Last night was a bad night! Avery still had a fever, was sweating a lot and so I couldn't ever get her comfortable and sleeping for a long time. But that is not the worst part. Like clockwork once I got her settled then SAM would wake up. She is going through a phase right now where she "loses" her cup of water and will scream for me to come and find it. Most of the time I come in and the water is laying right next to her. Sometimes she isn't even really awake but I have to sit there and comfort her to get her to stop crying and go back to sleep. Obnoxious! So last night she did that several times in between Avery waking up. I was up on and off all night. I finally woke Chris up (actually twice!) and told him he had to deal with the next one but when the girls started crying again he didn't even move and since I was still awake I just gave in and got up. Must be nice to be such a deep sleeper!
While Sam, Avery and I were playing outside this morning Sam found a caterpillar in her little gardening wagon. She has recently "learned" about caterpillars and is now fascinated by them. She was excited about the one that she found and I didn't have the heart to tell her that it was dead, floating in about an inch of water!!
Sam played in the sprinkler this morning too and at one point she came running over to me and said "Mommy look!" . She then pointed down at her bottom and proceeded to PEE! I asked her if she was going potty, she said yes and I said that's okay it's alright to got potty outside. "Great." was her response! So is that technically public urination? Is it really okay for her to pee in the yard or should I have scolded her and taken her inside?
I have started having Sam not wear diapers whenever we are at home. She actually doesn't like it. She will beg to put a diaper back on, but I make her just wear shorts or a skirt. Most of the time she successfully makes it the potty or goes when I ask her to try. But this morning she had her first real accident on the floor and got very upset. I didn't yell at her because I would rather have her tell me about the accidents then try and hide them because she thinks she is going to get in trouble. But I did make her help me clean it up. Any tricks to getting a potty training kid to NOT want to wear a diaper? Has that ever happened to anyone else before?
Okay, that is enough for this nap time post! I use the term "nap time" very loosely! Avery is sleeping but Sam is just up in her room talking. I put one of those digital photo frames in her room and so right now she is sitting in there watching it excitedly yelling out the names of the people in the pictures!! HA! Maybe the frame in her room was not such a good idea!
Happy Friday!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
BAD dog day
Polly rolled on a dead bird!! And not just a little rolling, but like ground the bird into her back!
She does this all the time with her tennis balls so when she was doing it this morning in the front yard I didn't think anything of it. But then I thought to myself that there were no tennis balls out there so what was she rolling on? I yelled at her to stop and then went over and looked.
SO GROSS!
Until I have the time and energy to give her a bath she is tied up outside in the back yard. She is not an outside dog and it is 85+ degrees today so this is pretty much torture for her.
Girls aren't really napping very well today so I am not sure when the dog bath will happen but I guess I better get off the computer and see what I can do.
DAMN DOG! Anyone want a very smelly golden retriever?
She does this all the time with her tennis balls so when she was doing it this morning in the front yard I didn't think anything of it. But then I thought to myself that there were no tennis balls out there so what was she rolling on? I yelled at her to stop and then went over and looked.
SO GROSS!
Until I have the time and energy to give her a bath she is tied up outside in the back yard. She is not an outside dog and it is 85+ degrees today so this is pretty much torture for her.
Girls aren't really napping very well today so I am not sure when the dog bath will happen but I guess I better get off the computer and see what I can do.
DAMN DOG! Anyone want a very smelly golden retriever?
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
sleeping FYI
Following the great advice from many of my mommy mentors Sam has been going to bed much earlier these last few nights!! And guess what, she has also been sleeping in much later! This morning she did not get out of bed until 8:30! It was awesome. She has been a little less crabby and I can tell that she is just happier. It has only been three nights but already I can see a difference. Early to bed is good for her and I am not going to lie getting the extra time in the evenings without her has been nice to. Probably not suppose to say that...
Anyway, thanks so much all you moms out there for the suggestions!! We are going to keep working on this; putting her to bed super early and trying to get her to nap. Hopefully her behavior and mood will continue to improve!
Anyway, thanks so much all you moms out there for the suggestions!! We are going to keep working on this; putting her to bed super early and trying to get her to nap. Hopefully her behavior and mood will continue to improve!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
two posts in one
It has just been one of those kind of days.....
