Diary of a night in the Big Girl Bed: Part 2

Praise God!!! Night #2 went much better. They still didn't go to sleep until 10:00, but there was very little crying and they were hilarious!!! We had shamelessly promised them candy with breakfast if they (Reagan) would sleep all night in their big girl beds. That seemed to keep her tears down to a minimal few, right when Mommy left.

After that, they chatted it up for a good hour. We listened to them and laughed at them for awhile and then headed down to continue with "The Unit". Around 9:00 they got quiet and we thought they had gone to sleep. At 9:45 we heard a loud crashing sound from upstairs and ran up to see what was going on. Addison had closed the door at some point, which is why we weren't hearing them anymore.

We listened outside for a long time while they sang, "No more Monkey's Jumping on the Bed" together. When they got to the "All fall off and bump their heads part", Addison would bang on the wall with her arm and Reagan would crack up laughing. Reagan would then tell her, "sing louder" and the whole thing would start over again.

When we finally opened the door we saw the sweetest thing. Addison had gotten all of Reagan's sleeping stuff....three blankets, pillow, multiple stuffed animals, and carried it all to her bed. They were snuggled under the covers, side by side, in Addison's bed, singing away. We went in to talk to them and tell them that it was time to get in our own beds and sleep. They were so, so tired, it was too funny! They were delirious!

So, they are still short a few hours of sleep, but night two was huge progress. They stayed in their beds until 7:00! I will take it!

Diary of a night in a Big Girl Bed: Part 1

Well, I knew she wouldn't move easily and my suspicions were right. Reagan's bed came yesterday and she LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it until it was time to sleep. We plan to keep trying the next few nights, but if it doesn't get better quick, we will re-visit the whole idea in a few months. Here is a little recap....

7:00-7:45 Daddy and the girls build the bed, play in the bed, read in the bed and have a great time!!!!

7:45-8:00 Pajamas on, teeth brushed, time for bedtime stories and prayers. All was still well at this point.

8:15 Mommy says good-night and exits the room. Cue LOUD crying and hysterical calling for Mommy. I listen outside the door for awhile as Addison gives her the sweetest pep-talk ever. She really did try to cheer her on.

8:30 Addison calls for me and tells me she is done with all this crying.

8:45 I take Reagan to rock in the rocking chair in her old room to calm her down. All is well until I put her back in the bed. Cue LOUD crying and screaming.

9:15 I take Addison to my bed so she can try to get some sleep. Reagan screams for Mommy and Sissy

9:30 Bring Sissy back in and lay half-in/half-out of toddler bed to snuggle Reagan and keep her calm. Fairly certain that at 8 months pregnant I am well over the weight limit for her tiny little toddler bed, so snuggling is interesting. Big sister falls right to sleep as soon as Reagan stops all the NOISE!

10:00 She finally falls asleep. Mommy sneaks downstairs so she and Daddy can watch "The Unit" from Netflix....we are hooked!

10:45 Mommy and Daddy head upstairs. We quietly install a gate at the top of the stairs, so Reagan doesn't wander off in the night (She would totally do this!!!). Install gate and turn towards bedroom, see Reagan staggering sleepily in the hall. She is the world's lightest sleeper and we woke her up!

10:45-11:15 Try to put Reagan back in bed. Cue LOUD crying and screaming. Sister wakes up, but is in pretty good spirits about it all. She tries giving Reagan another pep-talk and then tells me, "This is going to be harder than I thought!". I don't want Addison's entire night of sleep to be disturbed, so for the next 30 minutes I sit in the floor, by the toddler bed, rocking Reagan. Addison falls back asleep.

11:15-12:15 Try to put Reagan back in bed. Cue LOUD crying and screaming. Addison gets woken up again, and is starting to get frustrated. Trying to avoid going into Reagan's old room, we all 3 get in Addison's twin bed. I think at least we will be lying down and I can mover her when she falls asleep.

12:15 Reagan is sound asleep. I move her to her own bed. Cue immediate LOUD screaming and crying. Addison gets woken up again and tells me, "Get her out of here!". I give in and put Reagan in her crib. She cries for a few minutes and then sleeps the rest of the night.

