. I also applied it to the back of his neck. I decided I would stay awake & watch him like a hawk & at the first sign that his fever was going up I would whip out the Tylenol faster than you can say "Tylenol"!

I prayed, "Lord, please heal my child. Please take away his fever..."

I watched him. He slept peacefully curled up as closely as he could get to his mama.

I kept my hand on him and had an inward debate with myself about how I was a terrible mother for not giving him "medicine" & why was I playing fever roulette with my baby? Who does that?!

But I had to know. Afterall, I do believe God made these plants. I do believe every word of the Bible. I even believe when the Bible says:

 And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.

--Ezekiel 47:12ESV (emphasis added)

Ok, so I applied the Peppermint to his feet and neck. I resolved to take his temp 30 minutes later to monitor the situation. Well, about 20 minutes later I noticed he had chill bumps. Chill bumps? 

I touched him in different places. He felt cool to the touch. I woke Andrew up, "Touch him. Tell me if you think he feels hot."

Groggy-eyed {because it was 5:09am afterall} he touched him in a couple of places & looked at me one-eyed and said, "He feels fine."

So I didn't just make up those chill bumps...Maybe the Peppermint was working!

I whipped out the thermometer. Y'all, it read 99.4! 99.4! 30 MINUTES LATER!!! 99.4 30 MINUTES LATER!!!

I told Andrew. He said, "Do you think that thermometer is broken?"

HA!

From 102 to 99.4 in 30 MINUTES!!! PRAISE THE LORD FOR PEPPERMINT! PRAISE THE LORD FOR HEALING! PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Thank you Jesus, for the medicine you created. Your creation. It is good!

I know it sounds too good to be true and you may not even believe me. I promise you it's true. And you may think {like I have multiple times}, "If this really is so effective, why haven't we been doing this all along?"

And I think that is a very important question to wrestle with. I've answered it for myself thanks in large part to this book:

I can't recommend this book enough {no, I'm not getting anything for recommending this book & no one has asked me to recommend this book. This is 100% my opinion} and I can't recommend Young Living essential oils enough. If you ever want to try these oils PLEASE let me know & I would be more than happy to help! I want everyone I know to start using these oils!!! Because, 99.4 in 30 MINUTES!!!