Post #1 -
It was a FIVE SPANKING DAY with Sam (and three time outs!). I don't know what is going on with her right now but she is SO whinny and disobedient I cannot get her to listen at all. I will tell her not to do something and she will turn right around and do it anyway. I give warnings, I do the counting thing, I try distracting her, I try making good behavior fun...nothing seems to help on a consistent basis. By the end of today I had completely had it with her and I turned the TV on just to shut her up and get some quiet while I cooked dinner.
I don't want to be the mean mom, the crabby mom and the spanking all the time mom but if I cannot get her to listen to me I don't know what other choice I have. Some days I think she is over tired but she acts the same even on days when she has had a long nap. Some times I think maybe she isn't eating enough at meals but she acts the same even when I give her snacks between meals.
I feel like a broken record sometimes with my complaints about Sam but we just haven't figured anything out. I need this phase (Oh PLEASE let it be a phase!) to be over soon or I am going to go crazy. On days like this I just feel like I am loosing myself with all the yelling and not even able to enjoy a beautiful sunny day. It sucks!
Post #2 -
Avery is in such a FUN stage right now! She is eating solid foods really well and breastfeeding less often which is great. She loves green beans and gobbles down a big bowl at both lunch and dinner. I think eating green beans for breakfast is weird so she just does plain oatmeal cereal. We stick with one new food every three days so by this weekend we will introduce peas and maybe avocados. Another week or so (once I get her liking a few more vegetables) then I get to introduce fruits and that is when it gets REALLY fun. I just love making baby food. I am even saving the water from when I boil the vegetables in nalgenes in the frig this time around (I didn't do that with Sam) so that I can use that water to mix with the rice cereal. I have been told that the water used for boiling ends up having a lot of the nutrients in it so it makes sense to save it and use it if I can.
She is working on sitting up, giggling all the time and just so much fun right now. I love every little minute with her and am really enjoying being her mom right now!!
So, is it awful that I can feel so totally different about my two girls right now?
Post #1 -
It was a FIVE SPANKING DAY with Sam (and three time outs!). I don't know what is going on with her right now but she is SO whinny and disobedient I cannot get her to listen at all. I will tell her not to do something and she will turn right around and do it anyway. I give warnings, I do the counting thing, I try distracting her, I try making good behavior fun...nothing seems to help on a consistent basis. By the end of today I had completely had it with her and I turned the TV on just to shut her up and get some quiet while I cooked dinner.
I don't want to be the mean mom, the crabby mom and the spanking all the time mom but if I cannot get her to listen to me I don't know what other choice I have. Some days I think she is over tired but she acts the same even on days when she has had a long nap. Some times I think maybe she isn't eating enough at meals but she acts the same even when I give her snacks between meals.
I feel like a broken record sometimes with my complaints about Sam but we just haven't figured anything out. I need this phase (Oh PLEASE let it be a phase!) to be over soon or I am going to go crazy. On days like this I just feel like I am loosing myself with all the yelling and not even able to enjoy a beautiful sunny day. It sucks!
Post #2 -
Avery is in such a FUN stage right now! She is eating solid foods really well and breastfeeding less often which is great. She loves green beans and gobbles down a big bowl at both lunch and dinner. I think eating green beans for breakfast is weird so she just does plain oatmeal cereal. We stick with one new food every three days so by this weekend we will introduce peas and maybe avocados. Another week or so (once I get her liking a few more vegetables) then I get to introduce fruits and that is when it gets REALLY fun. I just love making baby food. I am even saving the water from when I boil the vegetables in nalgenes in the frig this time around (I didn't do that with Sam) so that I can use that water to mix with the rice cereal. I have been told that the water used for boiling ends up having a lot of the nutrients in it so it makes sense to save it and use it if I can.
She is working on sitting up, giggling all the time and just so much fun right now. I love every little minute with her and am really enjoying being her mom right now!!
So, is it awful that I can feel so totally different about my two girls right now?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
a great rainy day!
Not sure what got into us but last Saturday while in St. Louis for Avery's baptism we had the great idea to take all the kids to the ARCH! It was a bit overwhelming at times trying not to loose one of the kids (I was not very good at communicating when I had one of the kids..gave my sister a heart attack at least once!) but overall it was a GREAT rainy day!
Mom, what were you looking at?
Yes, Sam is totally chewing on the side of the window! I'm sure they clean those windows often...HA!
