Easter Eggs!

We had a great weekend....busy Saturday (soccer and playing outside) and a lazy Sunday (donuts, easter eggs, and organizing baby clothes while it rained outside). Such great kids.  

Sunday morning we decided to dye some Easter Eggs will lil C was napping.... (we also decided to have chocolate donuts for breakfast as you can see on B's face!). B-man was crackin himself up during the process. He thinks he is pretty funny....

Dying the eggs - we didn't get too crazy, but below you can see the Family Eggs that we created. And by family, I mean I wrote our names on them...except lil C's name didn't show up. Sorry baby girl.

Fun eggs!

I DID IT!

After naptime it was crawl all over daddy time!

And then post PM nap, they both decided to play in the crib and pose for me!

In her bunny slippers.....perfect!

I don't think so.....

Observing a two year old is like a glimpse into what you do/say that you don't always realize. My favorite B-man saying lately...... He is watching lil C do something like stand up in the bathtub and he'll say, "Campa....no no no....I don't think so" (but imagine it in a really cute 2 year old voice that doesn't quite make out all parts of a word). Which of course, is what I am always saying to her..... And he loves to tell the dog, "Tucker, down, I....SAID....DOWN....ALL...THE....WAY....DOWN!"

Confession. My daughter is eating all jarred baby food. I was so good about making food for B-man, but this time around, our weekends are so full and when I think about my priorities, making food just isn't there. It was easy for B b/c he was napping two times a day at that time and what else would I do? This time, while she is sleeping, I still have the little man to hang out with. And let me tell ya, my kids are WAY more fun than cooking (I hate cooking). Oh well, I think she would rather have my time than my homemade food. At least that is what I am telling myself.

Update. After the night that the clock struck midnight...things got a lot better! For the most part, Lil C is sleeping 7pm-6am with maybe a fuss here or there that only requires a paci pop-in....totally great. Now if only B could follow her lead... Is it parenting? Personality? Gender? Temperament? Timing? Approach? I wish I knew. I tell myself it is 100% his personality, but I also know that I am parenting somewhat differently this time around. But is that b/c of personality? It's like the chicken and the egg. Smile.

Sneaky Sneaky. You know how before you become a parent you say things like, "When I have kids, I will never...." Or, "my kids will always...." Ha. That is all I have to say. Ha. I said things like that ALL THE TIME! And HA! The most recent thing I am eating my words about is food. So I honestly thought in my head, I am doing my son such a great service by making all his food, he eats anything and everything, and is a great eater. That was when he was 9-18months. HA. Now he is a PICKY toddler. My child who loved black beans and veggies and avocados totally avoids ANYTHING that is green or healthy! For breakfast every day he requests a waffle - I do whole wheat only with no syrup, so that is good. But if he had his way, he would eat hot dogs and Mac n Cheese ALL THE TIME. I now understand the reason behind the cookbooks the Sneaky Chef and Deceptively Declicious (sorry my spelling is HORRIBLE tonight!). And when I heard about those I remember thinking, whatever, my kids will eat their veggies. HA! It is a battle - I am always trying to bribe him in to eating the "leaves" of his "trees" - AKA, broccoli. He will eat yogurt, cheese, and apples like they are going out of style, so that is good. How long does this stage last? I have been mixing squash, carrots, or sweet potatoes in his mac n cheese lately - just to increase the veggie amount - and he does love it.... maybe I need to do more. Any tips?

And the clock struck midnight.....

Last night - good and bad.

GOOD PART - We are nearing the last part of the Sleep Shuffle and lil C is embracing the approach. We did a short bedtime routine and she easily and quickly went down. I am now standing in the hallway. She never made a peep! Then PJ got B-man down easily too - didn't even have to stay in there until he fell asleep. It felt like a miracle night.

And then the clock struck midnight.
And B-man was up and somehow woke up his sister.
And B-man was crying and crying, and I was trying to get him calm, but then Lil C was crying and crying so I was participating in the pacifier pop-in/shuffle back to his bed and pat pat pat...
And then B-man went to find his daddy, which was good so I could focus on one crying baby only.
But then Lil C decided she didn't want to sleep. So I followed my Sleep Shuffle rules, but she just looked at me and didn't go back sleep - and then she would pop up and stand, sit, crawl, whatever. And then would cry. So we tried everything - walking, rocking, changed diaper, shushing, singing, paci, patting, resorted to tylenol (and somehow I never thought to nurse). And after 90 minutes, I went to bed. And then she started up again. I think by 2:45am she was aleep. Rough.

BUT BUT BUT - at 5:30am B-man decided to go back to his room, waking up his sister, in a search for me. Probably went there b/c the last time he saw me at midnight, I was sitting in there. Well, Lil C went back to sleep, but B-man did not. And then by 6:30 the whole fam was up. Fun times. Happy Friday.

And she's off (almost!)...

Lil C is really on the move - she crawls like a maniac (so quick), and she has totally mastered the stairs and is always seeking them out, and she is also starting to use her walking toys (very wobbly of course!). She is just so stinking cute - I can hardly stand it!

