Early Christmas Gift

THERE REALLY ARE CHRISTMAS MIRACLES!

LILY WAS PUT IN HER CRIB LAST NIGHT BY 9:00 PM, AND...

SLEPT UNTIL 7:30 AM THIS MORNING!!!!!

WOO HOO!

Stupid Trucks

Grrrr. We got stuck behind this on our way home, after getting the girls on Sunday. It took up probably about 30 minutes extra on our trip. We had seen it on our way to Ohio, but it wasn't as nearly backed up then. We were stopped on the interstate, and like everyone else, just wanted to GO!

I should be nicer, because maybe it wasn't the driver's fault. We had gotten some snow recently. But, I really just wanted to be home with the girls.

Happy Friday!

A new trend

When Abby was a baby/toddler, we never had those experiences where we would look over and she'd be asleep out of nowhere. We always heard stories about kids that did that, you know, while they were playing or eating or whatever, we just didn't really experience it.

Well, times they are a changing. Apparently, we now have a kid like that. Just last night, we brought Lily into the kitchen with us, and Matt and I were talking and getting dinner ready together. Yeah, that actually happens now that he is done with school. :) Anyway, all of a sudden, Matt says, "Look-"

So stinkin' cute, right? Pitiful and cute.

This happened after my experience last week of her falling asleep while playing. I kid you not, we were heading up to nap in about 5 minutes and she just couldn't wait.

I swear I am not denying her sleep. In fact, I would love her to sleep ALL night in HER bed. I think the new nap schedule is wearing her out. ...and I'm okay with that. She'll get used to it, but I have to admit, she's pretty cute when she crashes.

It's Monday

It's Monday. Here is a smile to get you through.

I'm in the process of preparing a craft for Abby's preschool Christmas party. I just finished cutting little Christmas trees out of sturdy green sparkle-y felt. The kids are going to glue beads on them as ornaments. I fear that no matter how much or what kind of glue we use, the beads will fall off. I even bought a "tacky" glue that should hold better, but I still have my doubts.

Sleep training with Lily is going okay. No real improvement at night, but she has been napping in her crib regularly. So that's good. Saturday night she made it to about 3:30 a.m. before waking up, which was actually a real improvement. Last night? Not so much.

Have a great week!

Sleep

So, you know what I think the hardest part of having a baby is, you know, after they are here? Sleep. Not breastfeeding or discipline or diaper changing or baths or crying, but sleep. Because, really, sleep factors into some of those things. Sleep is also one of those controversial, judge other parents, type of things. Do you let your child cry it out at night, do you co sleep, do you use a monitor, do you do scheduled naps, do you have a structured bedtime and what time is it???????

Not to toot my own horn, but in general, Matt and I are pretty good at parenting. We have an appropriate amount of structure and discipline, without being crazy. Our girls are well behaved, eat well, and so on. But, we struggle with babies and sleep. I say babies because now that Abby isn't a baby, it is a non-issue. -and I expect that will happen eventually with Lily too.

BUT, now, it is a problem. Lily has been a pretty easy baby, and as a newborn, was a good sleeper. We'd put her to bed drowsy and she'd fall asleep like a champ. She started sleeping through the night around 2 months. It has all gone downhill from there.

Here is our situation: Lily gets a bottle before bed and falls asleep in our arms. We then move her into her crib. She then sleeps there for anywhere to 1 to 5 hours. At that point, the struggle begins. She does not want to go back to sleep by herself. We have tried letting her cry it out, which only results in a hysterical baby. I don't know, maybe others let them cry for, literally, hours? But, that hasn't worked for us. We try rocking her and then moving her back to her crib, but 9 out of 10 times she wakes and cries more. We then resort to bringing her into bed with us, where she calmly snuggles in and sleeps until about 7:30.

We do not want her in bed with us, but we also aren't very good with the battle in the middle of the night. We had a very calm discussion about it this week, and we are both struggling with what to do. We DO think it will pass eventually because we did go through this with Abby, except she wasn't as bad as Lily. You just can't rationalize with a ten month old. So, I am working on some small things...

