sadly, these days it is a pretty big deal to say we've been married for five years! i am so thankful for a man who continues to pursue me, challenge me and support me! i would do it all over again!
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Five Fabulous Years!
it was five years ago this afternoon that we tied the knot. i scored big time. it remains my favorite wedding of all times!
sadly, these days it is a pretty big deal to say we've been married for five years! i am so thankful for a man who continues to pursue me, challenge me and support me! i would do it all over again!
sadly, these days it is a pretty big deal to say we've been married for five years! i am so thankful for a man who continues to pursue me, challenge me and support me! i would do it all over again!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
sleep update
its night three.
overall i would say things have been moving towards success. we've had lots of wake ups, but i think that is bound to happen with this kind of change.
i failed to mention perhaps the biggest change. zoom is finally out of a "bed with bars". the girl has the crib - no biggie for her, she sleeps in a variety of places, but zoom - he's slept there since he was six months. while he talks about wanting a big boy bed, i think he likes his cosy spot.
when bedtime comes he says he doesn't want to sleep there. the first night he woke up twice, wanting to sleep in his crib. then he was up at 4am, ready for the day. we let him come in our bed and for a while i thought the entire family would be up for the day. thankfully, he fell back to sleep around 6am for another hour. it was a little brutal, especially since the girl was with us too. she woke up when hubby got up for work, around 5am, so i brought her to bed so we could all attempt to sleep a bit more.
last night zoom woke up again, but this time just crying in his sleep. both times he was out of the covers, so maybe he was just cold. little precious. he did sleep, in his bed, until almost 8 this morning, so YES!
the girl ended up in our bed again, this is just a difficult week for hubby to take all the nighttime wakings.
i have to be alert for the day as well, but i can handle less sleep better than he can. i am feeling a little more rested. getting a good chunk of undisturbed sleep makes a big difference.
overall i would say things have been moving towards success. we've had lots of wake ups, but i think that is bound to happen with this kind of change.
i failed to mention perhaps the biggest change. zoom is finally out of a "bed with bars". the girl has the crib - no biggie for her, she sleeps in a variety of places, but zoom - he's slept there since he was six months. while he talks about wanting a big boy bed, i think he likes his cosy spot.
when bedtime comes he says he doesn't want to sleep there. the first night he woke up twice, wanting to sleep in his crib. then he was up at 4am, ready for the day. we let him come in our bed and for a while i thought the entire family would be up for the day. thankfully, he fell back to sleep around 6am for another hour. it was a little brutal, especially since the girl was with us too. she woke up when hubby got up for work, around 5am, so i brought her to bed so we could all attempt to sleep a bit more.
last night zoom woke up again, but this time just crying in his sleep. both times he was out of the covers, so maybe he was just cold. little precious. he did sleep, in his bed, until almost 8 this morning, so YES!
the girl ended up in our bed again, this is just a difficult week for hubby to take all the nighttime wakings.
i have to be alert for the day as well, but i can handle less sleep better than he can. i am feeling a little more rested. getting a good chunk of undisturbed sleep makes a big difference.
Monday, November 17, 2008
a move towards more sleep - we hope!
we made a HUGE sleeping change.
we gave the girl her own room (and a pack-n-play) this summer. she is pretty sensitive to light and noise so she slept better without others in the room. i would go in and nurse her a few times a night then go back to bed. not bad! until a couple months ago. the nursing would last longer, and then she would not let me lay her down once she was finished. she could be out cold, but would instantly wake up when i laid her down. i tried patting her back, holding her back, picking her up for a couple minutes, but nothing - NOTHING worked. whether it was being cold, exhausted, or frustrated and just wanting to sleep, i usually end up in the bed (her bed is in the guest room) with her for the remainder of the night. this might be from 11pm on! this might work out fine,except she is a very restless sleeper, flipping and flopping around even if she doesn't wake. i've received head-butts, fat lips, pokes to the eye, slapped in the face with a tiny hand, and kicked. she also kicks her feet when she goes to sleep, in a rhythmic beat (i do that too sometimes, so i get it - i just don't like being the recipient of that kicking). i'm certain that has been playing a role in my overall mental health being not so good. sleep is HUGE!
part of the problem, we think, is that she hasn't received the same intentional bedtime routine that zoom has, cues that sleep will come soon. she gets nursed, i read a book with her, then hubby wears her to sleep (which, i might add he can knock her off in mere minutes!). the entire thing can take less than 15 minutes.
this weekend we made the decision to change things. we moved her into zoom's room. it has a big chair for reading and nursing so we can create a place for sleep to consume her. zoom moved into what was the guest room. that was a hard move for me - i like having a guest room. i don't want my parents to have to sleep on the couch. at the same time we spend most nights without guests and since sleep is a problem right now i feel like we need to do this. we took down the bed and just put the mattress on the floor for now. zoom loves it! it is so sweet to see him get excited to show people his new room - that really has nothing except that mattress and a few books. hubby is making him a rockin' bed, but we couldn't wait for that to be finished.
