Maya and Sawyer were practicing ukulele together on the couch, and I managed to catch this little jam session they did together. So hard to catch these little jewels, so I’m happy i was able to be able to share it.
…you get a Shiner!
As the kids are getting older. They are pushing each others boundaries more and more (and ours) in our tiny little house. Sometimes it gets out of control over here 😉
…although Maya is super tough and that would be cool if it happened that way. The truth is Sawyer got hit by the baseball at baseball practice yesterday. I thought that was so cool. Had to take a picture and share.
Enjoy!
Avoid asking them questions that they can’t really answer (example, “do you want to go to the park?”, “do you want something to eat?”, “do you want to put on your jacket?” …this usually leads to frustration and crying because they don’t know how to process logic and evaluate situations)
Maintain their daily rhythm… repetition gives them comfort (nap at the same time, do the same activity in the morning, after nap, etc.)
Let them struggle through challenges, sometimes they may have to cry a little to get through(example, walking up steps, don’t pick them up at each step, let them carry their own weight, or when Sawyer was stuck up on the coffee table, I let him struggle to get down himself. This will help them build self confidence)
When they need emotional attention or comfort, give it to them as quickly as possible (without doing this, they may require more as a result)
Do not introduce resistance (emotional, physical, psychological), otherwise they will naturally strive for balance through opposition… but at the same time, don’t let them push you over and get their way, they will continue to exploit your weakness 😉(For example if they want to play with something sharp…. Be firm and repeat your goal without wavering. Use the words “Not for Maya” and slowly, but calmly wrap your hands around the object while you repeat “not for Maya” without using force.) Thanks Joan for the advice!
As adult role models, NEVER show emotions such as anger, frustration, fear, sadness, etc.(They may have a tantrum or get emotional, but you must ALWAYS STAY UNDER CONTROL even during crisis. They will learn to manage their emotions better this way). BTW, this is the distinctive factor between highly successful people in life, they are capable of dealing with high stress situations without losing it. They always find their way to positions of leadership (CEOs, etc.).
If they get emotional, take them out into nature and let the world around them catch their attention(they generally have short attention spans, and nature calms them easily)
They learn by examples… Be a perfect role model. Do NOT ever lie to them through your words OR YOUR ACTIONS, such as by hiding things from them or trying to deceive them, trick them, bribe them, etc.(you may think you’re outsmarting them, but you’re just teaching them to do more of the same). Just be upfront and let them deal with the frustration.
Always give them more credit than you think. (they are already more intelligent than they appear, and probably you too Mom and Dad, they just don’t have the words to express it)
Never let them play with your iPhone or electronics even for a little bit. Once they get a taste of it, they will fixate on it and make it harder to say “no” the next time. (be firm while setting and keeping your rules)
Set rules and DO NOT break them(if you break the rules EVEN ONCE, they will not respect them) For the same reason, YOU don’t create rules if you can’t keep them.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS! DO WHAT YOU SAY because your words have meaning ONLY when you do what you say(for example if you don’t want them to drink Coke, don’t drink Coke yourself, if you say you are going to do something, at all costs, do it)
.…Likewise, when THEY say something, listen to them. (if you truly listen to them, not just with their words, you can almost always figure out what they are trying to say).
Sawyer’s having a rough time lately with a little case of eczema. We put mittens or socks on his hands at night but he sometimes wiggles out of his swaddle and his socks and because his head is so soft, a light scratch breaks his skin. He’s been keeping mommy up most of the night for the past week because he’s so uncomfortable, probably only getting a couple hours of sleep at a time… Sometimes less.
We were so desperate mommy packed them in the car after work and drove them both through traffic, up hill both ways!… to go see Dr. Durand. Despite the crying half way there and back it seems to have paid off… Durand gave us the breakdown so Sawyer appears to be allergic to mushrooms, wheat bread, cayenne pepper (or spices), cinnamon (dairy and nuts are good to go though, unlike daddy).
After Debbi cut these foods out of her diet for just a couple days, it seems that sawyer is doing much better. His skin is almost completely cleared up after the third day. We will start introducing some foods back in little by little to see how much he can tolerate. Btw, daddy is also allergic to cayenne and cinnamon too! That makes me so proud!! 😉
FYI, This was sawyer’s four month celebration on November 6th!
[UPDATED 11.22.2013 7:34AM]
We’ve only been cutting foods out sporadically so Sawyer only experiences relief for a day or so and then reverts back to scratching. We are trying a more strict diet to determine exactly which foods are causing the eczema. It seems like at night he will express his frustration with gas, hunger, maybe cold?, etc. by scratching his cheeks or head. It’s difficult to know if a food intolerance is the only cause of the itching …stress? …or probably both? Mom’s started a more strict diet of no nightshades (mushrooms, peppers, black pepper, tomatoes, eggplant) and soy in addition to dairy, citrus, garlic, onions and anything else Durand identified. Unfortunately we didn’t bring many of these foods to Durand on the first visit, so we are still in the dark unless we find the time and courage to fight the traffic again to head back to Durand. Mom is still is eating potatoes and cucumbers which was recommended to cut out by this article (see link below). Sawyer does get fairly frustrated mostly at night, so we are amping up our efforts to tackle this for him …so we can sleep too! 🙂
Sawyer started to sleep a little more through the night, but still not enough to keep us sane. He was waking up several times. Debbi finally had enough and decided to go to Dr. Gordon. He said, to our surprise, that Sawyer wasn’t even a 5 out of 10 for bad eczema, but that he’s in a hurry to get rid of it. Debbi is on a strict diet with no dairy, eggs, soy, nuts, shellfish, gluten or citrus. She misses shoyu and eggs the most. Mommy didn’t want to use hydrocortisone, but trusted Dr J enough to use it sparingly.
EA
These are the foods tested that Sawyer is ok to eat.
Mommy wasn’t willing to humiliate her children by putting on those embarrassing kiddy costumes. …But thank goodness Junko-San was!!! 🙂 How could a childhood be complete without some sweet humiliation. Thank you Junko for sharing Kari and Ichiro’s baby costumes and taking these great photos. EA
…Not fat rolls… rolling over from his stomach to his back …But we missed it! …Typical second child syndrome. He was on his stomach one second, we turned our heads and looked back and he was on his back. Congrats Sawyer! What an achievement!! even though we missed it, we were there in spirit… well actually we were there in person, but we watched it in spirit! 😉
We went to the Okinawan Association of America (OAA) to see Tomo-San (Nanny junko’s husband). We watched his great demonstration of his dojo. We didn’t know he was black belt level 6! Very nice.
Here is a really fun clip if maya standing in front of the stage copying the karate demonstrators. I’m also going to post several videos of us at the festival of Maya rocking out to some hula dancers along with some photos.
You’re going to have to check out the website to see those videos and more pictures since I can’t email them all because they would be too large.
