My oldest had a birthday. Part of his gift was going to a baseball game, which has become his birthday tradition. He loves going, even though he still hasn’t learned all the lingo or who even all the players are. Something about going to a game is exciting. I can relate.

I thought it was sweet because he wanted to take his brother G.

Another thing was he finally {after asking everyday for months} received a Lego Pirates of the Carribean Black Pearl Ship.

He put it together in less than 1.5 hours flat. It was ah-mazing to witness.

Oh and…

He is now 9.

Nine

9

Nine

Yeah no matter how I write it he is getting older.  And while Mike & I are loving seeing him grow into a handsome, bright, loving young man.

DID I mention he IS already 9?! That means we are half-way to 18!

Hold me.

This week Baby Girl attempted to let go of the furniture she has been holding on to while cruising around and take a step. She tried to walk. All on her own. However, as is often the case with trying to walk, she has not yet succeeded.

No, instead she bumped her cheek. When it happened I picked her up, hugged her, wiped her tears and comforted her. Once she was ready I then helped her try again.

As I did this all the kids were worried. They rushed over and wanted to make sure she never fall again. They asked “Can’t we make it so she doesn’t fall ever again?” They wanted to protect her, to care for her, and part of that is desire is wanting to make her world one with as little discomfort as possible.

While, I would love as a parent to have the ability to know she or they would never fall I could not tell them that it wouldn’t happen ever again. Because the reality is we all have falls in life. We get bumps both real and metaphorical. But we have to get back up, accept help up when we need it, then try again and be ready to work toward our goals.

Baby Girl will walk all on her own. She will grow big & strong like her brothers & sister, she will also face other challenges in life like they will. There will be bumps, big and small, in the journey of life. And when they happen we will all be there for each other, comforting, guiding, helping back up & cheering each other on until steps we take become ones we have worn through.

Recently, I received the opportunity to review Baby Orajel Naturals Teething Tablets from BlogHer and have a $100 Target gift card giveaway!

I have turned down several other review/giveaway offers because I did not feel they would be good fit. However, with this offer I jumped at the chance to review the new tablets because as you might remember I have a teething tyrant in my house.

Err, I mean I have an absolutely adorable, sweet, angelic baby who happens to be teething right now, and teething makes her a tad cranky. OK, it makes her an adorable teething tyrant.

I also love Target {or as we call it around here Tar-gay} and figured many of you might feel the same.

As a mom of 5, Baby Girl is my 5th teething baby! And as a result of having done this momma of a teething tyrant gig before I do have lots of tricks up my sleeve to help soothe her–from cold teething rings to frozen washcloths to wooden teethers and so on.

But in my quest to add to my bag of tricks, I thought it would be a good to review this product. I could get some real-time, real, hands-on experience with Baby Girl and share with other parents.

Baby Orajel Naturals Tablets is the first and only homeopathic offering from the #1 teething brand, Baby Orajel.

Breaking down the details…

I like that Baby Orajel Naturals Teething Tablets are homeopathic teething tablets. I prefer to try to use natural elements with my kids, especially my babies.

Another plus for me is that the tables have chamomilla as one of the key ingredients for soothing a teething baby. From my own experience chamomilla is a calming agent for all ages. For example, we use chamomile tea before bed to help relax on days when everyone is all revved up and have even used chamomile tea as a treatment for colic.

Also, Baby Orajel Naturals Teething Tablets are belladonna-free, benzocaine-free, dye-free, alcohol-free and paraben-free. The focus on removing these elements from their tablets speaks to the crunchy momma wanna-be in me!

The tablets were very easy to place under Baby Girl

In use…

And yes before I go any further…I truly did use them with her! And not only I did I use them with Baby Girl, Mike also gave some to her on two different evenings when I was lecturing.

Because trust me, she was having a rough one. If you have ever been around a teething baby you know those rough ones are the days/evenings/middle of the nights when you are up walking back and forth across the floor with your little sweetheart, who is anything but sweet and is very fussy, and you are trying to do anything you can to soothe your baby.

