Friday Five: If you really knew me.....

Ugh!  It has been a little tricky working in the blogging thing lately.  I will try to get back with it!  The kiddos and their revolt against sleeping is keeping me nice and groggy!  I saw a "getting to know me" post on another blog I follow and liked the idea so in true fashion, I am copying the idea.  Thanks, Aurie.

Here goes, five things you would know about me if you REALLY knew me.

1.  I hate onions.  Like hate.  Almost as much as I hate hot weather.  I will still cook with them because Jason likes them, but I don't use even 1/2 what the recipe calls for.  Usually I will use 1/4 of what it calls for!!!

2.  If I could wear black, head to toe, all year long I would.  Think Adele.  Since I think my husband would frown on that, I add in some nice grey and white once in awhile.  I just bought some purple shoes, some red shoes and some orange shoes.  Shoes are the only area in which I enjoy adding color.  And in case you were wondering, my ideal outfit is jeans, a shirt and cardigan and flats.

3.  My hair is naturally curly.  Messy curly.  It looks best and I get the most compliments when it is dirty.  Like three days without washing dirty.  So, if you see me and think my hair looks cute you can assume it hasn't been washed in at least three days.  It is not uncommon for me to go a week without washing my hair. 

4. I love reading.  Most days I have at least three books that I am in the process of reading.  Right now I am reading Harbingers, The No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers, Sun Stand Still, and Parenting with Love and Logic.

5.  My personality is pretty Type A.  No one in the history of the world has ever described me as laid back.  I tried to fight it, but now instead of longing to be more relaxed, more go with the flow, I just embrace who I am and work on the areas I need to be better in, like patience!!!

There you go, five things you may not have known about me!  Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Eight Months

Lawson just keeps growing up.  I hate, hate, hate, hate it.  Like seriously, hate.  There is not much in this world that I would say I hate, but Lawson getting older falls in that category.  And hot weather.  I hate hot.  Moving on....Lawson is eight months old today.  Sometimes I look at my husband and realize that someday Lawson will be that big also and it makes me want to cry.  I am going to be a hot mess when he turns one.  Unless I am preggers again by then in which case I might be less sad, or maybe way more sad who knows. 

ANYWAY...Lawson is eight months today.

Here is some info about Lawson at eight months!

Height and Weight:  Unknown

We have managed to go another whole month without any trips to the doctor.   Whoo Hoo!!!  Though, just as before, he is still the smallest in his nursery at church.

Eating:  NON STOP.  For real.  We have started more and more and more solids.  We also started with the dreaded puffs.  He loves them but I had forgotten just how messy they were.  So basically he eats actual food two or three times a day (fruits, veggies, rice cereal), and then nurses what feels like a bazillion times a day.  In reality he is nursing every four or so hours sometimes less.

Sleeping:  Let's just say that no one in the house is really sleeping great these days.  Lawson included.  He has been waking up two or three times a night.  And yes, I realize there are those that would say to let him CIO, but at this point I am not going to do that.  Naps, however, are going great.  And I am not using the swing to get him to sleep anymore, just laying him down in his crib.

Likes:  crawling/scooting all over the house, playing in his sisters' room, eating puffs, putting things in his mouth, giving mom kisses (whoo hoo), and playing with toys

Dislikes:  sleeping through the night, not eating, being hot, being wet, being ignored

Milestones:  Lawson is sitting up all the way (PTL), scooting/crawling, and since I forgot to mention it last month.....saying dada.  Still no teeth and still has the paci. 

Well, there it is, a glimpse into Laws at 8 months old.  He is such a cutie pie.  I am so thankful for my little man!

Friday Five: Molly's sleep

Molly has been having a little difficulty in the sleep department.  Mostly in the going to sleep department.  It is a nightmare (get it...).  I feel like I am at the end of my rope.  I am waving my white flag.  I give up.  I can't figure out how to make that girl go to sleep.  Here are five things we have tried. 

1.  Threatening/Yelling.  Yep.  I was that mom.  "Go to bed now or else."  Turns out Moll doesn't care.  I knew we had a problem when she started asking for her punishment after prayer.  She would tell us she was going to get out of bed and could we go ahead and punish her.  FAIL.

