Hellobee

 I fought through a lot of challenges to breastfeed M for nearly two years – a tongue tie, endless thrush, high palate and a disorganized suck, exclusive pumping. It meant a lot to me to be able to nurse her so I conquered a bunch of pain and frustration to get it to work and I’m glad I did! With A, I’ve only been at it for a month but I’m proud that I was able to get over a lot of my anxiety and fear to agree to a repeat C-section and to have to travel and stay out of town to do it — it was what was safest for him even though it scared me.

 I’m so proud of H’s love of music and dancing because we have been jamming out with her (and taking her to Music Together) since she was born. Neither of us are musically inclined nor were we encouraged to learn the language of music when we were young. She now sings along to her bedtime lullaby, I swear with perfect pitch and it amazes me.

I am so proud to have two kids who are kind and empathetic. They are both so loving and sweet and my siblings told me multiple times over Christmas how nice my kids are. Made me feel so proud that they are mine!

I am proud that Mr. M and I truly are partners in our parenting and parent as equally as possible. I am also proud that we have tried really hard to be intentional in HOW we parent by communicating a lot, reading and sharing things that resonate, and letting it go when we don’t handle things as well as we would have liked.

 I’m really proud that I have a very calm and polite kid. I was a very anxious first-time parent and was convinced I was going to pass that on to her, but she’s now 3 and a half, and we made it through the 2s and half of 3s without any issues with behavior, no tantrum stages, etc., and she’s very conversational and polite with others. I probably can’t claim all the credit on this, biology is a big factor, but I’m really proud of how she’s growing up.

 I am really proud of how friendly Bug is. I was a very, very shy child, and it really held me back, so I did not want that for Bug. I have really stepped out of my shell and tried to encourage and model being friendly as much as possible, and it is working well! People often comment on how friendly and polite Bug is to everyone he meets.

 I’m proud of the fact that Little Cotton Candy loves to be social and is great at sharing with his friends. As an introvert who was extremely shy as a child, I see some of those tendencies in Little Cotton Candy, but also I see how he overcomes them and finds so much joy in being with friends.

 I’m proud that Crumb (age 2) is so kind and sensitive to other’s feelings. He just started a preschool program this past fall and his teachers continually tell me how polite he is and that he tries to make other children feel better when they are sad or upset. I’m also really proud of our bedtime routine. It takes a lot of work to keep it so structured but Mr. Cookie and I can leave and have family or friends put the boys to sleep without any fuss and that is a huge blessing for all involved!

Every time we have gone into a teacher conference for any of our kids the teachers have nothing but nice things to say about their personalities. Even if they are behind in certain subjects, they have nothing but glowing reviews about their behavior and how caring they are. We went into one of our kid’s meetings last year and the teacher told us that every once in a while she meets a kid and just wants to stop and talk to the parents about what they are doing because the kid is so awesome, and our son was one of those kids. It makes me remember that my biggest goal for them is to be loving and considerate human beings that care about their peers and the world. So far so good!

 I am really proud of how much my boys (4 and 1.5) love each other. They adore playing together. Finn, the 4-year-old is always looking out for his little brother and loves to play with him. And Dash thinks everything his big brother does is hilarious. I know this isn’t totally because of me, but I am proud of it nonetheless!

 I am proud of the fact that Mr. Peas and I have stayed relatively calm and laid back as parents. With a few notable exceptions, we have not let parenting overwhelm us or cause us to become stressed, unhappy people. We try to roll with the punches, do the best we can, hug our kids at the end of the night, and not spend excessive time or energy worrying about everything else.

 Eight months into this parenting thing, I would say getting two baby girls to regularly sleep through the night for 12 hours straight. Apart from just plain good luck, I credit our time with a night nanny and advice from plenty of friends for this achievement! Our babies and entire family are happier with a good night of rest. Oh, and also I would say their very existence was a pretty big triumph for me – haha!

 I am proud that Lion is so sweet and kind. His daycare teachers have always commented on his good manners (how he always says “please” and “thank you,” or will say “excuse me” whenever he bumps into someone). We’ve always emphasized the importance of a servant’s heart and Lion has always been quick to help, eager to share and concerned when people are sad. He also loves to give presents to people. With Panda, I’m proud that I breastfed him for almost four months becauseI only made it about two months with Lion. Even though four months may not be that long compared to other moms, I’m so proud that I kept it up for six weeks after returning to work and for twice as long as my first time around.

 I’m very proud of Jackson’s verbal abilities and how well-behaved he is. I know much of that is less to do with our parenting and more just how he is, but it’s something I’m always very proud of! I think Mr. Garland and I both do a good job of using lots of language with Jackson and it really shows – his pediatrician always comments on how impressed he is by his speech when we go to the doctor. He’s also generally a very well-behaved toddler and we don’t have many discipline issues.

Our kids all have crazy active imaginations, and right or wrong, I give myself some credit for that. We play lots of pretend games, tell made up funny stories, etc. and I like to think it has opened up a world of wonder and fun to them. I hope they will always hang on to the ability to dream up crazy adventures.

 At 7 months, Jujube usually takes one or two poops a day on the toilet if I notice her cues and bring her. We started when she was 5 weeks old and it’s been a great bonding experience because from when she was tiny I had something to directly encourage her on, but I wasn’t sure if it would translate to less diapers – it finally is!

 I am most proud of my breastfeeding experience with both of my LOs. I was able to provide breastmilk for StarCakes for 10 months and GemCakes for 15 months. I also love seeing the relationship that these two have with each other. They are considerate and thoughtful and while they still have their fights, they are quick to forgive each other.

I’m proud of how Little P is able to play independently. I started putting her on the floor by herself with toys at a young age. At 15 months she can entertain herself for hours until she gets hungry. I love to watch her and see what her mind comes up with while she plays.

Breastfeeding didn’t work out with Charlie so I ended up exclusively pumping. But I breastfed Olive for over 2 years and could have gone on even longer. It was such a bonding experience, and I really loved it! A lot of people also comment on what good travelers Charlie and Olive are, and that makes me proud of them!

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Do you have any parenting triumphs you’d like to share