the other MAJOR detail is that hubby is taking on nighttime parenting. this was the trigger for zooms 6 nighttime wakings at 1 1/2 years, so we're trying that again.
last night was night one. the girl was mad. she cried but eventually feel back to sleep. zoom woke up twice - once he couldn't find his doggy, once because he was wet. we were all up earlier than we have been. i guess if we are sleeping better that will be just fine! we'll keep you posted!
we gave the girl her own room (and a pack-n-play) this summer. she is pretty sensitive to light and noise so she slept better without others in the room. i would go in and nurse her a few times a night then go back to bed. not bad! until a couple months ago. the nursing would last longer, and then she would not let me lay her down once she was finished. she could be out cold, but would instantly wake up when i laid her down. i tried patting her back, holding her back, picking her up for a couple minutes, but nothing - NOTHING worked. whether it was being cold, exhausted, or frustrated and just wanting to sleep, i usually end up in the bed (her bed is in the guest room) with her for the remainder of the night. this might be from 11pm on! this might work out fine,except she is a very restless sleeper, flipping and flopping around even if she doesn't wake. i've received head-butts, fat lips, pokes to the eye, slapped in the face with a tiny hand, and kicked. she also kicks her feet when she goes to sleep, in a rhythmic beat (i do that too sometimes, so i get it - i just don't like being the recipient of that kicking). i'm certain that has been playing a role in my overall mental health being not so good. sleep is HUGE!
part of the problem, we think, is that she hasn't received the same intentional bedtime routine that zoom has, cues that sleep will come soon. she gets nursed, i read a book with her, then hubby wears her to sleep (which, i might add he can knock her off in mere minutes!). the entire thing can take less than 15 minutes.
this weekend we made the decision to change things. we moved her into zoom's room. it has a big chair for reading and nursing so we can create a place for sleep to consume her. zoom moved into what was the guest room. that was a hard move for me - i like having a guest room. i don't want my parents to have to sleep on the couch. at the same time we spend most nights without guests and since sleep is a problem right now i feel like we need to do this. we took down the bed and just put the mattress on the floor for now. zoom loves it! it is so sweet to see him get excited to show people his new room - that really has nothing except that mattress and a few books. hubby is making him a rockin' bed, but we couldn't wait for that to be finished.
the other MAJOR detail is that hubby is taking on nighttime parenting. this was the trigger for zooms 6 nighttime wakings at 1 1/2 years, so we're trying that again.
last night was night one. the girl was mad. she cried but eventually feel back to sleep. zoom woke up twice - once he couldn't find his doggy, once because he was wet. we were all up earlier than we have been. i guess if we are sleeping better that will be just fine! we'll keep you posted!
she walks!
here we go!
she has been cruising along furniture for a couple months, freestanding for quite a few weeks, honestly i thought she would be walking by now. she has been content to hobble (yes, she has a one-legged crawl) along with great speed rather than stand tall.
but today she took 5 steps. more significantly, she knew she was doing something special. she kept wanting to try over and over, giggling.
she has been cruising along furniture for a couple months, freestanding for quite a few weeks, honestly i thought she would be walking by now. she has been content to hobble (yes, she has a one-legged crawl) along with great speed rather than stand tall.
but today she took 5 steps. more significantly, she knew she was doing something special. she kept wanting to try over and over, giggling.
Friday, November 14, 2008
find me and i love books
the kiddos are simultaneously interested in the same two specific things:
forms of hide-and-seek and books!!
zoom has been playing hide-and-seek nearly every day, multiple times a day. that is the activity following dinner. hubby will hide. zoom will hide in the same spot. where should i hide? he'll ask. tonight i helped him find a spot. while hubby was searching he said, "wow - this is a great hiding spot!". from behind the curtains he heard, "yeah! it is!".
the ladybug has been playing along too. she is really good at spotting the hiding person and will giggle and poke at them.
she also loves peek-a-boo and will find things to put over her face (napkin, dishtowel, diaper). another version is hide-behind-a-piece-of-furniture and peek out, give a little grin, then hide again.
recently zoom has spent more than 5 minutes "reading". by that i mean looking at books. he will pick a stack to take to the couch or beanbag and initiate that reading time all by himself! when he gets too wound up and needs to calm down, i'll have him sit on the chair in his room and read, allowing him to come out when he is ready. one time he was in there over 20 minutes! when i went in to check on him he was working his way thru all the books on the shelf. "i'm just weeding books to help myself cawm down" he explained.
the girl also loves books. particularly the Big Red Barn, by Margaret Wise Brown. she can actually pick it out of a stack of books on command. this evening the two of them were sitting around a stack of books, reading. LOVE it!