2.  Super Nanny style.  I believe Super Nanny just took the kid back to bed calmly over and over without emotion or conversation.  Molly thought this was a rather fun game.  She smiled bigger and bigger each time she came out of her room.  Makes it hard to maintain the whole no emotion thing.

3.  Earlier bedtime.  I am going to keep trying this one for a few more nights.  I am convinced that she is not getting enough sleep which is why it is so hard at bedtime and naptime and also why she is so cranky in the mornings and evenings.  We are moving back bedtime half of an hour.  This may mean that for the next week or two we stick closer to home at night, but oh well.

4.  Nightlights.  She cried for awhile about it being too dark in her room, but as it turns out, when the light is on she actually stays awake longer.  So, no more light for her.

5.  Music.  We are in the process of trying this one.  I will let you know how it turns out in a couple of days. 

I realize that nothing is going to work right away and that we have to try out things for a bit before deciding that they aren't working.  So we have tried all of these things (music in progress) for more than one night.  One thing is clear....I will win the bedtime/naptime battles.  Kids need sleep and according to several sources, kids Molly's age need about 13 to 13.5 hours each day between naps and bedtime.  We are about 1.5-2 hours off of this. 

If you have any suggestions (except for allowing her to sleep in our bed...that is not an option) I would love to hear them! 

Btw, we do have a bedtime routine that consists of brushing, going to the bathroom, reading a bedtime story and then prayers.....in case you were going to suggest that!!!!

Recently on Instagram

I love instagram.  I think I have mentioned that before.  However, not everyone is on the IG bandwagon, so I thought I would share some of my recent pics (an idea stolen from my friend, Jessica).

Here is a little glimpse into what we have been up to.

Lawson crawled from the living room into his sisters' room.  Don't know how happy they will be with this new milestone!

Isabelle at story time.  She has missed going!

Molly at story time. 

Molly was just a little cold sitting out on the deck with me this past weekend.  It was in the 50's first thing in the morning!!! 

Pretty sure Moll has the bluest eyes in the family.

You should know she is stuck in her baby's playpen.  You should also know that this was the fourth time I had to go in there and get her!

The girls found a frog in our garden.  They proceeded to throw grass at him for his food.

Lawson ready for some Cowboy football.  Too bad we lost.

She had just told me, "this superhero needs help blowing her nose."

Lawson is finally sitting up.  This isn't the greatest example, but he can sit up straight!!

If you are on instagram, let me know!  I am @tracyd53.  My account is private due to some weird people following me so just send me a request and I will add you.  Have to be a little careful when posting pics of the kids!  I would love to follow you also!

Friday Five: Updates

Time for a few updates on the fam!  There have been lots of new developments going on and I don't think I have documented any of them!

First, one of the greatest things ever in all of time......MOLLY IS POTTY TRAINED.  Of course, now that I put it on the blog I am basically asking for an accident, but oh well.  We have been working for what seems like an eternity with Molly to get her out of diapers.  I hate having two in diapers.  It makes it seem like all I do all day long is change diapers.  So, we have been working overtime with Moll to get her out of the stupid diapers.  We tried candy and sticker charts and new princess undies and peer pressure and nothing was working.  And then we went out of town.  I just knew that throwing a wrench into our schedule and sticking her in the car for hours on end was going to erase any progress we had made, however, it had the opposite effect.  Cuh-razy.  I don't know why or how it happened, but while we were at the lake Molly stopped having accidents and started going in the toilet all. the. time.  And we are still accident free since being home.  We do still have to use diapers at nap and bedtime, but hopefully that will be over with soon also.  I used to hate it when people said their kids were potty trained when they were still in diapers at night, but I get it now.  She is potty trained.  She knows to go in the bathroom when she has to go and that is a MAJOR success.

photo from our recent playdate at chick-fil-a

Second, Lawson has done a few major things lately.  He is sitting up now, though he won't do it unless it's his idea, he is almost crawling (just needs to get one more arm in the mix) and he has been saying dada for like a month.  But the biggest Lawson news of all is his sleeping all the way through the night without waking up at all even for a paci replacement!!!!  Yes, yes, I know.  Kids much younger than Lawson sleep through the night, but well, I just couldn't find it inside myself to sleep train my little guy.  I have been tired, yes, but I have really enjoyed my middle of the night, quiet, nursing time with him.  And once again, by putting it on the blog I am practically ensuring that tonight he will be up a dozen times! 