• More structured nap time- in her crib. I wasn't doing this. She was napping on our bed or in my arms, on the couch... when she happened to fall asleep. For the last 3 days, I have put her down in her crib at specific times (AM and PM) for nap.
• Make her crib less scary. Not that it was, but I took down the bumper pad, so she can see her room and not feel "alone." For naps lately, I put her down and then read or work on something in her rocker and she's okay with that. If I leave the room, she freaks out. Then, once she drifts off to dreamland, I scoot. I also have set her in her crib with a couple toys when we are in there working. Yesterday she played in her crib while Abby and I cleaned out some of her drawers.
• Make her crib snuggly warm. She is old enough now that she can have a warm blanket. The temps here have finally dropped to crazy cold, and I have given her a snuggly blanket to sleep with. My thought is that at least she isn't waking up because she's cold (just in case that could have been a problem before- can you tell I'm grasping at straws?!).

We are on day 3 of structured naps in her crib, and it is going well. I'm actually pretty proud of myself. -and look! It doesn't look like a torturous time, does it? Now, why can't I get her to think that at night????

Some Art and Losing the Battle

Abby did some painting today...

I have titled this photo essay, "Losing the Battle." :)

Wordless Wednesday

Complete

My family is complete...

...and a few decorating pictures...

Decorating

The decorating has started at our house~

Lily checking out Christmas lights...

Ooooo, pretty!

Big sis sharing in Lily's first Christmas light experience.

Lily: "I wonder how they taste?"

Mommy: "Aack! Who is watching Lily?!?!"

My new experiment in trying to hand ornaments from our dining room light.

I love how it turned out. Very pretty.

Our seasonal chalkboard with one of our favorite verses from the Christmas story.

Abby was in charge of organizing this display~

Matt dug out an old Christmas tree that he used to have in his bedroom as a kid and Abby has been working on decorating it. Here is her star that she created for the top:

Neverending

So, apparently, I haven't been as "on" the laundry this week as I normally am. Yikes, it has piled up. I now have 2 loads completely done and put away, 1 load in the washer, 1 load in the dryer, and 1 load waiting to go in. ...and, I could really stand to change our sheets, so if I get around to that, 1 more load! We also are trying a new detergent- powder. It is cheaper, so I'm hoping I'll get used to it. I always think it is so nice when there isn't a drop of dirty clothing in the house, but that never lasts very long. Sigh.

Scarf Along- Honor Student

So, just a revised link for you. This is the Scarf Along I will be doing. I believe the bulk, if not all, of the directions will be posted next week (the week of Thanksgiving). I am really looking forward to working on it!

Clapping

By request, here is a video of Lily clapping!

Scarf Along

I read about this on another blog and thought it looked cool. I'm going to do it, are you with me? We are on a very tight budget right now, so I wasn't sure if I could swing some fabric, but we found a way so I'm in.

For those of you that aren't sewing beginners (Mom, for example), there is an "honor's student" version of the scarf project here, and I actually think that may be the one I do.

Back to my story...

Abby and I went to Jo-Ann's this morning to buy some fabric for a gift I'm making and while we were there I decided to look at the bundles of fat quarters. I found a pack I liked, but it only had 5 in it, and the scarf calls for 8 so we got to pick out 3 of our own choosing. Afterwards, we went to look at the trims and I swear, this one was meant to be. The colors were exactly right! Here are my fabrics and trim:

Okay, your turn! All the cool kids are doing it. ...and it will be fun to share our experiences. Commit to it, share your fabric, and blog all about it!

Recital

We found out Abby's recital theme! For the tap portion, they are doing a Candyland theme, where each song has to do with candy, AND.... Abby's class is doing "The Good Ship Lollipop." Here is the costume they selected:



The ballet portion is called "Princess Stories," with different sections focusing on a Disney princess. Abby's class, and she is super excited about this, gets to be Ariel from the Little Mermaid. Their dance is to the song "Part of Your World." Here is the costume (hers will be the short version):

I can clap my hands!

a little makeover

I hope you like the changes I made to my blog. I was getting bored with the look of the blog, so I spent a little time searching around for a new background and header. You know, just something to switch it up a little.