Mom, what were you looking at?
Yes, Sam is totally chewing on the side of the window! I'm sure they clean those windows often...HA!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
a heated game of bouncy ball soccer!
We went outside to get the dogs and Sam some sunshine and exercise (which we did!) but I am pretty sure Chris and I ended up the most sweaty and overheated!!
No I do not have an afro, my hair is in motion!
The picture is fuzzy but this shows just how intense of a match it was!
Avery gets baptized on Sunday at the church where I grew up. The church where Chris and I were married. The church where Sam was baptized. We have family coming in town from all over the country and I am so excited for the big gathering!
No I do not have an afro, my hair is in motion!
The picture is fuzzy but this shows just how intense of a match it was!
Avery gets baptized on Sunday at the church where I grew up. The church where Chris and I were married. The church where Sam was baptized. We have family coming in town from all over the country and I am so excited for the big gathering!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
my words...Sam's mouth!
We were having breakfast this morning and Sam was trying to ask me for more toast. Avery was yelling so loud while I was feeding her that I couldn't hear what Sam was asking for. Sam set down her spoon and toast, looked at Avery and said,
"Avery, you are too loud. Mommy and I are talking here!"
It is the exact phrase that I have said to Sam MANY times while Chris and I have been trying to have conversations. too funny!
"Avery, you are too loud. Mommy and I are talking here!"
It is the exact phrase that I have said to Sam MANY times while Chris and I have been trying to have conversations. too funny!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
rollie pollie
Thanks for all the great stories and advice about the sleeping dilemma. Not sure what I will do. Right now Avery has a cold (so does Sam!) so I am going back to letting her eat for comfort. I know I shouldn't but somewhere in my head I remember some kind of saying about feeding a cold and starving a fever...
Avery is on the move! Set her down in one spot and she will roll her way half across the room. It is hilarious how much she can move just by constantly rolling over.
Caught a few of her rolls on camera!
These aren't her really impressive rolls, of course the camera is never around when she does three or more rolls in a row. But at least I caught something on film.
One of these days I am not going to control where she rolls (as long as she is not going to hurt herself!) and take pictures of just how far she goes!!
Avery is on the move! Set her down in one spot and she will roll her way half across the room. It is hilarious how much she can move just by constantly rolling over.
Caught a few of her rolls on camera!
These aren't her really impressive rolls, of course the camera is never around when she does three or more rolls in a row. But at least I caught something on film.
One of these days I am not going to control where she rolls (as long as she is not going to hurt herself!) and take pictures of just how far she goes!!
Monday, May 10, 2010
The sleep dilemma
I think at some point every mom has some kind of sleep problems but right now mine are DRIVING ME NUTS!
I was blessed with a good sleeper in Sam. Until recently she has been sleeping through the night since she was about four months old. Awesome, I know! And right now it is only occassionally that she is waking up from what I think are bad dreams. It isn't every night and its not a big deal.
It is my other child that is causing the current dilemma. She still wants to feed several times a night and I am ready to be DONE with night feedings. So I have started to work with her on breaking the habit. I let her fuss for longer now before I go in and rescue her. I am trying to use other methods of settling her back down, the pacifier, mobile and blankets. But every night she is winning the battle. She wakes up every 45 minutes for at least 4-5 hours needing to be put back to sleep. And usually at the 4 hour mark I am so tired from the constant getting up that I break down and just feed her. With the full belly she will sleep the rest of the night (however long that might be!) and I can finally get some good deep sleep.
So here is my dilemma...do I keep fighting the feeding? She has just started solid foods and in another month or so she will be doing full solid food meals (of course with breast feeding still mixed in). Should I force her to stop night feeding once she is getting more real food? Will it work better then? Since I have started this process do I just keep going and keep fighting so that I don't have to start all over again in a month or so? I am just SO tired all the time right now that it sucks! Sam just naturally gave up night feeding on her own, I didn't really have to do anything so this is new territory for me.
Any advice?
I was blessed with a good sleeper in Sam. Until recently she has been sleeping through the night since she was about four months old. Awesome, I know! And right now it is only occassionally that she is waking up from what I think are bad dreams. It isn't every night and its not a big deal.