7:00am Reagan wakes up horse from all the crying.

8:15am Reagan goes in Addison's room to wake her up. She never sleeps this late, but obviously had some catching up to do. Addison sits up briefly and tells me, "Everyone get out of here and quit talking, I didn't get any sleep last night."

Needless to say, the three of us girls are not exactly well rested today. Tonight we may try letting Addison stay in our bed until we go to sleep. Reagan is going to have to cry it out a few times. I hate that for her, but it is just her personality. If I go in there even once, I might as well plan on spending the night!!! This morning, she pointed to the new bed and said, "No like it, this one!" Hopefully she will change her mind soon.

Big Girl Bed...

Reagan's new bed is ordered and on the way. It is due in next week, but I am not sure we are going to make it. We were playing in her room today and I watched, over and over again, as she climbed in and out of her bed. I knew she could climb in, and had no doubt she could probably climb out as well, but until today she hadn't tried it (minus the one time at 11 months old). Big thanks to gymnastics class for making her stronger, more confident and even less fearful!

So far, she seems to be reserving the climbing only for playtime. She hasn't come out on her own at nap or bedtime. Hopefully this will last another week.

Now, here is my question. Do any of you have siblings sharing a room. I am all ears on tips for making this work. I would feel pretty confident if we were just moving her to a big girl bed. But, she is moving rooms, moving to a big girl bed and sharing for the first time all at once! Obviously since she will be sharing with Addison, I can't just gate the door and leave her in there to eventually stay in bed and fall asleep.

If all else fails, we can move Addison into the 4th bedroom, but it is the only one downstairs and I really don't want her that far away. It is also our guest room and home office, which Tommy works out of at least once a week. I am desperate for tips....somebody tell me how to make this work. The girls are excited about it, but I am worried about my sleep!

Gracyn Update

Okay, by popular demand, here is a belly picture!!! I am 30 weeks, yesterday, and all is well. My doctor scheduled my c-section for March 30th at 1:30 in the afternoon. Perfect timing.....we can take the girls to gymnastics, get Addison to school, put Reagan down for a nap and then leave them with my mom....busy day!!!!

Gracyn's Shower

My sweet MOPS group gave my neighbor and I a baby shower for our little girls last week. Penny lives across the street from me, and also happens to be at the same MOPS table. Her oldest daughter Clara, is just a few weeks older than Addison. Nora, her second, is a few months younger than Reagan. And now, our 3rd baby girls are due 3 weeks apart. It is such fun to do life together. The girls love to play and I am so thankful to have Penny to hang out with!!!

We had a great shower. Our little girls will look like twins since they got lots of the same outfits. Gracyn got several boxes of diapers, new clothes, her own baby doll and girt certificates to put towards a new swing. We had a yummy dinner and delicious cake.

My favorite part was the games. One of our table members found some really creative new things to play. First Penny and I judged as the rest of our table members made babies out of playdough. Then, she and I had to compete in hanging clothes on a line, all while balancing a baby doll on our hips and a phone on our shoulder. No problem these days....we have mastered multi-tasking.

Thanks ladies for a great night.

CRASH

Well, we had been nursing my laptop gently along for at least the past year....maybe longer. The crash of 2009, as I refer to it, finally happened on Tuesday. My poor laptop does nothing, nothing at all. Aside from all the pictures on there, that I didn't have backed up. I was in a general panic about not having a computer to use daily.

Knowing full well that I am spoiled and that it IS NOT a necessity. I called my extremely busy husband at work (several times) pleading my case. I listed all the reasons why I couldn't survive without the Internet...can't check the weather, can't check emails from Addison's teacher, can't get directions or phone numbers, CAN'T BLOG!!! Like I said, I know I don't have to have it, but I sure am dependent for information gathering, and even more honestly for my relaxation/45 minutes to myself when the girls go to rest time.

