Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Elli Bean turns 3!
The cousins:
Cuddles with Auntie Jen
The kiddos watching the ducks at the Cider Mill
Special Mommy time feeding the ducks
Dad-o is the best!
Scandal...See this picture....The kids had a hunt for eggs with coins in them so they could fill their piggy banks when they got home...
Ahh! The birthday girl got swiped!
Partyyyy!
Dad counting coins for Elli.
The line for the pinata...Getting all these kids in a line was kind of like herding cats...This is why I am not a preschool or kindergarten teacher....
Watching the pinata from a distance because mom said I am "too young to eat candy.."
Opening a present from "nan"
Thanks for being born Beaners! We loved celebrating with you!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Sleep Training
We have a baby who sleeps through the night...
Bed at 7:00, up somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30. It is amazing, I feel like a new mama.
(Today she woke up at 6:30 though...Steve and I looked at each other and said, "What do we do??? Do we get her, make her cry it out??? We ended up getting her at about 6:45...figured that night she may have only needed 11 1/2 hours of sleep that night....Hopefully that was just a fluke...I like having time in the morning before she wakes up. However, I am sounding pretty spoiled right now. I figure in the next few days we are going to cut a tooth, get sick, do something that will change our wonderful routine, because that is just how life is with a kiddo. I am enjoying it right now though.)
Bed at 7:00, up somewhere between 7:30 and 8:30. It is amazing, I feel like a new mama.
(Today she woke up at 6:30 though...Steve and I looked at each other and said, "What do we do??? Do we get her, make her cry it out??? We ended up getting her at about 6:45...figured that night she may have only needed 11 1/2 hours of sleep that night....Hopefully that was just a fluke...I like having time in the morning before she wakes up. However, I am sounding pretty spoiled right now. I figure in the next few days we are going to cut a tooth, get sick, do something that will change our wonderful routine, because that is just how life is with a kiddo. I am enjoying it right now though.)
A helper...
Today I was at my brother's house...
I had to run to the basement to get the extra bread out of the extra freezer. I left Abby in the living room and said, "Sam, keep an eye on Abby for me and make sure she doesn't go anywhere."
Sam, who is four, responded, "OK Cookie, I'll keep both eyes on her...This one (she points to her right eye) and this one (she points to her left eye)"
I ran downstairs giggling to myself, grabbed the bread, and came back upstairs. I looked in the living room and see Sam sitting directly behind Abby, holding her around the waist. Sam looks at me and says, "She didn't go anywhere Cookie."
I walked over and gave Sam the biggest hug I could, told her how proud of her I was, and held back the tears, loving that the girls get to grow up together.
I had to run to the basement to get the extra bread out of the extra freezer. I left Abby in the living room and said, "Sam, keep an eye on Abby for me and make sure she doesn't go anywhere."
Sam, who is four, responded, "OK Cookie, I'll keep both eyes on her...This one (she points to her right eye) and this one (she points to her left eye)"
I ran downstairs giggling to myself, grabbed the bread, and came back upstairs. I looked in the living room and see Sam sitting directly behind Abby, holding her around the waist. Sam looks at me and says, "She didn't go anywhere Cookie."
I walked over and gave Sam the biggest hug I could, told her how proud of her I was, and held back the tears, loving that the girls get to grow up together.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Sleep training - night 4
I wanted to write all this down, because I know eventually, with future babies, I will have to do this again. However, I am assuming it won't be as traumatic because I will then be a "veteran momma" who is way more laid back, right?
Anyway, Abby went to bed last night about 7:30. I went in to feed her about 10:00 before I went to bed.
We had one bit of crying that lasted ~30 minutes from 2:52 to about 3:28 (can you tell I was watching the clock? Abby was only up for that time, I was up for about 30 minutes after that....Oh the joys of getting all worked up in the night and not being able to fall asleep again).
She cried a bit at 7:00 and Steve and I both said, "Yep, right at 7:00, she is on schedule"). We laid in bed, fell back asleep, and woke up at 7:45! It is 8:11 and she is still sleeping.
