Seat Belts



Lately I have been thinking about the controversial issue of seat belts and children in car seat. This topic mostly stems from my most recent interaction with my child and the fact that he no longer fits in his infant car seat. I have been researching and reviewing different brands of car seats in hopes to find one that will best protect my little man from a crash if in a situation that it ever occurs. In recent visits to the pediatrician I found myself asking the doctor what recommendations he has for car seats and how a child should be sitting in the car. Whether a child should be rear facing or forward. You see my little guy has LONG legs and being rear facing can seem a little cramped at times. I want him to be comfortable in the back, this got me thinking about when I should make his car seat rear facing, after all he is a year now and alot of my friends have chosen to make their childs car seat forward facing. The conclusion that I have found sums up to this:

"The American Academy of Pediatrics stated that they are now officially recommending parents keep their toddlers in rear-facing car seats until age 2, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat. They're also advising that most children will need to ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they have reached 4 feet 9 inches tall and are 8-12 years of age."

The AAP's policy will appear in the April edition of Pediatrics (their peer-reviewed scientific journal) and is based on research such as a 2007 study in Injury Prevention showing that children under 2 are 75% less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they are riding rear-facing. According to a post from The New York Times, here's the problem with putting young children in a forward-facing seat:
“A baby’s head is relatively large in proportion to the rest of his body, and the bones of his neck are structurally immature,” said Dr. Dennis R. Durbin, scientific co-director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “If he’s rear-facing, his entire body is better supported by the shell of the car seat. When he’s forward-facing, his shoulders and trunk may be well restrained, but in a violent crash, his head and neck can fly forward.”

In the instance of a crash a babies head is more likely to fly forward causing the neck to have major damage and other life threatening issues. So when it comes down to comfort and safety I choose SAFETY and I hope most of you will as well. Look at the research and make the decision for your self and when you feel the time is right you can make the decision to go forward facing.

1 year 1 month

Today is a big landmark for Arland he is 1 year 1 month... (mostly for momma too) because yesterday someone asked me how old my little boy is and I responded saying 1 year old. That got me thinking about how he is not in the "months" anymore. I miss him being this little baby at three months and then 6 months and so on. I miss all those milestones and then I think about who he is at this time in his life and I know that I love him at this point too, I cant wait for all the fun things that Arland is going to do and say. He makes me smile everyday with the different things that he does. The other day my dad asked Arland where his momma was and he patted my shoulder and said "mama" oh how I loved that! He loves to share his cheerios with mama and his toys and he is curious and wants mommy to show him how things work. He loves his walks and he loves Pazely. He loves to chase her tail and figure out why it wiggles so much. He is truly pure joy and I love him as he is right now. I have loved all his different stages I just wish it could slow down a little bit more!

I am a little bit obsessed with these people right now. Sophie my little sister got the series for Christmas and I am WAY behind on the Harry Potter movies so I have been catching up the past couple of weeks and I am loving them! They are truly classics!

Do squeaky shoes really work?

Arland is having a hard time getting the courage to stand on his own to feet. He prefers to just scoot all over the house and he is not terrified to walk. I ordered these squeaky shoes in hopes that they will give him the courage to take a few steps. Let me know what you think...whether they actually help motivate walking?

Handsome Boy

Arlands 1 year pictures!

Isnt he so handsome! I love the facial expressions that this little boy makes. He is so curious and smart and you can see this in his face.

Arland now knows where his nose is! He loves to put his finger up to his lip and blow bubbles to make noise. He also hates the word "NO", ha ha he hates that word and he loves to just scoot all over the floor! I hope you like his pictures!

Arland Turns ONE!!!

Can I just say that this day was a sort of a whirl wind! I cant believe that my baby is already a year old. A year ago I gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy any one could have imagined. When Heath and I saw him for the first time we knew that our lives had forever changed and that our family of two would now only continue to grow and now we were a family of three. I remember seeing Arland for the first time and noticing how full he looked, he had these chubby cheeks that I absolutely LOVED and he had this strong dimple in his chin that made my heart melt. He cried for the first time and I remember how badly I wanted to hold him. He was ours and I knew that I never wanted to go back to how life was before. He was truly an angel from above and I couldn't believe that Heavenly Father trusted Heath and I with such a special little spirit. His smile melted my heart instantly when I saw him for the first time in the nursery all warm and calm. Heath asked me if I knew which baby was ours and I knew instantly that he was mine. Arland you have forever changed our lives and I love to more then you will ever know! Happy first birthday my little boy!

