The Hair Cut

As requested, A's new hair cut. Avery got her first "real" hair cut on Tuesday night. I have trimmed her rats tail but she really hasn't had much hair until now. She really needed the back trimmed and looking decent. I took her to Cookie Cutters, a children's hair salon, where she could sit in a pink little car and watch the Wiggles all while they cut her hair. The cut is like a little bob with longer sides. I don't know if I am too thrilled with it yet, but what can you do with little hair. Just as long as people don't think she is a boy, I will be Ok with it. Hopefully it will start growing soon.

Baby Boot Camp: Day 3!

REPORT: I QUIT!!!

Last night was horrible! During the day she took a great 2 hour nap on her own and had two solid feeding, breakfast and dinner.

After dinner she was acting fussy, so I thought I would follow her natural sleep ques and see if she would go down. She was asleep in her bed by 8pm! Avery even went down a little after 8, too. What a miracle, short lived, but still it was nice and peaceful for a while!

Delaney woke at 10 and we let her cry for about 20mins and Brian brought her out to the living room to me and I fed her and she was back to bed by 11:00 and so was I!

She woke up at 2, let her cry until she woke up her sister. We have a loud fan going to drown out the noise, but it didn't work! Brian went and attended to Avery and she went right back down, relief. Delaney went back to sleep but then proceeded to wake up every 45 mins after! Finally, about 4 I just ended the misery and put her in bed with us. My only hope was that Avery would sleep in this morning! Nope, after Brian checked on her this morning before he left for work, she was up crying. No luck for the weary.

I am just going to keep trying to space out her day/night feedings and work on her naps. As far as crying it out at night, I just can't do it. The key to this working I know is consistency and with Avery waking up, I can't be consistent.

P.S. To my sweet, loving husband. If you wake up the baby at 2 in the morning by a loud toot, AGAIN, YOU will first put the baby back to sleep and then I will KILL you!

Baby Boot Camp: Day 2!

Report for Baby Boot Camp Day 2!

Had a very optimistic day when Delaney quickly went down for her afternoon nap without too much fuss. She slept for a little over an hour, again in the swing...but it's better than nothing, right? The best part about it was that she napped at the same time as Avery, so that was a bonus.

On to bedtime. I took Avery to her hair cut appt at 7 pm and left Delaney with daddy for about an hour. When I got home it was time to get baths and pj's on, so Delaney's solid food supper was skipped. The night before she ate a really good solid meal and she slept horrible, so I thought might as well see if her eating solids makes a difference or not.

She nursed at about 9:30, went down at 10 and slept until 1:33 am. I had decided I was going to let her cry it out and see if she did. I talked to my sister who said one of her son's cried for 2 hours one time in protest. I don't know if I could let her go that long, mainly because she is right beside my bed, but I was going to try it anyway.

4 mins. into the crying, Avery woke up screaming crying! This is why they don't share a room yet, I can't deal with 2 babies awake all night! I went and comforted Avery, she wanted some milk, got her a drink, and put her back to bed. Meanwhile, Delaney has been crying this whole time! She was MAD. I picked her up and she basically was bending herself in half to get to what she knew would calm her down. I tried a binky again, just made it worse. It broke my heart at hard she was crying and upset, so again....I gave in and fed her!! It is SO hard to not feed your crying baby when you don't know if they really are/aren't hungry or just use to the routine of it!

But the good news is, she slept until 5:50 am! So maybe by holding her off by just 30 mins or so during the night, I can stretch the time in between and then hopefully she will drop that feeding.

Avery woke up at 6:15 this morning. She is getting two incisors! She crawled into bed and took Brian's place as he was up getting ready for work.

So hopefully today will be better than the two days before and that I will have TWO babies that sleep through the night!

Baby Bootcamp: Day 1!

I am being a Mean Mommy!

Delaney is still not sleeping through the night and her pediatrician at her 6 month appt said she is capable of sleeping through the night. Avery slept through the night at 4 months and has been a pretty good sleeper ever since. The only problem is that Avery was formula fed since about 3 months and was in her crib in her own room at 4 months. Delaney is exclusively breastfed and so I am new to this from that aspect of things. She is still waking up 2-3 times a night and I am exhausted. I was venting my frustrations to my sister yesterday and she told me that I needed to basically nip it in the bud. When other moms explain similar situations, I am usually the one thinking, oh they need to stop those things. I never had to swaddle Avery to sleep, I never had to rock her to bed, I never had problems with her sleeping in her crib, I never had problems with her taking a bottle, a pacifier, or eating problems. But, now I am eating my own words! Delaney is the complete opposite. My dad told me last night, "what goes around, comes around." So, I guess he is implying that I deserve this:)

So, yesterday, I started Baby Boot camp! Delaney usually will only nap if I am lying down next to her, or takes short cat naps on me through out the day. I realize that this has to end. So, yesterday after trying for 30 mins, I finally got her to fall asleep by herself for 2 hours. It was in her swing but baby steps, right?! She probably would of slept longer, but her sister went and ripped off her blanket and turned on the light. UGH, but at least it was something.

Recap of last night: Nursed her at 9:30, down at 10. She woke up at 1:30. I rocked, shushed, tried to give her binky, patted. I can't let her cry it out or our neighbors would flip out! I finally got her to sleep at 2:00 for her to wake back up 4 mins later. Mean mommy broke, gave in, and fed her. Back to sleep at 2:30, up at 4:30, fed her, and then back up 6!