Lawson being his regular smiley self.

Next up, Isabelle.  That girl is a hoot.  She is getting so big and so smart.  I have learned that for her when she says she wants to do school what she really means is that she wants to color pictures, read books and sing songs.  She does NOT want to practice writing, practice cutting or work on patterns.  Since she is already so far ahead in those areas I am going to give her a rest and try to get a little more creative in my schooling approach. 

Isabelle at CFA.

As for me, things are going well.  I joined a local MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group and l.o.v.e.d. it.  I don't want to sound to nerdy or cheesy or anything, but for a long time I have been trying all kinds of different things to meet people and get connected with other moms and each time have come up short.  While I have gotten something out of everything I have tried I always come away with the feeling that I haven't quite found a place to fit in or to belong. Because of that, I almost didn't go to MOPS.  I was apprehensive to say the least.  I was worried that I would be odd man out or that people wouldn't like me, or that I wouldn't like any of them, and I was worried my kids wouldn't like going.  Thankfully I went ahead and went and it was so great.  Like so great.  The girls had a great time, Lawson did great, I was not odd man out, in fact everyone almost everyone I met was new to the group this year, and they were all so incredibly nice.  Not fake nice, but like actually nice.  In case any of them are reading this I will stop now so I don't seem weird, but just between you and me, it was such an answer to prayer!

Lastly, J man.  Well, I bet you can guess what kind of updates I have on Jason.  He is busy.  Betcha didn't see that one coming!!!  That man stays busy.  I laugh when he says something about how he is "super busy this week" as if he wasn't "super busy" last week.  I am grateful that his company has work and that he is staying busy but there are times when I wish he wasn't so busy all the time. 

So there you go, some updates on our little fam.  I am almost done with all the laundry that we dirtied up while on our lake adventure.  This weekend is a busy one so I need to get it all finished today!  Hooray for laundry!

Embrace the Camera: Lake Adventure Edition

I think I have mentioned how important it is to me to get in some pictures with my kiddos.  So, this past weekend while on our lake adventure I tried to remember to snap a couple of pictures.  Of course I forgot to get one with Isabelle, but two out of three isn't bad, right?

I hope that someday my children will treasure these photos of us together like I do now.  I know they won't be small forever, and I want to capture as much of their childhood as possible.

Do you embrace the camera?  You should.  Check out Emily's blog here.

Labor Day Lake Adventure

It is much more fun to call a trip an adventure, no?  So I will refer to our lake trip as a lake adventure from here on out. 

 

Here are some picture highlights from our lake adventure!

 

Moll fell asleep every time we got on the boat!  Could have something to do with the fact that she woke up every morning at 5am and took no naps other than her boat snoozes.

 

Captain Lawson

 

Dad and his girls.  This day the girls went swimming in their clothes because mom forgot to change them into swimsuits before this boat trip...oops!

 

My goofball daughter!

 

We had a great time!  The girls were able to swim and go tubing and eat pretty much whatever they wanted.  They also spent a great deal of time playing on the stairs and watching movies.  They have never been kids to watch movies before so this is a pretty big development! 

 

Molly decided to go ahead and finish potty training.  I don't want to jinx myself, but she didn't have a single accident the whole trip adventure. 

 

Lawson was a great baby, again.  He is the best to travel with because he is always so happy!

 

Molly helped me catch a fish, but it fell off the hook and jumped back in the water before a pic could be taken....seriously. 

 

Another highlight of our adventure was me finally learning to shoot our gun.  Watch out, people!  I am armed and dangerous!!!  I actually did pretty good for my first time.  At least that is what Jason said. 

 

Our adventure seemed short, but we packed a lot in our three days.  The girls love that place and if it wasn't so far away I think we would go more often.  It was nice having other people around this time to help with the kiddos. 

 

Hope you all had a great three day weekend also!