Naps were off yesterday. She ended up getting three because her two regularly scheduled naps were short, so at 4:30 she had a little power nap to get her through the rest of the evening.
I am hoping to eliminate that night time cry soon, but having a baby who is in her bed (mainly sleeping) for 13+ hours is pretty incredible.
(When Abby wasn't sleeping I HATED hearing about how other people's babies were sleeping, HATED it, like "I want to push you down" hated it. It was hard for me to realize, but I needed to do this for Abby. Her crying was probably upsetting me more than it was her. Now, we are on the right track to getting her to soothe herself. I know there are going to be changes that happen that could throw this off, but I feel like I accomplished a huge task, and when she is crying at night (those 30 minutes take FOREVER) I have to remind myself that this is what Abby needs and it is good for her). I am not, by any means, saying this is the way you have to "train your child" it is what I had to do to keep my sanity. You do what is best for your kid.
Anyway, Abby went to bed last night about 7:30. I went in to feed her about 10:00 before I went to bed.
We had one bit of crying that lasted ~30 minutes from 2:52 to about 3:28 (can you tell I was watching the clock? Abby was only up for that time, I was up for about 30 minutes after that....Oh the joys of getting all worked up in the night and not being able to fall asleep again).
She cried a bit at 7:00 and Steve and I both said, "Yep, right at 7:00, she is on schedule"). We laid in bed, fell back asleep, and woke up at 7:45! It is 8:11 and she is still sleeping.
Naps were off yesterday. She ended up getting three because her two regularly scheduled naps were short, so at 4:30 she had a little power nap to get her through the rest of the evening.
I am hoping to eliminate that night time cry soon, but having a baby who is in her bed (mainly sleeping) for 13+ hours is pretty incredible.
(When Abby wasn't sleeping I HATED hearing about how other people's babies were sleeping, HATED it, like "I want to push you down" hated it. It was hard for me to realize, but I needed to do this for Abby. Her crying was probably upsetting me more than it was her. Now, we are on the right track to getting her to soothe herself. I know there are going to be changes that happen that could throw this off, but I feel like I accomplished a huge task, and when she is crying at night (those 30 minutes take FOREVER) I have to remind myself that this is what Abby needs and it is good for her). I am not, by any means, saying this is the way you have to "train your child" it is what I had to do to keep my sanity. You do what is best for your kid.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Summer turned into Winter
For the girls, we made their birthday presents this year, a fun idea I saw on pinterest.
Sam's birthday is in August, she got a sprinkler...
Elli's birthday is in November, she gets a tent (same present, just modified a bit - this we super easy to do..I found a twin sheet set on sale at Target, the top sheet made the bag and the cover and I have extra fabric to use for another project!). I am hoping she can have tons of creative fun with this when they are cooped up inside because of the cold winter. I am thinking this will be full of stuffed animals before we can say Happy Birthday.
And when they are done, they can throw it all in this handy bag and stick it in a closet.
I am happy with this! Sam liked her present, let's hope Elli likes hers!
(And, I am posting this before we give the present to Elli, I am pretty sure she won't be checking google reader before her 3rd birthday)
Up North
Last weekend we were able to go up north for a long weekend!
It was like an ocean on Lake Michigan...No joke, the roar of the waves and everything....
One of the highlights, fishing for Salmon...It doesn't get much better than this! Usually was are telling my dad, "Dad, it is time to go...We have to go...We said we were going to be home...." This time it wasn't dad holding us up, it was CAREY! I just kept saying, "5 more minutes....10 more minutes...." we had SO much fun!
You know your fish are big when you DRAG them back to the car....
We also got to go to Mike's house and pick apples!
Then we went driving to find some beautiful fall views!
It was a windy day.
Fishtown....I love this place. A true up north spot. I love the super old buildings on the dam.
It was SO fun to see the salmon trying to jump up the dam to spawn. You could watch them jump right out of the water!
