Getting Very Sleepy and Rolly!

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

My inseparable little peanuts. 

Boy, am I exhausted! I feel like there is no break in life. It’s funny thatt this feeling is coming now, four months after Sarah Bearah was born and not immediately upon coming home from the hospital, but here we are.  I think the thing that is consuming my life the most right now is Maddie’s sleep habits (or lack-there-of).  Thinking back on the past 2.5 years, her sleep patterns and problems have consumed so much of my time and energy. I felt like we had finally gotten things under control and….here we go again. 

Our every days. Who could ask for more?

About two weeks ago, I decided to stop giving Maddie her pacifier.  I must say, I was shocked by how well she did.  She was a little sad at first, but I told her that she was a big girl and that her pacis were in the garbage.  She repeated a few times “Pacis in the garbage,” to remind herself when going down for naps and when on car rides, and it was sad to see her upset about it, but the truth of the matter is that she did great! By the second night, she wasn’t even asking for her pacifier and she was so excited to get her “big girl stickers” that it felt like no transition at all! I am so proud of her.  

First nap without her pacifier! 

Maddie filled out her whole Big Girl Sticker Chart by having no pacifiers at naps, bedtime or in the car! 

About 3 days later, the sleep problems began.  I am not sure if this defiance is due to her not having the pacifier anymore, the fact that she is 2.5 years old, or a combination of the two, but she has been a terror at nap time every day. I can count on one hand the number of times she has taken a nap in the past 2-3 weeks and it is making the evenings just terrible with her whining. She clearly is not ready to give up her naps (neither am I!). Phil and I are trying hard to figure out a system that works for keeping her in bed for rest- and bed-time, but so far, it’s hit or miss.  The sticker system is sometimes effective, but not always and she deliberately disobeys (yes, I realize I sound like King Tritan) by getting out of bed and playing with her toys as soon as we leave the room.  Please tell me this is just a phase! I was so loving her 2-3 hour naps everyday! 

Maddie has never fallen asleep anywhere but in her bed before so when I found her on the couch like this, I was shocked.  

And then this happened. Haha! She clearly is not ready to give up those naps. 

In other Maddie news, she is in the 80th percentile for height!! What a tall girl! There are worse things to be than tall and skinny.  :) And she is also really talking in full sentences and having little mini conversations with us.  Its precious.  She recently has been telling me to “watch out for the box,” or, “watch out for the baby,” when I’m walking near some of her toys.  She also knows tons of the words to some of the songs that we play for her at night.  What’s great is that these songs are Bible Passages sung to music, so technically, my little girl is reciting scripture.  :D 

Does this little girl's smile not melt your heart?  There is a light in her that shines so brightly. 

Sarah is doing well, too.  She may not be talking in full sentences, but she loves to sing! Every morning after I feed her for the first time, she lays in my lap and sings before falling back to sleep. I love her little voice! She also is making huge developmental strides with her motor skills.  She rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time on Jan 25! I was so excited! We have also brought out the Bumbo seat so she can work on her back muscles and sit up a little bit (we still need to be close by to help her) and she loves the new visual perspective.  She also is deliberately grabbing at toys now, whereas she used to just swat and hit them randomly.  I see her eyes really tracking on of them and then she tries her very best to reach it.  Witnessing a baby grow up and develop is one of the most fascinating things one can experience in this life, in my opinion.  

Tummy Time! She's getting ready to roll over any second now. 

Where Sarah is, there is Maddie, too.  

When she’s not teething and in pain, she seriously is the happiest baby in the world.  Her smile lights up the house (not just the room). Having my two girls with me, cuddled together in a chair, is probably my favorite thing in the world and I wouldn’t trade these moments for anything.  

If you are having a bad day, just look at this picture. 

XOXO

My three favorite people! Maddie says, "Whatz up?!"