These teething tablets turned out to be a wonderful addition to help with those rough ones.

Another great benefit of these tablets is not only was it easy to get them in her mouth, under her tongue, but the tablets feature a quick-dissolve rate of about 10 seconds. Meaning no worrying about them falling out right after you pop them in, and her not getting the relief she needs. It also made it harder for her to spit them out before they dissolved; instead they dissolved before she could try this little trick {and oh how babies will try}. So BAM! Score one for the parents!

Love these moments, she cracks me up with the faces she makes!

Now for the big answer did they work?

Both Mike and I concur that yes, yes they did actually work. I was glad to have Mike’s feedback to see how she reacted when I wasn’t around because I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just my perception.

Nope, it was not just me.

The truth is she seemed so much calmer and soothed after receiving them on the days when her teething was out of control. She was then able to gnaw on her teething ring or a frozen washcloth with glee.

My favorite part was seeing my sweet, smiling Baby Girl after she was soothed. And to see the two teeth she is now sporting {Yes, TWO teeth!!}. I love these moments as a momma.

Well, I don’t love the teething tyrant part {because man that part, um, SUCKS!} but I do love seeing the squirrely faces she makes and her brand new two-tooth smile as she is chomping away on her morning snack.

I also love getting to know the beautiful little person my Baby Girl is becoming!

And now that I have shared my review and one of my favorite moments as a momma how about you…

What was your favorite moment as a new mom? Or maybe you are, like me, a seasoned mom with a new baby? Share your moment in the comment section to be entered for a chance to win a $100 Target Gift Card, courtesy of BlogHer and Baby Orajel Naturals!!

Rules For Entry:No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 5/1 – 5/31/2012.

Be sure to visit the Baby Orajel page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win.

Orajel® is a registered trademark of Church & Dwight.

Baby Girl has learned at a young age to share.  Apparently, she even thinks her Daddy would love to suck on her fist as much as she does, which of course was totally true {OK, maybe not totally}.

Part of our Easter celebrations included Mass, feasting, dying and collecting eggs, some more feasting {time to get to back on the elliptical machine!} and of course spending time together as a family enjoying the moments as they passed us by.  We had a wonderful weekend.  And if you notice looks who is standing {with a little assistance from Momma} but before I know it she will be walking!!

Now to go and fend off more questions from my beautiful but candy obsessed children…

“Please momma? Can I have just one more treat? Just one more?”

I hope everyone else had a lovely weekend!

Mamacita and I were watching a show on TV. It had dancing cats who also sang. Not real cats or computer generated cats but people dressed like cats. In giant cat costumes. One played a guitar. I have no idea why cats, why giant cat costumes & why they were so darn musically inclined. But it is what it is.

It also was obvious that they were people dressed as cats. Why is this important to point out? Because of the exchange that ensued between myself & Mamacita.

While watching I made the comment: “Isn’t that funny? Giant dancing cats?”

To which my daughter looked me straight in the face and deadpanned “Um, Mommy those are just people dressed as cats NOT real cats. Real cats can’t sing, dance or play guitar. Only people dressed as cats could do that Mommy.”

Because you know she needed to be very clear just in case Mommy didn’t understand that & thought there were really dancing, signing, guttering playing cats on her TV. Oh boy.

Next you know she’s going to start talking about how she’s a winner again.

Looking through my iPhone photos from earlier this month and saw this one. It is a tad blurry but looking at it makes me think of she has a little Zoolander going on.  Except in my totally unbiased opinion she is way cuter. Just sayin’.

Last weekend when we went to the St. Patrick’s Day parade it was cold and windy. It truly felt like a March day. But I wasn’t going to complain because it is nice to have a feast day {both St. Patrick’s and today St. Joseph’s} in the middle of Lent a little reminder of how we are to be joyous even amid the sacrificial aspect of Lent.