It is my other child that is causing the current dilemma. She still wants to feed several times a night and I am ready to be DONE with night feedings. So I have started to work with her on breaking the habit. I let her fuss for longer now before I go in and rescue her. I am trying to use other methods of settling her back down, the pacifier, mobile and blankets. But every night she is winning the battle. She wakes up every 45 minutes for at least 4-5 hours needing to be put back to sleep. And usually at the 4 hour mark I am so tired from the constant getting up that I break down and just feed her. With the full belly she will sleep the rest of the night (however long that might be!) and I can finally get some good deep sleep.
So here is my dilemma...do I keep fighting the feeding? She has just started solid foods and in another month or so she will be doing full solid food meals (of course with breast feeding still mixed in). Should I force her to stop night feeding once she is getting more real food? Will it work better then? Since I have started this process do I just keep going and keep fighting so that I don't have to start all over again in a month or so? I am just SO tired all the time right now that it sucks! Sam just naturally gave up night feeding on her own, I didn't really have to do anything so this is new territory for me.
Any advice?
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Cinco De Mayo
Which means Avery is four months old and we had the four month check up.
Weighing in at....16lbs and 1.3 oz (84%).
Height is....25.2 inches (93%).
Head circumference....43.2 cm (95%).
I was excited for this appointment because four months means we get the ok to start solid foods! But that wasn't exactly what she recommended. Apparently now they suggest waiting until SIX MONTHS! HA! My child needs to eat real food. So this is what I think of the doctors recommendation...
Okay, I am not that bold. I did actually get the okay from the doctor for her to start food. She said that Avery would tell me if she wasn't ready for solids.
I just don't understand how pediatric medicine can change SO much from one child to the next; its crazy.
And here are two full bellied, happy girls from this afternoon!
Weighing in at....16lbs and 1.3 oz (84%).
Height is....25.2 inches (93%).
Head circumference....43.2 cm (95%).
I was excited for this appointment because four months means we get the ok to start solid foods! But that wasn't exactly what she recommended. Apparently now they suggest waiting until SIX MONTHS! HA! My child needs to eat real food. So this is what I think of the doctors recommendation...
Okay, I am not that bold. I did actually get the okay from the doctor for her to start food. She said that Avery would tell me if she wasn't ready for solids.
I just don't understand how pediatric medicine can change SO much from one child to the next; its crazy.
And here are two full bellied, happy girls from this afternoon!
Monday, May 3, 2010
one more...
Avery update from last night. We let her cry it out for the first time last night at bedtime.
It was the hardest 4 1/2 minutes EVER!
It was the hardest 4 1/2 minutes EVER!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
An Avery fix for the family!
She is almost four months old, which I cannot believe! We have her four month appointment on Wednesday so I will have her "stats" for you all then. But I wanted to give some of the day-to-day updates about Avery.
And has started to giggle!
She is totally full of smiles.
And has started to giggle!
She loves being outside just as much as her sister did when she was little (even though she doesn't look that happy in this picture from today!).
She is rolling over from her stomach to her back and from side to side. She hasn't rolled onto her stomach yet but is very close to that as well. She scoots all around when she rolls too which is so funny. You put her down on a blanket and then come back a few minutes later and she is off the blanket, not on her stomach and facing a different way!
She is still breast feeding like a champ but we are now mixing in a bottle or two when I have to go to work. I am also so excited to start baby foods with her sometime soon. I will be making my own again and with the growing season just getting started I cannot wait to buy a ton of good local produce to make the baby food with!
She still isn't sleeping through the night mostly because I am too lazy to break of her late night feeding habits. It is just so much quicker and easier to feed her then to let her fuss it out. At some point I will break of this habit...but not yet.
She also still has the WORST cradle cap. The dried, crusty skin or whatever it is, that is on her head drives me nuts. I have tried scrubing it off, picking it off, combing it off, using lotions and even baby oil but her head usually just gets really red and irritated if I try to mess with it too much.
Okay, I think that is all the updates I have for now...did I miss anything?
She still isn't sleeping through the night mostly because I am too lazy to break of her late night feeding habits. It is just so much quicker and easier to feed her then to let her fuss it out. At some point I will break of this habit...but not yet.
She also still has the WORST cradle cap. The dried, crusty skin or whatever it is, that is on her head drives me nuts. I have tried scrubing it off, picking it off, combing it off, using lotions and even baby oil but her head usually just gets really red and irritated if I try to mess with it too much.
