Not Napping, but Pottying

I've always been a nap encourager:) In fact, some of my "bigger" kids would still take a nap if I had them take a "quiet time" during the day... which I really need to phase back into the afternoon... somewhere:/

For months now Nate has been a non-napper. Most of the reason is that we use the time to run errands and that I spoil him by staying in the room with him until he falls asleep. And we had been using the time it took him to fall asleep as read aloud time (a sweet hour of the day) until the stillness made me sleepy too;)

The ending of our read aloud/Nate falls asleep time was due to the fact that in the evenings, after he had a nap, he would be up to 11-12 at night!!! Yes, when the older ones would head to bed Nate would be wide-eyed... while we'd read in bed all the older ones would crash and Nate would look at us and say, " I go downstairs with you, now!" Not quite the relaxing evenings parents look forward to during the busy days... especially since Brian and I use our evenings to work:/

Nate actually does very well without a nap... sure he can get fussy at 8ish... but that's totally reasonable for a tired 2 yr old. Anyway, we're working on some solutions...

Two days last week he came up with his own plan of crashing on the couch at 6-6:30 and sleeping through the night:) Definitely shows that this little guy NEEDS sleep... even when he fights it hard:)

This week he had us all laughing as he fell asleep eating a bowl of cereal at 6:30ish pm... it was the only thing he wanted to eat!I call it "picking my battles":)


After the video I cleaned him up, changed him into a diaper and laid him on the couch to be with everyone else... he totally fell soundly back to sleep, I moved him upstairs about 9ish (and brushed his teeth) and he slept through the night.

He woke me up at 6:45am with a dry diaper because he needed to go potty:) 

Oh yes!! He's doing that too:) Gotta love kid-led potty training... he was ready without me!! Totally awesome and it's been very easy (besides tending to the tot on the pot with 3 kiddos needing to be schooled)....

NEVER thought I'd say that!!

Mower Nap & Extra Rider

Nate's been known to fight naps and then crash in some strange ways! It was a weekend afternoon and I had just started to get the kids down for nap/rest. And then Brian started the mower:)

Nate perked up! And then ran outside and waited until Brian invited him on. Minutes later...

Really was sound asleep:)

As soon as Brian woke Nate he had another rider... waiting her turn;)

The neighborhood dog had to see the Miracle Mower for herself:) LOL!!

She LOVES riding on things... mowers, golf carts:) We've already had a couple of neighbors say that she rides with them... LOL!!

I love Nate's expressions as he tries to tell "Sissy" to get off the mower!

BTW... Brian's mower was off with the Nate & dog pictures:)

More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and Live and Love...Out Loud !!!

SOOC: Can't You Sleep?

I thought it was precious the book Lydia fell asleep reading the other night:) I found her just like this...

SOOC: Under a Pillow

Nate fell asleep like this...

 

His Daddy sleeps with his head under the pillow, too!! But Not his whole body;)
How fun to be small enough to totally fit under a pillow!!

 

And really nice and cozy when you refuse to wear much clothing when you sleep!! LOL!
Definitely doesn't get it from his mommy....
who has been known to put on an extra layer before bedtime;)

This is What Tired Looks Like

After meeting up with some friends (some passing through and others we are moving closer to) at a park last week, Chris crashed after we returned home and he had been bathed.

Sound asleep!

It's also the perfect time for the Little Brother to snatch all the cool cars Big Brother has been keeping from him:)

More Wordless Wednesday at  NapTime MomTog, 5 Minutes for Mom,  Mama to 4 Blessings, Go Graham Go

and Live and Love...Out Loud !!!

Not Quite The Womb...

SOOC: Sweet Winter Dreams

Seriously... our house isn't this cold;)

We just have a silly little girl:)

SOOC: ZONKed and Asking

Totally ZONKed from an afternoon at the aquarium:)

And just for fun.... (from this horrible blurry pic)

What is Nate asking for??

Background... we had just finished lunch and I was in the process of cleaning off his hands/face:)
And yes, his eye is swollen.... a mosquito bite right next to his eye caused it to swell that morning!

There's also a lot going on at SIMPLE this week.... lots of reviews and giveaways:) You might even see Anna helping me feature a game;)

SOOC - Sweet Morning Face

While we DO put Nate in his crib at night, he makes it back into our bed in the wee hours of the morning;)

And since he's soo mobile now, we have to stay with him until he wakes so he doesn't fall out of the bed. At first I felt very limited by staying in bed with Nate versus starting my day while he's asleep. But lately I've been using the time as my own devotional time...ahhh, so nice!

And this is what I saw the other morning...