All in all, a fantastic weekend! I love Up North!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Blessings
A while back we sang this song at a Bible Study:
Hmmmm...Makes you think about life and what your plans are vs. God's plans.
Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?
What if your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near?
And what if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise?
Hmmmm...Makes you think about life and what your plans are vs. God's plans.
I Samuel 3
With this sleep training, I have been on top of reading my Bible. When Abby is crying in the middle of the night and I am wide awake, that 30 minutes is perfect for reading (and secretly, I am hoping God gives me some sort of wisdom or insight to help Abby soothe herself back to sleep...Hasn't happened yet).
However, sleep training is going great. I fed Abby before I went to bed at 10 last night. She was in her crib till 6:45 this morning. She did wake up crying 2 times in the middle of the night but put herself back to sleep and it only took 15-30 minutes. However, that is a long time with a baby crying in the middle of the night = hard on the momma.
On another note, My friend, Amy, sent me a text yesterday asking how sleep training was going. I love it that I have friends here who know the details of my life and ask me about them.
Anyway, the real reason for this post. I was reading I Samuel 3 last night...Here is the back story. Hannah wanted a baby really bad. She prayed and said "I will give this baby back to you if you give me one." The Lord honored her request and gave her Samuel and she gave him right back to the Lord (The Lord also gave her several other kids after Samuel...). Samuel worked under Eli in the temple. One night Samuel was sleeping in the temple and heard his name called. Three times he woke up and went into Eli's room and said, "You called me, what do you want?" The third time Eli realized that it was the Lord talking to Samuel and told Samuel to say, "Speak Lord for your servant is listening."
A few things that caught my eye about this chapter:
1. In those days the messages from the Lord were very rare and uncommon (vs. 1)
2. Samuel did not "yet" know the voice of the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord (vs. 7)
3. Eli had to TEACH Samuel what to say...because Samuel hadn't heard the voice of the Lord before (vs. 9)
How many times has the Lord tried to call me? I may have not known how to respond or I may have mistaken it for something else. I think this is a great reminder that we all need to be ready to hear what the Lord has to say.
However, sleep training is going great. I fed Abby before I went to bed at 10 last night. She was in her crib till 6:45 this morning. She did wake up crying 2 times in the middle of the night but put herself back to sleep and it only took 15-30 minutes. However, that is a long time with a baby crying in the middle of the night = hard on the momma.
On another note, My friend, Amy, sent me a text yesterday asking how sleep training was going. I love it that I have friends here who know the details of my life and ask me about them.
Anyway, the real reason for this post. I was reading I Samuel 3 last night...Here is the back story. Hannah wanted a baby really bad. She prayed and said "I will give this baby back to you if you give me one." The Lord honored her request and gave her Samuel and she gave him right back to the Lord (The Lord also gave her several other kids after Samuel...). Samuel worked under Eli in the temple. One night Samuel was sleeping in the temple and heard his name called. Three times he woke up and went into Eli's room and said, "You called me, what do you want?" The third time Eli realized that it was the Lord talking to Samuel and told Samuel to say, "Speak Lord for your servant is listening."
A few things that caught my eye about this chapter:
1. In those days the messages from the Lord were very rare and uncommon (vs. 1)
2. Samuel did not "yet" know the voice of the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord (vs. 7)
3. Eli had to TEACH Samuel what to say...because Samuel hadn't heard the voice of the Lord before (vs. 9)
How many times has the Lord tried to call me? I may have not known how to respond or I may have mistaken it for something else. I think this is a great reminder that we all need to be ready to hear what the Lord has to say.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Sleep training - night 1
I have been nervous about this night for a LONG time...And, we needed to do it soon. Abby was getting in the habit of waking up a lot during the night, and when I say a lot...I mean it. I was sometimes waking up every 90 minutes with her...That had to stop. Mommy was about to loose it.