I am not going to give up, she will not win! On to day #2 of Baby Boot camp. We will see how it goes.

Prayers

I usually don't comment on other blogs on my blog, but I felt that I needed to get the word out about two families that could use some prayers.

The first blog is about a husband and wife in AZ that were involved in a horrible plane crash, her husband was becoming a pilot, and the instructor was killed. Stephanie was burned over 83% of her body and Christian was burned over 35% of his body. She is in critical condition going through some tough skin graft surgeries and he is almost at the point of going home. They are the parents of four little kids and their family is taking good care of them until they are able to do so. If you would like to read their blog it is:



and her sister has been blogging updates on her blog:

http://blog.cjanerun.com


The other family that needs prayers: the Deckers. Carol got very sick while pregnant with their second child and had to have an emergency c-section. Their baby girl is doing amazing, but unfortunately Carol had major complications. She had a bilat below the knee amputation and a hand and finger amputated and is now blind. After many extensive surgeries she is home for the time being rehabbing.

To read more about this strong family:

http://sccsdecker.blogspot.com


I believe in the power of prayer and everyday miracles. These two families have gone through the unthinkable and need our thoughts and prayers. Please take a minute to check out these blogs and pass the word along.

Our little D-bug had her 6 month check-up today. I know, can you believe she is already 6 months! Now I understand why people continue having baby after baby...it goes by just so dang fast.

6 month stats: 27 1/4 inches long (92%) weight: 15.7 lbs (45%)

For comparison: Avery at 8 months was 15.9 lbs and 27 3/4 inches long, for some reason I don't have her 6month stats written down in her baby book.

She is such a joy. She is such a happy, laid back baby. She loves her big sister and loves to laugh at Avery being silly. She loves to blow raspberries and LOVES to do it during church when it is of course quiet. She has started eating solids and has had: prunes, green beans, and carrots. So far she still prefers me over any other foods. She isn't sleeping through the night yet, but her pedi said today that she should be able to and try not to feed her or she will continue to expect the midnight feedings. So we are going to try to not give in to her demands:) We are so blessed to have two healthy and happy girls!

How to Eat Pudding

It's not good unless you wear it!

Crunchy Mamma!

Brian's parents had a great garden this year. Luckily, we have benefited from all the wonderful veggies. Tonight I made homemade spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes and onions from the garden and we also had fresh carrots. We had tons of carrots, so I made baby food for Delaney! I felt pretty proud of myself. I put the carrot puree in ice cube trays and froze them, then took them out of the ice cube trays and put the individual cubes in Ziploc bags for later use.

Delaney turns 6 months on the 13th of this month and so far she has only had rice cereal and prunes, but tonight we tried carrots! She gagged, but we will try again because I have a freezer full of pureed carrots!

Sitting up in the high chair! She looks like such a big girl. Avery got kind of jealous that her sister was sitting in HER high chair.

This is how we found Avery before her bath and no, we don't let her walk around with a plumber's crack! I think she was trying to take off her own shorts. This week we have had TWO poopies in her big girl potty and we bought her some big girl underwear. I think the vinyl training pants we had been using were just too absorbent, so she wasn't really able to tell when she wet in them. I have a feeling I will be doing lots of laundry until potty training is a success.

All Better

Yesterday, I turned in my two-week notice. I told the President of Johnson and Co. that I QUIT. I will no longer be the Vice President, Accountant, Money Manager, Personal Shopper, Chef, Launderer, Nanny, Maid, Dish Washer, Circus Director, Two-Year Old's Punching Bag, or the person who responds to the crying or whining of MOMMY/MAMMA. I will gladly train my replacement. Any takers?

Yes, its been a rough week. I am attempting to potty train. Avery has been showing all the appropriate signs that she is ready. I don't think I am ready though! Yesterday I cleaned up two wet spots on the carpet. This is the very reason we don't have a puppy. I know it will all be worth it in the end to be out of diapers, but in the mean time, I need a good carpet cleaner.

But, these little gems I made yesterday made it all better! I found this recipe on a recipe blog that I love. Brian LOVES Key Lime Pie, so I thought these would be tasty, and they were. And so easy!



Key Lime Cupcakes
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
1/4 teaspoon neon-green food coloring
3/4 cup buttermilk

FROSTING
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

CUPCAKES

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Whisk both flours in medium bowl. Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then next 3 ingredients (batter may look curdled). Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Spoon scant 1/3 cup batter into each liner.

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool.


FROSTING
Beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread over cupcakes.


From Bon appetite magazine September 2008

Labor Day!

 

Today we went to the Clark Planetarium downtown. The day started nasty, raining and in the high 40's! It was snowing in the mountains. What a way to welcome September! We went and saw the Imax movie Deep Sea 3D. Ave loved it. I don't know if the others watching loved being there with her because everytime a "fishy" came on the screen, she screamed "FISHY!". We, as her parents, got a good laugh because of her. It was the perfect toddler length, 45 mins long. It kept her attention, but you won't see us racing out to see a movie with her anytime soon!

This is the Place

 

What a fun weekend! On Saturday, our family plus Brian's mother, went to This is The Place Heritage Park. Ave got to ride a pony for the first time, she loved it and didn't want it to end. She loved petting all the animals and sitting in their poo!! We rode the train around the park and enjoyed seeing replicas of pioneers' homes. It was a warm day but we enjoyed being able to spend some time together as a family.