It was one of those nights

It's not what you are thinking.  That is just what Caroline told me this morning when she first got out of bed and was sitting on the potty.  I had asked her how she slept and she told me she was up all night and didn't sleep at all.  When I said oh, really, huh she replied with, It was just one of those nights.  I just about lost it right there.  That girl is just so funny.

But I have to admit she didn't just come up with that statement on her own.  She is being a wonderful repeater of what mommy has said oh so many a morning.  Night time has been the not so nice part of a 24 hour span.  Will has not been a wonderful sleeper to put it mildly.  The whole night time went something like this.  Justin or I would sit beside him while he was laying in his bed.  It would take anywhere from 20-45 minutes for him to fall asleep.  Then before Justin and I would even make it upstairs to go to bed ourselves he would wake up at least 2 times.  Then during the night it was between 2-5 times that he would wake up.  I would just have to go in and lay him back down and find paci.  But the 2 minutes that it took to walk to his room find his paci and then get back in my bed would have been manageable if it had been only 1 time but more than that it made me so tired during the day time.  It had gotten so bad that about 1am he would have woken up for the 3rd or 4th time and wouldn't go back to sleep unless it was cuddling with me.

Recently I had had enough.  So supplied with some wonderful advice from John Rosemond I started trying a new bed time routine.  Justin and I are huge Rosemond fans right now by the way!  Instead of sitting beside him to put him to sleep after reading stories and saying prayers we lay him in his bed and kiss him goodnight and then leave.  I started the plan at nap because he is always very tired for naps so I was thinking it would make for less crying.  It did make for less crying so I was hopeful for the night time.  The night was relatively smooth too.  After stories, prayers, and laying him in bed he only cried for 3 minutes.  I was shocked.  then during the night he woke up 6 times.  Each time I got up and laid him back down.  the 1am wake up was a few more tears but still nothing longer than 10 minutes.  The next night was even better with him only waking up like 2 times.  Yippee!  And by the 3rd night there were no tears and no wake ups during the night.  HALLELUJAH!!  So this morning when I woke up I realized that I had slept throughout he night.  Justin and I were so excited.  I don't think he has EVER slept 11 straight hours without waking up.  I love my sleep, so I am ready to give John Rosemond a huge hug.

So Caroline was right.  It was one of those nights.

Early Thanksgiving

Sunday night we had the honor of going to our friend and neighbor's house for a turkey dinner.  Ellie and Rob had us over for a delightful evening.  Here is a picture of my wild child leaving her best friend's house.  She has on a dress up over her regular dress and 2 barbies in her hand.  You can't see her left shoe but it is pink and the right is blue!  Will is trying to help carry the booster seat with his sister, notice he just has a strap.

Here we all are at the table.  it was a wonderful spread and the kids definitely enjoyed dinner with friends.  In the picture are Justin, Ellie, Ashley, Caroline, an Will.

In this shot you get Rob and the back of Juliet's head beside Justin.  In Juliet's hand is a big turkey leg.  She loved it.

I am so thankful that we have such wonderful friends and neighbors to enjoy dinners with.  When we eventually have to move I am going to terribly miss my new friends!

Writing samples

I wrote about Caroline learning to write her name a few posts ago but I took a picture of some of her writing samples the other day.  This sample of her name was the first solo name writing experience.  The top name t looks like a w on the end but it is really an N and the E is down below the other name.  The second name does have 2 A's but oh well.  She is mixing upper and lower case too but does it really matter if you can write a big long name a month after you turn 4!!  I think not.  She was also writing the number 2 for some reason. 

This writing sample was late last week so about 2 weeks after the top one.  She is getting a little better.  She wrote BELL because that is her best friend Ashley's middle name and then she wrote the alphabet up to O.  It kind of goes all over the place so see if you can spot all the letters and yes the C is backwards.  In the bottom left corner she attempted to draw a heart.   Not to bad either.

More gymnastics

Here are some more from gymnastics.  Will really never used the tumble track correctly.  He was supposed to hop down the length of the track but he just liked to run as fast as he could.  And in this picture he was hopping but he was going to wrong way!