What was unexpected though was this past weekend when St. Patrick’s Day actually arrived it was warm, sunny and felt like June.  I couldn’t believe that in Michigan it was mid-70s when usually we are getting ready for another snowstorm in mid-March.  We are not sitting outside enjoying fresh air and sun sans our coats.

While it was surreal it was perfect for D-man’s birthday!  For real the time is flying by and he is absolutely his own little man.  He doesn’t take anything from nobody but is also the first to try to make everyone laugh. I hope that his tenacious but lovable spirit never leaves him. So yes, D-man is now officially 3!! And we cannot believe it before we know it college.

Speaking of college I have felt so busy lately.  My courses just passed their mid-way point and that means soon I will be wrapping up the semester. I am sure my students are excited to see the end nearing.  I was feeling pretty burned out at the start of the semester but I feel pretty settled now.  It has been a fast but good semester. I have also been working away on some research projects.

I have been trying to get to bed earlier {has helped offset the night-time waking that happens with a teething Baby Girl!}, eat to fuel my body all day {not just with coffee} and make sure to take walks or hop on the elliptical machine.  It has made a difference to keep a regular routine for me. I have been good about it for the kids but sometimes let myself slide to the last on the list or even left off the list totally.  Working to keep myself on the list is good for everyone.

And the three “big” kids have been working hard at learning.  Mamacita is an official reader, making her way steadily through her Little Stories for Little Folks phonics readers. It is wonderful to see her finally clicking with reading, she loves books & now has a new world opened to her own exploration of them.  While she has been growing in leaps and bounds so have her brothers.

Both Mr. J and Mr. G have been growing in their academic and social skills. I was so proud to hear from those who know them how mature and comfortable they both seem now in social situations.  They have always done well with academics, but the ease of social skills is not as natural so hearing how others notice how they are blossoming is reaffirming for us as parents.  It has been a lot of work for my Asperger boys but they have done amazing. Of course everyday isn’t sunshine and roses, but with what kid is it?

Although today is full of a lot of sunshine.  Literally it  just as warm, sunny and gorgeous outside as the weekend was.  So another beautiful day to take the edge off the normally long days of March perfect to celebrate St. Joseph’s day today.  Instead of wearing green, it’s time to break out the red!  Tonight for dinner an Italian pasta dish and leftover birthday cake.  Can’t go wrong with a little of this and a little of that.

Baby Girl has been teething. For what has felt like FOREVER!! FOREVER I say in all caps no less!

Then this week, as we were all hanging out, she suddenly grabbed Mike’s finger to out in her mouth. She has no teeth yet so what can it hurt? So he didn’t think twice about it and if it makes his sweet baby happy then he rolls with it. He, like I, have learned the babies ALWAYS win.

There we were talking away. When suddenly Mike stops talking. Then his eyes started to get wider. And wider. And wider.

He looked at me, smiled, and said: “She has a tooth!! One is starting to pop through!”

“What?”

“A tooth, Beth. It is finally poking through.”

Sure enough I peeked at her mouth there it is the tiny top of a brand new first baby tooth. I am not sure when it popped through, except I hasn’t noticed it {good thing!} when she nursed earlier that day. She has been pretty fussy & wanting to gum away on anything & everything. We have been doing our best to console her and so we knew it was coming. We knew at least one had to finally make it’s way out. And there it was. Her first little tooth’s tippy top.

The conversation for this went something like: “Hey, let me take your picture?”

{Don’t forget to add in the super, peppy Mom voice of this is going to be SO MUCH FUN even if it kills us! side note: I hate when I have that voice}

Response: Grumble, grumble, grumble. Then something that sounds like: “Sure.”

Me: “OK, look at me and SMILE!”

And as you can see. He did neither look nor smile.

But when I pointed those two facts out he said: “Well, I did let you take a picture didn’t I? Anyways, you took his picture {points to brother who is deep in reading} and didn’t make him look and smile.”

Well played son. Well played.