So, last night we started sleep training. Really, Abby doesn't need to eat that often and should be fully capable of sleeping through the night. Steve is wonderful and told me to sleep downstairs. That way, when Abby cries, he will hear her, but will be able to fall back asleep (he has the gift of doing that, I, however, do not...) Also, if some freak accident happened (condo caught on fire, Abby jumped out of her crib, you know, things like that..) Steve would go save Abby.
All that to say, Abby sleeping through the night was GLORIOUS! Yes, we did hear her cry at 2:00 (even me downstairs!) but she went back to sleep. Slept for 7 hours! (I fed her before I went to bed at 11ish and she woke up at 6 to eat again).
I know that is only night one, but my hope is that this gets better and better as time goes on. I am such a happier mama now that I got a FULL nights rest (even though I woke up at 2:00, I don't count that as an interruption, because I didn't even have to get out of bed! I was up for about 6 minutes total!)
Really, I think the sleep training is for me...Not Abby. I am the mama that feels like I need to go rescue her...I am the mama that has no patience for crying at 2:00 am (30 seconds of crying feels like 40 minutes in the middle of the night - you mamas know what I am talking about)....Abby could have slept through the night a long time ago...I just needed to let her do it.
So, last night we started sleep training. Really, Abby doesn't need to eat that often and should be fully capable of sleeping through the night. Steve is wonderful and told me to sleep downstairs. That way, when Abby cries, he will hear her, but will be able to fall back asleep (he has the gift of doing that, I, however, do not...) Also, if some freak accident happened (condo caught on fire, Abby jumped out of her crib, you know, things like that..) Steve would go save Abby.
All that to say, Abby sleeping through the night was GLORIOUS! Yes, we did hear her cry at 2:00 (even me downstairs!) but she went back to sleep. Slept for 7 hours! (I fed her before I went to bed at 11ish and she woke up at 6 to eat again).
I know that is only night one, but my hope is that this gets better and better as time goes on. I am such a happier mama now that I got a FULL nights rest (even though I woke up at 2:00, I don't count that as an interruption, because I didn't even have to get out of bed! I was up for about 6 minutes total!)
Really, I think the sleep training is for me...Not Abby. I am the mama that feels like I need to go rescue her...I am the mama that has no patience for crying at 2:00 am (30 seconds of crying feels like 40 minutes in the middle of the night - you mamas know what I am talking about)....Abby could have slept through the night a long time ago...I just needed to let her do it.
One day I dressed us and realized we both had a pink shirt on and black boot cut pants....
Monday, October 10, 2011
Big House Big Heart Run
Today Steve and I ran a 5K. It was a fun, quick run. We started outside of U of M Stadium (i.e. the Big House for those of you who aren't Ann Arborites) and then ran around the city, and then back into the stadium, down the tunnel and ended on the 50 yard line! It was a fun day!
The run was also hosted remotely in Afghanistan...The group in Afghanistan is working to mentor the Afghan National Army. Love it that we ran "with them."
Also, part of the race money went towards the Program for Neurology and Research Development...Pretty cool seeing as though Abby's brain is always being looked at!
The run was also hosted remotely in Afghanistan...The group in Afghanistan is working to mentor the Afghan National Army. Love it that we ran "with them."
Also, part of the race money went towards the Program for Neurology and Research Development...Pretty cool seeing as though Abby's brain is always being looked at!
Ready for a race Abby?
(she gets distracted sometimes..)
We finished!
Abby was all tuckered out...Slept most of the race.
Amy and I...Amy is so fun. I am glad I met her and sad that I didn't meet her when we both lived in CO about a mile away from each other (her husband was teaching at the AFA and they moved here a month before we did!) We like a lot of the same things and we both understand military life. She had two kids and I am thrilled we are in the same town!
All done...Taking some touristy shots.
Sometimes Abby gets tired of pictures....She is yawning in this one.
Natalie, Amy and I...Natalie is also an AF wife, her husband is getting his degree at U of M too and will return to teach at the AFA. We are all AFA graduate spouses! Probably the only three in Michigan!
And one more for the books...Daddy and Abby love U of M!
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