Here is Will climbing out of the pit.  You can see in the background the wedge going into the pit as a slide.  Will really liked that and would go head first.

Gymnastics

Well, yet again it has been awhile since I made a post.  This time it was me since I have a cold and am not feeling my best.  These are a few of the pictures I took Friday morning at gymnastics class.  Caroline is in a separate class than Will but they are at the same time which is wonderful.  This was their last class and I didn't sign them up for the next 12 week course so I know they will miss going.  Maybe we will go again in the spring.  The picture below is Caroline umping into the foam pit.  She loves it!  Under all the foam cubes in a trampoline.

Will doesn't get to jump off the platform like Caroline but he does love having me get in and then he will jump to me.

For each class they have different obstacle course set up.  One is made of all different levels of beams and different things to do on the beams like forward rolls, jumping down then back up, or laying on your stomach and pulling with your arms. So during the last class they had set up a little moon bounce thing as part of the course.  It was a class favorite.

Here you can see some of the obstacles like the cheese wedge and the big blue roll that they had to climb up on using smaller roll-y things.  Caroline is running to the moon bounce.
Will hanging on the low bar which is another part of the obstacle course.

Tears and more tears

I know it has been several days but they have been pretty tough ones.  Friday Will was throwing up and I guess that lead to fluid in his ears so I took him to the doctor Monday and sure enough he has a bad ear infection.  Finally got something to make him feel better and hopefully sleep better too.  Then that means I will sleep better!  

Tuesday Caroline went to school and showed her teachers that she learned to write her name all by herself since last Thursday.  This is so cool and she loves being able to write her own name.  She has written it before but only tracing the letters.  She has written Will's name for several weeks now but to be fair Will's is slightly easier to write.  It is really neat to see her taking this next step into becoming a reader.  She is recognizing that there are words and on her place mat is a map of the US and she is always reading the letters of states and asking me what that means.  She also picks out words that start with C and asks me what they are.  It is so fun to learn with her and I am excited about her learning to read.  She also loves to dial phone numbers and asks me to tell her what Nana's phone number is so she can call her Nana.

Some of her funny sayings these days are: I like to go to school daddy, so you should like to go to work. (If it was only that easy) Or like today she told me she wanted to be a mommy when she grows up.  I said sure that would be great.  She replied that she wanted to live next to Nana and Papa.  OK I said.  Then she asked if they have a hospital where they live.  I said yes they do but why do you need a hospital?  So they can take my baby out!  (Like duh mom)

But as nice as these moments are yesterday afternoon made me question having kids all together.  Not only was it freezing cold and windy (literally 32 at 4pm), Caroline didn't nap and had gone to bed after 9 and gotten up before 7am,  Will is still recovering from his crabby ear infection,  and to top it off I didn't get to exercise.  So you didn't want to be at my house form 4-8 last night.  Caroline cried at the drop of a hat and all Will wanted was to be held.  Like I asked Caroline to go wash her hands to come to dinner and there were tears over the stool not being there, tears when I asked her to come to the table, tears when it was time to get out of the bathtub, tears when I asked her to brush her teeth.  I think you get the picture.  I asked her why she was crying one of the many times and she replied that she just missed her daddy.  Easy, we can call him.  Well that almost worked.  As soon as she heard his voice she cried more.  Then that finally got Will going too.  The kids didn't like the fact that they were going to be asleep before daddy got home.  Justin was glad he missed all that.  Today is better and she is still napping (love the naps), I got to exercise, and they go to Ellie's this afternoon!!  Hurray for neighbors!

Sugar bugs

Last Wednesday I took Caroline to get a second opinion about all the cavities she has.  When I was trying to select a dentist from the insurance website I was looking for a name I can pronounce.  You know the typical ones like Smith, Johnson, or Redfern, but there were only Tong, Yang, Khan, Gomez and the like.  I kind of want someone that I can understand what they are telling me about my daughter and how they are going to help her.  So I ended up picking a female doctor named Liliana Cuervo.  I can understand a Spanish accent better then the other Asian or middle eastern accents.