The sick house

Ugh. It has been forever since I've posted, mostly because I have been really sick. Yuck. I had an unconfirmed case of H1N1. This is from the CDC website:

How do I know if I have the flu?

You may have the flu if you have some or all of these symptoms:

• fever *
• cough
• sore throat
• runny or stuffy nose
• body aches
• headache
• chills
• fatigue
• sometimes diarrhea and vomiting

*It’s important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

Yup, sounds about right. I only had a low-grade fever, so I didn't have much of the body aches or chills. That's it, everything else I had. Fun. On top of that I had/have a sinus infection. The kind I have (Maxillary) is common to go along with stuff like flu. It is unlike any of the other sinus infections I have ever had, and I've had a lot. My teeth hurt with it, it was insane. I'm on a strong antibiotic for 14 (!) days. I am still not over it, but feeling MUCH better.

From there, we move to Lily getting sick, pretty positive she caught what I had. I noticed the symptoms and we got her on Tamiflu the exact same day. I swear that stuff helped a ton. She is still all rumbly in her head and hoarse, but not super fussy or feverish. So far, Abby hasn't had it, but I'm hopeful that she may make it through okay. If you count when my very first sympton started, we are on 10 days of not feeling good. Meaning, I am going stir crazy!!!!! We should be able to take care of that this weekend.

...and here are some pictures to share from Trick-or-Treat...

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!

Ashtray or Beautiful Vase?

I've left this Upper Room devotional sitting in my inbox for a while because I liked it, so I thought I'd share (and then I can delete it):

~

You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "He did not make me"? Can the pot say of the potter, "He knows nothing"?
-Isaiah 29:16 (NIV)


I have to admit that I have trouble with the concept of being clay and not having a voice in my development. It's not that I'm rebellious and want my own way; it's just that I want some say in what happens to me. Okay, I admit it. I'm afraid that God's plan for me won't suit me. What if I would make a great ceramic bowl to be displayed and admired, but instead I get molded into an ashtray? All right, maybe being a display bowl is too pretentious. But what if I would make a great serving dish that could be useful in many ways, but I get molded into a chamber pot? (In that case, I think I'd rather be an ashtray.)

In my mind, I know that God wants not only what is good for me but also what is best for me. Still, I have trouble feeling that truth in my heart and living it in my life, especially when people around me treat me like I am an ashtray or worse.

I've learned that when I do what God wants me to do, I am being who God wants me to be. I won't have to worry about how that might look to me or to anyone else.

Fall

Ah, fall. I forget how much I love the leaves changing. I always confess to be a warm weather girl, but there is nothing like the gorgeous fall colors right now. Driving Abby to preschool isn't nearly as much of a chore with the beauty of the leaves right now. I love it.

That said, the girls and I took a walk into a wooded area near our house for a photo shoot yesterday. Many of the pictures turned out beautiful. Lily was pretty fussy, unfortunately, so I didn't get any of her straight-on, smiling. She was most happy if she could attempt to eat the leaves. It was pretty funny because she would chuckle to herself while she was playing with them.

So, this picture cracks me up everytime I look at it. I was trying to get some pictures of just Lily, and Abby just couldn't stand it. She would casually slink into the picture with this sneaky look on her face. Too funny. Like I didn't see her.

When we got home, Abby found a ladybug on our sidewalk that she was mesmerized with. Ah, a bug that doesn't seem so scary.

Happy fall everyone!

Pumpkins

We got our pumpkin all carved for Halloween. Abby helped design it this year...

Lily, patiently eating Cheerios, which she has now mastered, by the way.

A trip to the Apple Orchard

We decided to make our annual trip to the apple orchard today, despite crummy weather (sprinkling and pretty cold). Instead we bundled the girls up and made a go of it. I think Lily was exhilarated by the cold, she refused to let me hold her hands to warm them. Abby got to wear her new Hello Kitty rainboots so she wouldn't have to worry about the mud. We scored by getting both apples AND pumpkins, however the apple selection wasn't great. I think Matt and I think that apple season is later than it really is. Oh well. I still foresee some baking...