Okay, I think that is all the updates I have for now...did I miss anything?
Saturday, May 1, 2010
where to begin...
It has been so long since I have posted it is kind of hard to decide what to write about, where to begin and what to include. I guess the most recent current events are a good place to start...
I just got back a little while ago from teaching my first solo program at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. It was a Soil and Water Conservation program for a boy scout troop. I taught 11, 10-11 year old boys all about soil, soil erosion, the water cycle, water pollution and waste treatment plants. I got them interested in the difference between point and non-point source pollution and had them loving an experiment where they got to pollute the habitat of Fred the Fish! They were of course talkative, rambunctious and annoying little boys but I still loved every minute of it!! I felt like ME for three hours and it felt great. I was outside, getting kids inspired about nature, interested in environmental issues and thinking critically about the soil they live on and the water they drink. Not the perfect Saturday for a lot of people but near perfect for me. I cannot wait to teach again.
Going back a little further in time...I got back to Wisconsin with the girls yesterday after four days in St. Louis. I was trying my best to be helpful, supportive and comforting to my sister, Parker and the rest of the family. I don't think I was really much help compared to the amount of added stress, laundry and chasing of kids that I created but it just felt good to be near my sister and mom while Parker was (IS) so sick. Going home was probably more for my comfort because being away from home when someone is sick is just awful, you have no way to help, no way to comfort or show support. I would have driven the six hours just to see Parker, give her a kiss and hug my sister.
Parker is certainly not in the clear yet as she is still in the hospital fighting infections, fever and getting back to her old self. I won't recount the whole week or the whole story of what is going on with Parker (if you aren't familiar with what is going on with my niece Parker you can go here), I will just say a huge thank you to all of my friends and family that have showed their love and support to Parker and the Allen family. I will ask again for your continued prayers for all of them. It has been a very hard week on the Allen family and I am praying that the hospital stay will not last much into week two.
On a much lighter note...Avery is almost FOUR MONTHS OLD! I am hoping to have some time tomorrow to take some pictures, shoot some video and post a big Avery update for all of you.
On a stressful note...Tuesday is exam day for Chris! This is a big exam for him (there aren't really any at this point that aren't!) and we are very hopeful that he will pass with flying colors. Of course we won't actually know if he passed until around the fourth of July!
I just got back a little while ago from teaching my first solo program at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center. It was a Soil and Water Conservation program for a boy scout troop. I taught 11, 10-11 year old boys all about soil, soil erosion, the water cycle, water pollution and waste treatment plants. I got them interested in the difference between point and non-point source pollution and had them loving an experiment where they got to pollute the habitat of Fred the Fish! They were of course talkative, rambunctious and annoying little boys but I still loved every minute of it!! I felt like ME for three hours and it felt great. I was outside, getting kids inspired about nature, interested in environmental issues and thinking critically about the soil they live on and the water they drink. Not the perfect Saturday for a lot of people but near perfect for me. I cannot wait to teach again.
Going back a little further in time...I got back to Wisconsin with the girls yesterday after four days in St. Louis. I was trying my best to be helpful, supportive and comforting to my sister, Parker and the rest of the family. I don't think I was really much help compared to the amount of added stress, laundry and chasing of kids that I created but it just felt good to be near my sister and mom while Parker was (IS) so sick. Going home was probably more for my comfort because being away from home when someone is sick is just awful, you have no way to help, no way to comfort or show support. I would have driven the six hours just to see Parker, give her a kiss and hug my sister.
Parker is certainly not in the clear yet as she is still in the hospital fighting infections, fever and getting back to her old self. I won't recount the whole week or the whole story of what is going on with Parker (if you aren't familiar with what is going on with my niece Parker you can go here), I will just say a huge thank you to all of my friends and family that have showed their love and support to Parker and the Allen family. I will ask again for your continued prayers for all of them. It has been a very hard week on the Allen family and I am praying that the hospital stay will not last much into week two.
On a much lighter note...Avery is almost FOUR MONTHS OLD! I am hoping to have some time tomorrow to take some pictures, shoot some video and post a big Avery update for all of you.
On a stressful note...Tuesday is exam day for Chris! This is a big exam for him (there aren't really any at this point that aren't!) and we are very hopeful that he will pass with flying colors. Of course we won't actually know if he passed until around the fourth of July!
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