I"m joining in at Marvelous Mommy... these were all SOOC:)

WW: They Both Fought Hard...

... not sure who won...

Actually, the winner was me:) I was able to get in a few more minutes of "night before school" preparation before the babe's "final" feeding;)

You can find some other picture posts at 5 Minutes for Mom and Go Graham Go!!!

A first...

My kids have fallen asleep pretty much anywhere.... grandparent's arms, BECO, crib, our bed, blankets on the floor....

Strollers...


And even the highchair (on Sunday afternoons)!

But Nate this afternoon was a first...

He been awake just over 45 minutes, he had eaten, played, messed up another diaper cover (heh heehe), was changed from head to toe and I stuck him in the walker to get some vacuuming completed (a girl hasta clean her house sometime!).

Then I saw this....


He hadn't whimpered or cried a bit. He watched me and the vacuum like a hawk and it lulled him to sleep....

in the walker!

Think I should lecture him???

Something like, "if you slept through the night, instead of sneaking in extra meals, maybe you wouldn't be sooo sleepy during the day" LOL!! I don't think it would matter, he loves his nighttime snacks and his daily cat naps;)

Tiny Talk Tuesday

One night last week I heard Chris (4 yrs old) jump out of bed in the middle of the night and come charging into our bedroom. He ran to Brian's side of the bed and started asking him if he Brian was ok. "Daddy are your eyes ok?", he asked.

Brian asked him why he was asking and Chris told us he had dreamt about "wolves that were chasing us and they grabbed you Daddy and took your eyes out." gruesome!!

Anyway, Brian comforted him and lead him back in bed. He gave Chris a little pep-talk about finding a good dream to think about before he fell back asleep, "Chris, think of a good dream."

Chris responded excitedly," I'm going to dream about having three more baby brothers!"

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Chris was listening to Brian's sermon on Sunday night. Brian shared tha he wanted to "chase a rabbit" with the congregation during the sermon.

Chris looks up at me and kept asking,"Mommy, where is the rabbit??" LOL!! Took me a minute to realize WHY he was asking about a rabbit:)

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Lydia (3 yrs) to me: "Mommy, where is my fling ring?"

Translatation: "Where is my ring sling??"

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Nate's expressions say a lot!! There is nothing sweeter than his BIG smiles... especially during the "tough" times.

After a major blowout, Nate was all smiles as I told him,"Nate thats soo gross" in my "talking to Nate" voice. He thinks the word "gross" is soo funny. What a silly little boy!!!

Acne and Lack of Sleep

The last few days little Nate's face has really broken out... like really bad... he has enough pimples to get his drivers license!!!!

In an effort to confirm our guess that it was indeed "baby acne" and not a reaction (like Anna was insisting), I did a little searching online:)

One of the 1st paragraphs of an article was a perfect description of us and Nate right now:

To many parents' dismay, their beautiful newborn's face breaks out with red bumps. One of the most common causes for red bumps on an infant’s face is baby acne. It tends to occur at about the same age as the baby's peak gas production and fussiness. How attractive! (This all coincides with parents' maximum sleep deprivation.) Parents are often quite concerned both about how these bumps look and about their significance.

Here's where I got it from: http://www.drgreene.com/qa/what-baby-acne#ixzz0p45fm6BQ

Yes... we had a feeling "gas production and fussiness" had peaked... ummm, especially at night!!! Man oh man....

The 1st 2 weeks, Nate spoiled us at night. There were times I got 5 hours of sleep at time!! But then since Saturday or so, Nate has wanted to eat and scream all night...

seriously, for a couple of nights I had maybe 2-3 hours of sleep all night. I DON"T function well with only 2 or 3 hours!!!!!! Just ask my family.... or don't!

Anyway, we were very thankful that Nate had a better night last night. We had a plan all ready.... I keep Nate, Brian sleeps somewhere else then lets me sleep in. But we didn't even have to resort to "survival mode".... Nate nursed every 3 hours BUT didn't scream for hours inbetween feedings! Must have been the gas drops!

Anyway, maybe we have finished the "peak gas production and fussiness"... maybe!!! Oh, it would be nice because we have a BUSY weekend with family (parents and siblings) coming in and Anna's 6th birthday:) We have plenty to do!

WW: Sleeping Construction Beauties

I am sooo amazed at what construction noises the kids have slept through these last few weeks;) I knew that they were SOUND sleepers.... but finally got a video to prove it;)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

You can find some other picture posts at Wordless Wednesday, 5 Minutes for Mom and Go Graham Go!!!

