back to life, back to reality

Now that our break is over, reality has officially set in. Daddy has to go to work everyday, and we have to be up and at em by 7:30 to get Sadie ready for school. Good thing tomorrow she gets to wear her jammies:) We had an amazing Christmas. This year was definitely the most fun so far. Sadie really got it. She asked for specific things for Christmas (well, she only asked for one thing..a baby doll that looked like her), but Santa thought she deserved more than just a doll:). She was really excited about Santa Clause..and very hesitant to sit with him this year. This was a little surprising because last year she let him pick her up and all. We have the sweetest Santa that comes to our clubhouse every year.

Both of the kids are doing awesome. Sadie is growing up everyday it seems. Age 3 has by far been the most difficult yet. I'm really not sure who coined the term "terrible twos" but two was nothing. 3 is all about manipulation, defying behavior etc. She still has her moments but she is so much better. Van is doing well too. He has 2 teeth now. yay! He is still the most happiest baby ever. He is rolling all around and sitting very good. No crawling just yet. I am one of those crazy moms who actually wants their baby to start crawling. I remember thinking the same thing with Sadie and everyone said i would regret it..i didn't. Right now, Van is just frustrated. He wants something and he can't get it. I love playing with him and all, but i'll be happy when he can get around a bit on his own. The only thing i am nervous about is all of Sadie's small toys. She knows that he can't have small things, but man she has a LOT of pieces to her toys. I really can't believe he will be 8 months next week. Where in the world has the time gone?

Today was the first full successful day without sleeping at all in his swing. He took 2 1.5 hour naps and one 45 min one. I think i'm going to have a party when we put that swing in the attic.

I don't remember his 6 mo stats, but i do know that he is 18lbs, 5oz right now. Growing boy!

happy halloween!

we had a wonderful Halloween! For the past few weeks Sadie has changed her mind every day(literally) trying to decide what she wanted to dress up as for Halloween. She wanted to be a ladybug, superman(not woman...don't ask), a ghost, witch, her lalaloopsy doll, a dog, caterpillar, pirate, a mermaid...and the list goes on. She finally decided on a witch. we went with a simple costume, black and green theme of course:) She had green fish net tights with a black tutu that my mom made. i bought a black leotard and some sparkly green tulle to use as a belt. I also found a cute black and green hat at walmart that matched perfectly. She insisted on getting the long black wig that went all the way down to her butt but that came off before we even left the house to go trick or treating:) she wanted to take the hat off too but i told her no one would know what she was if she didn't have it so she said "ok, i'll just wear the hat, no wig though":). She had SO much fun:) This was really the first year that she was really into it, and knew exactly what was going on. She came home for a potty break and then went back out for round two. she came home with lots of loot and now i have to deal with figuring out how the heck to make it disappear without her eating it all. I didn't get a costume for Van this year(i know, horribly mother), but i knew he would be down for the night before we even went so i didn't bother. oh well. he spent the night at home with mimi and nana and helped pass out candy. then i came home at the break and got him back to sleep while everyone went back out. All in all, it was a wonderful Halloween!

Van is doing pretty good. He still has this yucky cold and i'm hoping he kicks it soon. He is such an awesome boy. He is just over 5 months now. I am making my own baby food for him and so far he has tried:sweet potatoes, prunes, bananas, and peas. He has loved everything so far and does fantastic eating it. I am amazed how much less expensive it is to make your own baby food. I got a new food processor for Christmas last year for this exact reason and it has come in really handy. Now i just need a giant freezer to store everything:)

first ear infection:(

Sadie got her first ear infection at 3 months old. It was Thanksgiving. Then she got one at Christmas. 9 months and 8 more ear infections later we decided to put tubes in her ears and she hasn't had one since. I hated that she was on antibiotics so much during her first year of life and i hope that Van doesn't have to go through that. I found out today that Van had double ear infections:( The first thing that popped into my mind was i don't want to have to do tubes again. I guess my kids are just more prone to ear infections. I think i had a lot as a baby maybe thats why? After about 3 nights of waking up every 2-3 hours i decided to take him in to get checked out. He has been a trooper but today was just pitiful. Hopefully the antibiotics kick in soon so we (meaning him and me) can start sleeping again!

Say what??

Some of the things that come out of Sadie's mouth are just priceless. I still see that itty bitty baby that she used to be and can't believe she can just have a a regular ol conversation with us these days. It's really hard for me to look at Van and imagine him talking to us just like Sadie is:) I watched a video the other day from about a year ago of Sadie talking. It is amazing how much she has changed in just one year. She was talking to the dogs and was saying "mas"(miles) and "pooper" cooper. It was the cutest thing ever. If i can ever figure out how to upload videos I'll put some on here..we have some cute ones:) The other day she was at my tennis match and i was letting her play a game on my phone (a matching memory game). We get home and she says "Daddy, can i play a game on your phone"? "I don't have games on my phone, only mommy does". then she says "Maybe you can download one". Brent and i looked at each other and have no clue where in the world she got that one. I guess my point is, is that i was just watching a home video and she couldn't even say Miles and now she is asking to download a game?! I'm not sure I am ready for all of this! She is just SO much fun these days:) Love you my sweet Sadie pie:)

sleep training...again:)

We decided to revisit sleep training now that Van will be 5 months in just a little over a week...i can't even believe that. Poor lil guy...and mama...was waking up all the time at night, even just 20 minutes after he was down for the night. He just wanted to be held and to nurse...a lot. It wasn't so much about eating, just being close etc. As much as i would love to be up all night with him, i was turning into quite a zombie during the day and it wasn't really fair to Sadie. I went to the library and checked out The Sleepeasy Solution and just tried to stick with it. The first two nights were just plain awful..awful. he cried...a lot:( it broke my heart. But, eventually he fell asleep. It took about an hour both nights. He slept pretty good both nights, putting himself back to sleep pretty good but still woke up to eat. The third night there was no crying at all. A little cooing and then nothing. I honestly couldn't believe it. I went and checked on him and he was on his side, sucking his fingers. The fourth night, he cried a little bit off and on for a few minutes and then went to sleep. Both kids have been in bed by 7 for the past two nights in a row and suddenly i feel like i can breath! Fingers crossed that he doesn't get sick, etc. and throws everything off..which it will. But for now, i can have a few hours of peace at night:) Once he is 5 months and 15 lbs(i think he is pretty close to that) we can begin the process of night weaning:/

little thum sucker:)

This past weekend Van has really figured out how to suck his thumb. He has been doing it for a while now but had to work really hard to find the thumb. Now it goes straight in when he is tired....along with the other hand twirling the hair. I could just eat him up:) I'm sure it won't be so cute when he is 4 and sucking his thumb(please don't let him suck his thumb at 4), but it sure is cute now. I'm hoping that since he is getting so good at this we will have better nights. Last night he woke up just once to eat(which in our house is GREAT). i deal with waking up once. Let's hope for 2 good nights in a row though..something i don't think we have had yet!:/

4 month stats

Here are Van's 4 month stats. Growing boy!

14 lbs (up 3 lbs 2 oz, up to 50th percentile from 25-50 from last time)
25 inches long (up almost 3 inches from last time, up to 50th percentile from 25th)
Head circ 41.5 cm (25th percentile)

My sweet Van continues to be such a happy boy:) He may not be the best sleeper but he sure makes up for it with his sweetness all day long:) Love him!