But the result is basically the same.  Caroline has about 8 cavities but the Dr. doesn't put the little ones asleep unless absolutely necessary and she doesn't even have laughing gas in her office.  Caroline felt very comfortable and was her usual chatty self with the Dr.  It helped that Aladdin was playing on a TV screen right beside her chair.  But they are going to fix the one big one first and then eventually work on the other cavities during 3 other visits since they are so small.  She told Caroline that she was going to make her tooth fall asleep and then use a brush and clean out her sugar bugs (cavities).  Caroline laughed and said OK.  So we shall see what happens Dec. 12 which is her first of 4 appointments to get rid of all the sugar bugs!

I forgot to mention that at the first dentist Caroline was so apprehensive about the Dr. that she was asking if Will could go first.  Nothing like throwing your brother under the bus huh?

The yucks

Well, I was glad that Justin came home but not so glad that he brought the throw-ups with him!  Yuck.  Justin recovered really quick.  Then Will got it and while he only barfed 4 times (I think) his fever was what knocked him out for longer than his dad.  He is much better today but still having to keep up with all of our other day to day goings on was rather difficult.  Friday afternoon I sat in the Lazy boy rocking Will for about 4 hours.  Caroline, who was feeling great, did really well with me spending so much time with Will.  We watched Dancing with the Stars, she also did a puzzle, and played with her Tag reader. I was so glad she was so easy to deal with that afternoon.  

Then today, like the previous 2 days was yucky weather, so I finally got Justin on board for switching the guest room with the kids room.  This entailed taking apart the bunk beds and the guest bed, moving 2 rugs, 2 dressers, a This End Up trunk, and all the stuff under the beds!  And now that it is for the most part done Justin agrees that it looks better this way.  I agree and am glad that we did it.  It took a large part of the day though so that meant going out for dinner.  Will was feeling well enough to eat chips and salsa for dinner at Chevy's.  

Here's crossing my fingers that Caroline and I escape the yucks!

Daddy's back

Will decided to cuddle up with Justin this morning.  Justin doesn't look all that well because he spent the night on the sofa and threw up a couple times too.  The kids were so glad that he was home that even thought he hasn't felt well he has been reading to them, being the usual daddy jungle gym, and building airplanes from Legos.

Yesterday I had 7 kids at my house! I know it sounds crazy and it was but they get along really well and it provides me an opportunity to get some stuff done while the kids are busy.  There were 2 four year old, 3 three year old, a 2 year old and a 21 month old.  We played in the play room for a while and it was rather noisy with the piano, toy drum, and all the girls in dress upi high heels clomping around.  Then we went up stairs and played with playdough.  I had made some while the kids were napping so I would have enough for all of them.  It was amazing the difference in the volume level.  It was so quiet while they were playing with the playdough.

THis is just a random picture of Will one morning giving his teddy bear a piggy back ride.  He thought it was the best thing to be able to give a bear a ride.

I mean how cute is that!!

What in the world

I can explain, really.  Caroline has such control over her brother sometimes.  She can convince him to do or wear in this situation just about anything.  Thank goodness it is nothing bad, yet.  As for yesterday Will was running around with out a diaper while I was fixing dinner and the nest thing I know is she has put her dance skirt on him.  I guess it felt funny on his bare hinney!  

They were watching the crescent rolls rise and pulling each others ears.

A princess and he handy, dancing, skirt-wearing, handyman.  They are dancing to We Didn't Start the Fire.  Anna and Dave, she hasn't forgotten and has gotten he brother into it as well.

Should I fix the dishwasher or dance?  Such a problem.

