The Art of Not Posting

I knew that I would probably struggle to come up with new and interesting information for all of my avid readers (hi family!), but never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would actually make it an entire month, or two, before posting again.

The most interesting new thing to report is that Link is tall enough that our old spots to put things we didn't want him to see or grab are no longer useful. He can reach things on the kitchen counter (to a certain degree), he knows now how to open drawers and actually look for something he knows he saw us put in, and he's even figured out how to get on my nerves so I'll just give in (for those of you playing the home game, the answer is: shrieking like a pterodactyl).

When we're bored, well, when I'm bored, we take a very short trip to the Children's Museum of South Dakota. Anyone at the Wulf house will tell you that being so close to the museum is a God sent for us. When we visit, typically once a week (a special thanks/shout out to Dad and Vicki for the year membership, it's more than paid for by now!) we like to let Link run around on his own. We've been enough times that he has a handle on where things are. And since we are a stay-at-home bunch, we're able to go when school is in, meaning there's maybe a dozen other people there when we go. For those of you that haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting (family from out of state, good day!) some highlights include:

• A giant light and color wall (think Lite Bright)
• A water room (picture included)
• A kid-sized grocery store, complete with cash registers (with fake money), grocery store items (empty boxes with labels, fake eggs, veggies, etc.)
• A "farm" where kids can pick corn, tomatoes, potatoes and carrots
• A well-stocked art room (I think this room is more for me than Link right now, it might change later)

Another reason we enjoy the museum so much is because of what happens to Link when we get home:

If we're lucky, Link will take a two-hour nap sometime during the afternoon, preferably earlier in the day. But on children's museum days, he's typically asleep by the time we get home, or shortly thereafter.

We are trying to get better about limiting Link's TV time, but if he's watching anything, there's a 90% chance it's talking veggies and includes a Bible message. I realize that this doesn't justify letting him watch several hours of TV a day, but it's nice to know that he's actually learning valuable lessons (like that God made him special).

We've also recently purchased a set of Dr. Seuss themed flash cards to try and teach Link colors and shapes. He seems more interested in sticking the cards in the printer and any other place that's less than ideal, but he will sometimes humor me for a minute or two.

Link is now in a toddler bed! At his last doctor's visit, it was something we asked about, and when we were told there wasn't really a set limit like car seats, we decided to give it a go. Link's crib converts by taking off the front, so we did that for a few nights and found that Link was rolling out of his bed. With that, we made a trip to our friendly neighborhood Walmart and that night Tyler put together the new bed, complete with roll bars. Since then, Link has been sleeping fairly well in his own bed, and now, when he wakes up at night, he gets out of bed and walks to our room, rather than crying. If it's too early for us to have him with us, Tyler walks Link back to his room, and nine times out of ten, Link will fall back asleep.

Something I'd like to do at this point is include a list of the words Link knows. I get this question a lot, plus, since he's just-ish passed the year-and-a-half mark, it will be fun to look back at someday (there's probably more than what's on the list, but obviously I couldn't think of them). Without further adieu:

1. Uh-oh
2. Up (said more like "up-ah")
3. Please
4. Thank You
5. Get Down (which to anyone else sounds like "thank you")
6. No
7. Bye-Bye
8. Love You (sounds more like "Ah ooo")
9. Night-night
10. Sleepy
11. Yeah
12. Mommy
13. Dadda
14. Nana (meaning either Nana or banana, depending on where we are)
15. Owwie (is it strange that it bothers me that I don't actually know how to spell this? I've never had to know before... hmmmm)
16. Stinky
17. More (sounds like "moe")
18. No
19. All better ("ah beh-er")
20. OK

Well, that's all that's happened since I've last posted, and I will make it my best effort to keep the time in-between posts shorter from now on.

The Santa Debacle

Okay, so I feel like this post is going to be interesting. I want to start by saying that this is something we have DECIDED to do. It may not be popular, but it's something we feel strongly about. I've already had some feedback (some good, some not), but I want to post mainly because I want to give other parents who may eventually stumble on this blog something to think about. I think parenting should be an ever changing experience, and I want to encourage others to talk with their spouse and not be afraid to do things differently. So now, without more adieu, I give you our Santa decision:

We're not doing him.

Yep, you read me right, we are not going to do the whole Santa thing. We have reasons, which I will talk about, but I want to reiterate that we have made this decision. Any family or friends reading this that want to debate it with us are welcome, but don't expect us to be easily persuaded. Please also understand that we are not saying that parents who do the whole Santa thing are bad people, because they aren't. My parents did Santa with me, and their parents with them.

I also want to reassure anyone worried that because Link doesn't believe in Santa means that he's going to go running around informing the other kids at school. We plan on working very hard at explaining to him that it's important he not interfere with other families ideals and beliefs. This is a trait we think is important for him to learn anyway, and this is just one way he can learn it.

One of the biggest reasons I didn't want to do Santa was that I feel like it's almost like lying to him. We're telling him about this man who lives far away, and who visits once a year while he's sleeping and drops off toys, knowing all along that this isn't true.

Another reason is that I didn't want Link to go through the devastation of finding out that Santa isn't real. I remember how confused and upset I was, and my sister and I have discussed how she felt. It seems like such a difficult thing for a child to go through.

The next reason ties in some with the previous. We worry some that if Link is brought up to believe in Santa, someone that he never sees (well, sees once at the mall) but then learns isn't real, that bringing him to believe in Christ may be a challenge. I can already hear the argument from my family, but you believed in Santa but still have a firm faith in Christ. That is true, but I don't think that this is excuse enough.

Let me reiterate again that because we are not judging those who choose to do Santa, nor are we trying to imply that we are somehow superior. We are simply defending our alternative parenting style on this subject.

I dare say this is probably the most scandalous blog post yet. I suppose now I'll wait for the phone calls from family members...

Sleep is, evidently, overrated

Okay, so I suppose it's kinda our fault for letting him sleep for two hours after 6 p.m., but last night was, in a nutshell, an experience.

It started out as one of those nights where we found ourselves pleading with our adorable baby boy to please, please go to bed around 11. This lasted for about a half hour, before we conceded that Link was not in fact going to sleep. Then, I offered to let Tyler go to bed since he had to work today, but that also was short lived, when God gave me the insight to realize that my anger had the upper hand. So, at right around midnight, Link, Tyler, my pillow and I headed back upstairs.

Another thing that we learned from last night: if you want your child to lay down and try to sleep, don't put on their favorite movie. Tyler and I (mostly I), in our infinite (or not) wisdom, decided that the simple solution would be to lay down a blanket, put on a VeggieTales, lay down on previously-mentioned blanket, and wait for Link to lay down next to you and fall asleep. HA!

Oy. Long story short-ish, my wonderful and caring husband took one for the team and took Link to his room, sat down in the recliner, and rocked Link as he screamed as if we had taken away his birthday. This lasted until shortly after 1, when Link finally gave in to sleep and Tyler, extremely exhausted, laid down in bed.

I woke up as Tyler was getting in the shower, and decided to stay up and enjoy some time to myself. Tyler got ready for work and left right around 8:30. I sat on the couch as he left, ready to enjoy some time to myself, but as soon as the door shut behind Tyler, I heard crying come over the monitor. Yep, Link was up, at quarter to nine. And he shows no sign of napping.

But, in all of that, I can still say that I am so happy. I'm happy that I have a child to keep us from falling asleep. I'm happy that he wants to spend time with his parents (I know that someday this desire will be gone). And I'm happy that even though he doesn't always want to sleep, we have a healthy, happy baby boy.