And her brother - just loves her so much. Yesterday during nap, I put them both down, and then I sat down in the glider to read my book (part of my sleep shuffle in getting C to sleep on her own). Well, she stood there and "talked" to B, who made similar noises back to her. Then they would both laugh and giggle and start all over. And if she didn't start it, B would make noises to get her going. As a result, it took about an hour to get them both down, but I couldn't help but smile, laugh, and appreciate the situation (until I got totally annoyed and had to tell them to stop).

Finally - huge THANKS to gaga and pawpaw for coming to visit and babysit while momma and pappa went out to celebrate a friend's birthday. B was so sad to see them go and probably cried for about 20 minutes. Thankfully, his tv buddy, Diego, helped him calm down. Though he is still talking about how he needs to get on a plane to go see them soon (they left on a plane to head to DC!).

Who is this little boy?

I swear, b-man is my a mini version of my husband. I honestly feel like I am looking at PJ when I see these soccer pictures! Too cute (I have such handsome men in my life!). B-man LOVES playing soccer (or as he calls it, his baseball game) and he is starting a new session this weekend. It is a great way to channel his ENERGY and have a fun environment where he is learning, playing, socializing, and most importantly following directions! And even better, we are playing with a few of our friends (moms of our friends are below!) - The soccer joint won't quite know what happened when this group of SOCCER MOMS arrive! We can be slightly overwhelming when together....in a good way of course!

PJ or B? Twins 30 years apart...

READY!

We had such a great time when Grandma and Grandpa came to visit. Sweet lil C loved hanging out with Grandma and folding laundry. And I loved it because it allowed me a weekend trip with the girls!

Grandpa having fun with the kids - isn't this such a FUN picture?! Love it - everyone is happy, healthy, and loving each other!

Makes me want to cry - you can see how much grandpa loves his sweet grandbaby girl

And these two - always laughing and having fun! It's the best!

Thanks for a great weekend - we appreciate you all and all you do for us!

The Girl's Weekend!

Debbie - Lisa - Jessica - Anna - Jordyn - ME! - Laura

And another shot - we had such a blast. This is on the Indiana University - Bloomington campus. Beautiful.

Me - Laura (expecting #2!) - Anna - Lisa - Debbie (expecting #2) - Jordyn - Jessica

A few of us stayed over night too and had a great time playing SINK THE BIZ - a Bloomington Classic. Oh, to be in college again (NOT!). What was great was that we all got to leave our husbands and kids but were only 1 hour from home, though it felt like we were in a different world. It was relaxing and best of all, fit into our budgets too!

A pacifier vent session

That's it. No more. As of 5am this morning, the pacifier is GONE - at least at night. I have been awake since about 2am, give or take, off and on and mainly b/c of the paci. It has been such a blessing - just pop it in and Lil C calms down and stops fussing. But as each night progresses, it falls out more and more (I hear it hit the floor and cringe) and as a result she wakes up more and more. Tonight we are continuing our sleep lady shuffle without it. It will be an adjustment, but I am done.

B successfully gave up his bottles though had a meltdown last night when we realized we left his new Lightening McQueen bottle at daycare (my fault!) so he got to have juice in a special coffee cup with a straw before bed last night which made him happy.

I am very tired today. And very grouchy. I must stick to the course.

I need to Mama!

Pictures coming soon........

My little man, he is so funny. He always tells me that he NEEDS to do something, or whatever he wants, he NEEDS:
"Momma, I NEED a hotgog"
"I NEED to watch Diego and have a bottle" (which we have given up by the way - tonight is night #2!)
"I need Candy".

And everything he NEEDS are things that I really don't WANT him to have. Silly monkey.

Oh, my little sweet girl - she is growing and growing. And quite the sleeper. I have to say I am impressed. My children could not be more different, in so many ways, but sleep is a significant one (some may be my approach, but mostly it is b/c of temperament!). Went to the Dr. today for her 9 month check up - she is just over 17 pounds. 75% in length, 50% in weight. Long and skinny - her trend continues! Think walking is not too far off on our horizon either.

Pictures soon, but last weekend we had a great time with Gma and Gpa Hunt. Gpa took B to soccer and this momma got to enjoy a girls day/night away with my mommy friends. So fun. Just this past weekend we were in STL and B enjoyed a much needed day/night with his Aunt Nae Nae - they had so much fun. Lil C enjoyed one on one time with MeMa and was a good sleeper for her too! And a great eater! And this mom and dad enjoyed a night away thanks to a wedding!

Hard to believe how much they are growing and changing everyday. For B-man, his language is just exploding. He is so fun and makes me laugh and laugh. Last night as we were reading "Snuggle Puppy" he is
reading it with me - and he shouts - just shouts when he knows what is next. And then laughs. Lil C is just so so so happy - she laughs all the time and loves to splash in the bathtub and pull up on everything and cruise around. They are so fun. I love watching them with each other. It really is great - really great. Oh, and C graduated to her Big Girl carseat! Yay, no more lugging that infant thing around. Thank goodness.