For Arlands Birthday we had a "fishy" themed party. We went to the Aquarium and it was so fun to see how excited my little boy would get looking at all the fishies!

We also celebrated with our families at our house with cake and ice cream and opening gifts

While I was hanging his pictures on the wall (a time line of his first year) I started to get really emotional because I realized how fast this whole year had gone by. Being a Mother has been the most amazing gift that I have ever been given it is truly the most spiritual title a woman can be given and I am so thankful that someone can call me "mommy" Arlands little smile makes me week at the knees and I know that I would do anything for him. He is our little bundle of happiness. Here are some things that Arland can do at a year!

Weight: 17.5 lbs 0%

Height: 31 in. 80%

Head: 75%

Says: Momma Dadda KiKi (kitty) GO!

Loves to scoot all around the house! (Grandma says that he looks like he has a gimp leg) ha ha

Loves big boy food! (mac and cheese, green beans, black beans, rice, chicken, noodles, broccoli, oranges, apple sauce, and about anything you can think of besides banana's and potato's...he doesn't like those.)

Movies : Land before time

Music: Anything Disney

When Arland gets mad he shakes his hands and throws stuff back and forth.

he loves when aunt Sophie scares him ( He says Go to her to make her scare him it is so funny!)

Loves truck and the little people that go inside the trucks

Loves his mommy and his daddy and wrestling with daddy!

WE LOVE YOU ARLAND!

Mommy Letter

11 MONTHS!

(Photo courtesy of aunt Chelsee!)

Well once again I am a little behind...I forget sometimes how fast you are growing and I just want to freeze you the way you are right now! But I look back at some of the letters that I have written you over the past 11 months and I realize that I loved every one of those stages and so I would be happy to freeze you at any one of them. There is also the fact that as you are growing you are doing more things, sillier things, and your daddy and I are looking forward to every stage of life that you have! This past month mommy was able to change her schedule so that she can be home with you more. She only works two business days a week! (And I am LOVING the time that I get to be with you!) We have done alot of things like going on walks and reading and playing with your toys. You have this dump truck that mommy and daddy got you for Christmas and you LOVE it. Really though you love the little person that is inside of it and you try to stick your hand inside the window of the truck to get him out, then you get stuck and you cry because you just want that little person so bad! So now you know how to get him out and you carry that little person all over the house with you. Have I mentioned that you still wont crawl! But you don't need to crawl when you can scoot...you scoot all over the house (opening cupboards, drawers, doors) getting into anything you really can reach or pull your self up to. And in all this time that you are scooting you have that little person in the palm of your hand. On the walks that we go on I bundle you up and put a hat on your head...ps. you hate hats! You pull them off immediately after I put them on. You would much rather see what is on that head of yours!
For Christmas we went to Grandma and Grandpa Pulham's house really early (5 am) to open presents! You actually did really well and you loved ripping all the wrapping paper. Santa brought you a little four wheeler (which you sat on the entire time we opened presents) that you move with your feet and some books with a new blanky! Grandma and Grandpa Pulham were no disappointment as well! You got lots of toys and some clothes! Then we went to Grandpa and Grandma Neuberts house to open presents and that was a wild house too! You just have so many people that love you. Your Great Grandma and Grandpa Jepsen were there and they spoiled you like crazy too! You got fun toys to ride and lots of love. Daddy had the flu so he was out of commission but we sure had some fun, and yes you were so exhausted by the end of the night. Daddy was also busy selling 8 puppies that pazely had for Christmas. You really didn't know what to think of those little things but it was fun to touch their fur. You can now say "Mama, Dada, and you shake your head NO when you don't want something." You also shake your hands when you want to be picked up, scoot everywhere, pull your self up in the your crib. And you LOVE your aunties! You laugh hysterically at just the sight of them! You love the bath and you still hate Bananas and Potato's, everything else you will eat. Mommy and Daddy took you on a trip to Idaho this month to visit Grandma and Grandpa and we even gave you Mexican food. (Boy did you love that!) Next Month you will be 1 year and I cant believe how fast that time has gone. You are my little monkey and I cant imagine life without you! We love you Arland boy!