forms of hide-and-seek and books!!
zoom has been playing hide-and-seek nearly every day, multiple times a day. that is the activity following dinner. hubby will hide. zoom will hide in the same spot. where should i hide? he'll ask. tonight i helped him find a spot. while hubby was searching he said, "wow - this is a great hiding spot!". from behind the curtains he heard, "yeah! it is!".
the ladybug has been playing along too. she is really good at spotting the hiding person and will giggle and poke at them.
she also loves peek-a-boo and will find things to put over her face (napkin, dishtowel, diaper). another version is hide-behind-a-piece-of-furniture and peek out, give a little grin, then hide again.
recently zoom has spent more than 5 minutes "reading". by that i mean looking at books. he will pick a stack to take to the couch or beanbag and initiate that reading time all by himself! when he gets too wound up and needs to calm down, i'll have him sit on the chair in his room and read, allowing him to come out when he is ready. one time he was in there over 20 minutes! when i went in to check on him he was working his way thru all the books on the shelf. "i'm just weeding books to help myself cawm down" he explained.
the girl also loves books. particularly the Big Red Barn, by Margaret Wise Brown. she can actually pick it out of a stack of books on command. this evening the two of them were sitting around a stack of books, reading. LOVE it!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
he's ours, well, his
his neatness is really starting to show.
last week he "reorganized" his toy shelves. seriously, took everything off the shelves and put things in new places.
after a walk, he placed his finds on the table - JUST LIKE THIS
then yesterday he was helping me in the kitchen. he asked if he could have a little parsley to make us some carrot salad for dinner. he kept coming back into the kitchen for more water. when i asked what all the water was for he said, "mom, i'm pretending to make salad. the water is salad dressing." i found his little salad making station in complete order:
he doesn't get this from me. i am not really a scheduled person, nor near as organized as hubby. clearly he gets this from him. it has, however, prompted me to help him make a weekly schedule to let him know what to expect (and remind me to keep a schedule for his sake). we are making a list of what we do during the week. then we'll make pictures or words for each item. at the beginning of each week (or the night before if need be) we can post up the items for the respective days. then he'll be able to see, at a glance, what we will be doing
more on that to come...
last week he "reorganized" his toy shelves. seriously, took everything off the shelves and put things in new places.
after a walk, he placed his finds on the table - JUST LIKE THIS
then yesterday he was helping me in the kitchen. he asked if he could have a little parsley to make us some carrot salad for dinner. he kept coming back into the kitchen for more water. when i asked what all the water was for he said, "mom, i'm pretending to make salad. the water is salad dressing." i found his little salad making station in complete order:
he doesn't get this from me. i am not really a scheduled person, nor near as organized as hubby. clearly he gets this from him. it has, however, prompted me to help him make a weekly schedule to let him know what to expect (and remind me to keep a schedule for his sake). we are making a list of what we do during the week. then we'll make pictures or words for each item. at the beginning of each week (or the night before if need be) we can post up the items for the respective days. then he'll be able to see, at a glance, what we will be doingmore on that to come...
Sunday, November 9, 2008
when birthday become a week long celebration
wearing pink stripped socks
complementary eggnog latte
mini homemade chocolate cake delivered on a plate to my kitchen
the happy birthday song sung all day long
facebook love, phone messages, emails, texts
a hair cut, alone
a clever gift card waiting for me "shearly you know you are a cut above the rest"
unlimited babysitting...all week long!
lucia's chocolate truffles and chocolate cookie with sea salt
cards in the mail
a new knife and knife block
bedroom curtains completed
working in the earth
dehydrating apples, making applesauce, freezing apples
panang curry from amazing thai
shopping for ice cream with zoom pushing the "shopper in training" cart
blue fin bay
the sound of waves, even if it isn't the ocean
knitting
sitting
sipping
watching the waves crash on the rocks
bare branches holding on to clusters of right red berries
dancing babes
a chilly starry walk along the water
complementary eggnog latte
mini homemade chocolate cake delivered on a plate to my kitchen
the happy birthday song sung all day long
facebook love, phone messages, emails, texts
a hair cut, alone
a clever gift card waiting for me "shearly you know you are a cut above the rest"
unlimited babysitting...all week long!
lucia's chocolate truffles and chocolate cookie with sea salt
cards in the mail
a new knife and knife block
bedroom curtains completed
working in the earth
dehydrating apples, making applesauce, freezing apples
panang curry from amazing thai
shopping for ice cream with zoom pushing the "shopper in training" cart
blue fin bay
the sound of waves, even if it isn't the ocean
knitting
sitting
sipping
watching the waves crash on the rocks
bare branches holding on to clusters of right red berries
dancing babes
a chilly starry walk along the water
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