Thankfully my knight-in-shining-armour came to my rescue and brought a new laptop home to me that night. What a guy!!! And, the great guys at Geek Squad informed me that for $100 they can migrate all the pictures from my old computer to my new one! A small price to pay for 4 years of pictures.

Now, if we could just get the wireless to work I would be good to go. Currently it only works, if I am sitting within 2 feet of the wireless router. That's okay, I'll take it for now. But, that is the reason for no pictures. I don't want to set up all my camera software, or upload pictures until we are sure this is going to work.

Once I get that done, I promise, the much requested pictures of my growing 29-week belly. My MOPS friends had a sweet shower for baby Gracyn on Wednesday, so those pictures will be coming too.

Happy Weekend!!!

Sunday Morning Snuggling

Aren't they sweet. They were all snuggled up in the rocking chair this morning, reading their bibles before church. It makes a pretty picture!



What you don't see is that we had just experienced our first "Code Brown" in the bathtub! I guess 3 1/2 years into parenting and we were due, but let me tell you, it was not pretty!!! I have a whole new appreciation for the lifeguards I see in the summer dealing with similar situations, which cause the pool to be shut down.

I had already taken Addison out of the bathtub and Tommy was still there with Reagan when "Code Brown" crisis occurred. Understandably, Addison would have been upset if it had happened while she was still in there. Thank goodness Super Dad stood up to the plate and took over the cleaning, because I don't think Mommy's pregnant tummy could have handled it. From a safe distance, where I couldn't actually see anything, I laughed and laughed as Tommy made transfers from the tub to the toilet. All the while the girls stood by giving a play by play commentary of the whole thing.

What a way to start a Sunday morning. Oh well, it made for lots of good laughs. Tommy had plenty of joke material all day.

Bailee, Callie and Booter

Bailee, Callie and Booter are among Reagan's most prized possessions. Bailee is her American Girl doll that my Dad got her for Christmas. Callie came from my mom for Christmas. She has her own paci and bottle that she sucks on and makes little baby sounds. Finally, Steve and Dannea gave the girls the little puppy she calls Booter. Booter came in a little carrying purse, but Reagan abandoned that part.

Tommy and I helped name the baby-dolls, but Booter she came up with on her own.

Reagan's other favorite things include green blankie, purple blankie and choo-choo blankie. She also loves the Dora and Diego baby-dolls and her piggie pillow. You should see the girl's bed. She sure sleeps with a lot of stuff, most of which she would bring with us everywhere we go, if I would let her!

"Pooter" Time

Reagan loves to play "pooter", though it is really supposed to be with Mommy or Daddy's help. She snuck in there last night, while we were doing dishes and was quite pleased to play on her own. She is always asking for "jump froggies", which is from the Starfall Alphabet Game. She loves it!

The Little Mommy

I have jokingly said that when Gracyn gets here, we are going to strap the Baby Bjorn to Addison and let her take care of the baby...nothing would please her more!!! But lately, I am realizing, just how big of a help she really can be.

First, Addison recently graduated to a booster seat in the car, which uses the regular seat-belt. I can now put both children in the backseat and shut the doors. Addison can strap Reagan into her carseat and then get into her own booster and buckle up. If you have multiple children that you load into and out of the car multiple times each day, then you know....this is BIG NEWS!!! And, just in time for Gracyn's arrival. Maybe, with Addison doing half the work, we can still keep our load and departure time around 10 minutes.

Next, one afternoon this week, Addison and I went to wake Reagan from her nap. Addison ended up beating me in there, because the phone rang at the same time and I went to answer it. Seconds after going in Reagan's room, Addison came running back down the hall shouting, "Mommy, Reagan is sleeping in her bo-bo!". That's right....Reagan has recently taken to stripping her clothes off before she sleeps. Thankfully we haven't had any accidents in there. Anyway, I was finishing my phone call for a few minutes and walked into Reagan's room to talk. I sat in the rocking chair to talk, and got to watch what was going on in there. Addison got a diaper from the drawer, crawled into Reagan's bed and put the diaper on her and then proceeded to read to her until I was off the phone!