NOT Me! Monday : All Dressed Up and Too Tired

Sunday morning I had TWO little girls awake tooo early:) One standing at the side of my bed whispering, "Mommy, we're uuuuuppppp." The other in the hallway pushing the stroller with her baby doll in it. I looked at the clock and it was 6:20AM!!! Way too early for ME.... yes, even on a Sunday!!!

We had a pretty normal morning and then about 9, Lydia started to asking to be held. She said she was sleepyyy... hmmm, wonder why??? So all dressed up we got her cozy on the couch:)

I wish she would have slept SOME.... but she didn't. But she did camp out on the couch for a while and then on my bed while I finished getting ready.

Anna later confessed to waking up early this morning to potty. On her way back to her bed she decided to wake up Lydia. Then she and Lydia climbed into her bed to "sleep" for a little while. Finally they decided to get up and get me....

And I wish, wish, wish I could claim that I read books to them and played with them until the rest of the house started to wake at 7AM.... but I didn't! I stumbled into the living room, felt around for the TV remote (I didn't have my glasses or contacts) and then found PBS Kids for them and turned down the volume really, really low... gotta love 24hour PBS Kids!!

This is a new little weekly meme-thingy I'll try out:) I've seen a couple bloggie friends participating and I always have plenty of parenting blunders to share..... maybe you can learn from me:) Here are some more Not Me! Monday links at My Charming Kids.

more Sweet Baby Pics & Aunt Rules??

Sweet Hannah Grace sleep:)


Hannah Grace awake in Lydia's arms:)


She really is a doll baby!! I can't wait to go see them again:)

So someone out there share with me some rules for being an "aunt"??? I'm new at this:)

Cuddle Baby!

There are good reasons I call Lydia my cuddle baby:) Here's one from this afternoon!!!



Napping on momma.... oh I am soo thankful for these sweet moments!! And thankful that Anna was there to run and grab the camera since I was pinned down on the couch...LOL!!

Light Out - 1st Sleep Over and NO Distractions

Here is our view as we left my parent's house and headed down the highway.... ahh the BIG city.... when I see this I can't wait to get HOME to my little one-stop light (literally) town:)


Looking at the sky reminded me of the messy day we had had and that the power might still be OFF at my HOME!

About halfway on our journey home, Daddy called and asked how far we were and suggested we turn back!!!! Well the weather was fine where I was so we pressed on:) Our dinner together! EVen though the kids were exhausted and I was nervous about the road.. we had a nice dinner together:)

Although the roads we littered with branches from trees and the gusts of wind were very strong we headed to home SLOWLY...

At home the light were off. Brian had every candle he could find lit:) The kids weren't too happy with no lights but they settled down with some banana bread and then Pjs.

Since our kids like their "night lights" we decided to lett hem sleep in the living room with the candles (and us)!! Brian read a chapter and some in Farmer Boy (by Laura Ingalls Wilder) and the kids (and almost MOmmy) we OUT for the night:)

Our 1st Sleep Over:)


After the kids fell asleep Brian and I sat on the couch and talked. Usually at night, he'll pull out some work and I'll get on the computer for a little while. Then we'll watch a movie and head off to bed.

But last night we sat ont he couch a talked about our days.... it was nice! I wasn't that we neglect talking. We talk... it just usually happens in the midst of blogging, reading, cleaning, movies or folding laundry! Last night we had NO distractions. After we chatted, Brian looked through some of our pictures and he ate a cold leftover dinner, we crashed in the living room with the kids!

About 12:30am the lights, TV, microwave...everything came on!! It was kind-of funny to have the house "awake" while we were sleeping....

I must be getting "old" but by the time the lights came back on, the floor wasn't feeling soo comfortable either:) So Brian carried the kiddies back to their beds and we crashed in our own cozy bed:)

***I'll try to get some pictures of our fun day on the blog tonight or tomorrow:)

Cozy Sleep

This is how we found him tonight about 2 minutes after we put him in bed, exhuasted!!

"good" night sleep

Chris finally fell asleep last night at 12:30!!! He played football with Grandaddy and Grandma until they were tired. Then he drove his cars up and down the bumps in the air mattress. Then him and I played store, as he purchased the cars.

About 12ish he told me he was sleepy so I got his bed on the couch ready and made my air mattress on the floor next to the couch! He finally fell asleep.... but throughtout the night he woke up or I found his feet on me so I had to get him back on the couch. One time he just rolled off the couch onto me... hahhaaa... go thing he's still pretty small:)

Guess what time he woke up??? 6:22am!!! Yep, just like normal.

How's that for a "good"night of sleep???