Kimber's Navy Family

Our toddlers are 16-months old. While they still have a very selfish, toddler view of the world, they have started actually interacting with each other in a more meaningful way. I love seeing all of my boys playing together; I feel like I'm watching (and nurturing!) the foundations being built to life-long friendships between all three of my precious boys. As for the one-year olds, it is hilarious and entrancing watching two toddlers discover the world around them. This is definitely one of those "double the fun" times. "Do you like see-food?"   "You promise I get a turn after this, right?" "Of course, of course..."   "On your mark... get set..."   "Go!"   "Wow. Dad's lawn mower makes a lot more noise than ours..."   "Here comes the dump truck!" I know, I know. A lot of pictures of just the toddlers. Well, as any momma of a four-year old knows, four-year olds ...

Motherhood teaches you a lot about yourself, about character flaws you didn't realize you had previously. For one, I've had to develop a thicker skin. I know, more than once, I had to consciously not take it personally that our son decided to say "Dada" before "Momma." Ironically, when he said "Dada," he wasn't even spending anytime with Daddy. Daddy was out to sea! As a logically thinking parent, it is wonderful that your son is saying Daddy. As a tired woman balancing a toddler, the Navy, and living away from family, why can't your son recognize all the hard work you put in and say "Momma"? Not only have I needed to put small things like that in perspective, but the larger things have forced me to thicken my skin and stand my ground as well. We recently went to parent orientation at my son's preschool. The teacher explained that on the first day, the students will be given a card to write their name on that will sit on the...

Yesterday I had a conversation with a woman who has one child, a singleton 16-month old little boy. She kept telling me she doesn't know "how I do it" with two 16-month olds, all that waking up in the night. Truth is, our toddlers sleep through the night. We put them to bed at 8 pm and they wake up at 8 am. Sleeping through the night is a hot topic with young children. The first year, sleeping through the night is a relative term. A newborn needs to eat more frequently than a 10-month old. After the one-year mark, I want to sleep through the night, fully. I don't want a relative term. Sometimes I find that other moms use "sleeping through night" when they don't mean it. I have heard moms say their children sleep through the night when 1. they co-sleep 2. they "only" go in the nursery once or twice or 3. they have no set bedtimes. My first "slept through the night." We usually put him to bed around 8 pm. After a year old, he usually ...

Picture taken by A McTaggart I just finished reading this book called When Mother's Pray: Bringing God's Power and Blessing to Your Children's Lives by Cheri Fuller. Wow. Inspirational book that I highly recommend to every mother, grandmother, godparent, aunt... anyone who has a child in their life that they pray for.What I loved about the book is how it helped me go from random, all over the board prayers, "Please help my babies to sleep tonight" or "Please help my son grow in your word," to focused prayers with a purpose. She gave specific prayers for young children, school age children, grown children... I just loved this book. It lit a fire in my prayer life and has led to even deeper prayers in other areas of my life. For instance, a friend of mine asked me to pray for her as she makes a big decision. I have been exercising the four steps of prayer for her: praise, confession, thanksgiving, and intercession. As for these Moms In Touch groups ...

I went out on a limb, took a leap of faith, felt a little adventurous, grabbed life by the horns... whatever you want to call it. I went on multiple road trips with my multiple children. My road trip travel itinerary: July 30th to July 31st: made a three and a half hour drive to a friends' house with the boys and our dog, stayed overnight July 31st to August 2nd: made a four hour drive to my parents' house with the boys and our dog, stayed two nights August 2nd to August 3rd: made a one and a half hour drive to a friends' house with the twins (leaving the dog and my oldest at my parents' house), stayed overnight August 3rd to August 10th: made the one and a half hour drive back to my parents' house. Stayed at my parents' house for the rest of the trip. My husband joined us on August 9th and drove back to North Carolina with us (thank goodness). Virginia July 2012 This past week, we went on another adventure! This time my husband ...

We have been travelling. "We" being me, the kids, and the dog. Our trip-- seven hours of driving time-- ended up taking just over nine and a half hours, including five stops. Thankfully I was able to feed the one-year olds in the car as we drove, keeping an eye on them with strategically placed baby mirrors. Our stops mostly consisted of diaper changes, stretching legs, and having my four-year old use the restroom. Three of those stops were very short, only one toddler needing a diaper change or being able to quickly get in and out of the rest stop with the kids. Still. It was an adventure . This was also the first time that I stopped with the twins to stay at friends' houses (two separate overnight trips, one with all three kids, one with just the one-year olds). Here are some of my road tripping tips with kids:  1. Thoughtfully pack your snack bag. I had snacks for our four-year old and me and snacks that were great for one-year olds. My plan was to feed the ki...