Good stuff! She is such a good sister and such a sweet helper! My girls are blessed to have each other.

Hubby is Here...

Winterpark, Colorado that is. Tommy went up this morning on a work trip and is having a blast learning to snowboard. I talked to him a few hours ago as he was finishing up his first lessons. He said he was A#1 student in the class and that he was a natural.

He may have gained a little too much confidence, as the next time I talked to him he mentioned a few bad falls. I guess nothing too terrible though, as he was on the lift headed back up.

He will be back tonight, though we don't expect him to be able to walk tomorrow!

It's All Very Simple.

Tonight, Tommy was saying bedtime prayers with Addison. They were discussing things they should pray for. He suggested to her, that they should pray for God to keep our house safe. To this she told him, "But we have an alarm." Tommy told her that they could and should still pray about it. She was stumped, and said, "But I think God would just think.....well, they have an alarm." I guess we need to reinforce that nothing is too small for God!!!

Batteries, Apparently the Solution to Everything.

Last night Reagan told me she wanted her diaper off and wanted to go pee-pee. She hasn't done this before, so I was skeptical, but still, helped her strip down and ran behind her to the potty. She sat for a few minutes and then actually used the potty!!! Mommy, Daddy and Addison were so excited, we had a little celebration for her. There was much cheering, clapping, hugging and M&M's.



About 30 minutes later, Reagan wanted to try again. I am sure the thought of another victory celebration....especially the M&M's was appealing to her. However, I don't think she really needed to go again. We sat on the potty for a minute and she told me, "Pee-Pee not working". I said back to her, "It's not working right now?"



She got so very serious and starting nodding her head up and down. "Batteries!" She told me, "Need it, batteries, store!"

She just knew her pee-pee wasn't coming because it was broken and we needed batteries to fix-it. I guess pretty often around here, with most toys that is the problem! If only there was a battery to buy for potty training....sure would make toddler-hood easier.

Gymnastics

The girls started gymnastics this morning and it was a big hit!!! I didn't get to see much of Addison's class, or get pictures of her, as I was in a Mommy and Me class with Reagan, but she seemed to really like it. When I did peak, she was bouncing on a trampoline, climbing ropes or running circles in the gym! I was glad to see her getting so much exercise.

Reagan LOVED her class. The girl is in her element in there. 40 minutes of swinging from bars and climbing things is just what she loves. It was fun to have the time with her and watch her have her own "big girl class".

I will be looking forward to Mondays for the next few months.

Skiing!!!

Tommy bought skis for Addison a while back, but it took some time to find the right boots to fit her. We finally got everything pieced together and then it didn't snow for 2 weeks! She was so excited Saturday when it began to snow and couldn't wait to try out her skis.

We were just coming in from being gone all day and Tommy was trying to get her out before dark, so she isn't really dressed for the cold, he pulled her out of the car, and put the skis on. She didn't mind, she was just excited to coast down the driveway. She surprised us with her ability to stay up! I don't think she ever even fell.

Next step....a trip to the mountains. We wanted her to have the skis to be able to practice around here, but pretty soon, she and Tommy are headed off to ski school.

2008 Favorite Memories

Last day in Texas. See that giant moving truck? I sure miss those trees!
New House!

Snuggle Bugs!

Happy 3rd Birthday Addison!

This is what it's all about!

The long drive to TX....passing a little time on the IPOD. She

has to have her hat to keep the ear buds in.

Reagan LOVES "the kissing hole" on the staircase.

Relaxing at the Broadmore, the day we found out Gracyn was on the way!

First hike in the Rocky Mountains.

Addison looking sassy in Mommy's Uggs.

They can't get enough of their Austin.

Disney Cruise, a definite highlight....we can't wait to go back!

My little princess.

Happy 1st Birthday Reagan!

Hunting Easter eggs out of patches of snow.

First snow. They love it!

"Camping" at the new house, boy am I glad all that blue is gone.

Addison takes helping in the kitchen very seriously! Reagan takes icing very seriously!

Addison rides for the first time.