Will update

Well, I have been posting about Caroline a lot lately so I thought I would give an update about Will.  He is still as active as ever and all over the place.  He is rough and tumble to the extreme!  Justin figured out that the source of the diarrhea is not a virus it is molars!  His bottom 2 year molars are coming in.  He is also talking non stop, which I was hoping I would have a quiet kid because he was when he was a baby.  But he loves to sing and dance.  His favorite songs are Itsy Bitsy Spider, Puff the Magic Dragon, Lean on Me, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord, and lately Who Didn't Start the Fire.  Will breaks out into song at the most random times.  He knows lots of words to all of those songs.  For the most part we are able to understand what he is saying.  He doesn't get too upset with us when we don't know what he is saying.  So of the cute things that he says are mam-mich (sandwich), lay-lies (ladies), and beek-a-bug (ladybug).  Why he won't say the L for lady bug but will for ladies is beyond me.  He is the the cutest little thing ever and makes the whole family laugh everyday.  His imagination is going crazy (esp. with regards to deer coming) and that is really helping Caroline and WIll play better together.  Some of his favorite things are Curious George and anything with monkeys, climbing, jumping, gymnastics (includes all his favorites in one place), airplanes (granddaddy flies all of them!), helicopters, fire trucks, sirens,  and football.  Kids are crying, got to run.

Teeth update

ok, so Justin and I haven't made a decision yet but I did want to let you know that in my asking around I have started to notice a trend.  It seems that all the females I have spoken to all agree that sedation would be the best choice while all the males are against it.  How interesting and I am not sure what that means but it has to mean something right?!  I cancelled Caroline's appointment for Wednesday, BUT made another appointment to get a second opinion for the same day.

Conflicts Part II

Since we're soliciting advice from our loyal readership, let's make sure all the pros and cons are presented.  Putting someone to sleep is pretty risky considering we're talking about a routine dental procedure.  I mean, what are the chances of someone not waking up from that?  I'd say more than a 1% chance.  That's 1 in a 100 and when you're talking about MY little girl, those chances are too steep for a procedure that doesn't require being knocked out.  They talk about it all the time when you get put to sleep in the hospital; waivers, waivers, galore.

Additionally, the kid is 4.  It's not like she's incapable of dealing with the situation.  This will be something she will have to deal with down the road.  Raise your hand if you think you won't have a root canal and a crown in the ol' pie hole.  Exactly.  So, filling cavities will be in her future.  Kind of an early glimpse, but that is something that isn't going away.  I think Caroline is mature enough and smart enough to realize what is going on and be okay with a local anesthetic; and maybe some "Valium for kids" (good idea U. Paul).

Last point.  Anesthetics aren't exactly cheap.  Our dental insurance doesn't cover the entire procedure.  

Conflicts

What I am to do?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  Here is what I need help with.  I took Caroline and Will to the dentist and since the last time that I took them (6 months ago) Caroline now has about 6-7 cavities!!  Yikes!  One of them is so bad that it might have gotten down to the nerve and then they will have to put a crown on it.  All the cavities are between her molars top and bottom.   Justin and I now feel like horrible parents.  We brush and FLOSS her teeth every night.

But they (the dentist) want to put her to sleep to fix her teeth so it will be less traumatizing for her.  I tend to agree but Justin feels she would be able to handle it with just the gas.  I think with her being asleep she won't see the needles coming towards her or hear all the sounds of the drilling.

Please help!

Civic duty

So I was going to start potty training Will today but when he woke up with a diaper full of diarrhea I thought better of it.  Well actually Justin convinced me that I didn't need to start today since we all have a cold and I am watching 6 kids today, 2 of which are mine.

I am trying to help my neighbors do their civic duty and am watching their kids while they go vote.  I am offering my services only to a select group, meaning the ones that are voting for the same candidate that I already voted for with my absentee ballot!  

Go Vote!

Curious George

Will was Curious George for Halloween this year.  He loved being a monkey and even wanted to put on his monkey suit to go outside this afternoon.  He was so cute!

Chocolate mouth!  He kept asking everybody to take a bite of his banana that is stuck in his pocket.

Susan with princess Cinderella aka Ashley.  Caroline is in the very left of the picture but I don't have any pictures of her yet.  Ellie has some but hasn't sent them to me yet.  I am going to have to dress her back up and take some pictures of her as Little Bo Peep.  She was so cute!

Will loves the weightless feeling of being thrown into the air.  He was sitting on Graham's shoulders and Graham would drop down then jump up in the air.  You can tell by the pictures that he loves it.

Momma's cute monkey!