Finally...some sleep

I cannot believe it. That last two nights Luke has finally gotten some sleep. I am not exaggerating when I say that over the last month and a half Luke would wake up between 10-15 times a night. Every once and awhile we would get a night where it would only be 4-6 times. That didn't leave any of us feeling well rested. The last two nights I have given Luke a lavender bath and massage after. We normally do bath time and a massage, but the lavender seems to do the trick. He giggles when I give him a massage with the massage gel. And he normally couldn't care less when I have used his normal lotion. The night before last I put him to bed around 6:00 and then was reading The No-Cry Sleep Solution, waiting for him to wake up. Finally at 9:45 he started to stir. By the time I went to his room he was already back to sleep. I made a bottle and set it next to him in case he woke up again. He didn't wake up again until 5:00 am! I thought something was wrong with him, so I woke up several times to check on him. Last night he woke up at 9:00 and 3:30, then at 7:00 for his day to start. Thank God for the sleepy time lavender bath products that we received as a gift. I don't know if that is what is working, but I am not going to stop using it anytime soon.
Now that I posted this, I am sure we will be awake a bunch tonight.

Family Picture

We finally got a family picture. I think this means we are done having kids.

Susie's Dance Recital

Life With Two Kids

It has no been a month that Ryan and I have been the parents of two amazing blessings. It has definitely been a transition for us. We are very tired from not sleeping through the night. I just keep on reminding myself that one day I will sleep again. Luke is going to bed between 6:00 and 7:00 now which is much, much better. But, both my kids have been waking up at about 5:30 in the morning. Those of you who know me well, know that I am not a morning person. Thankfully neither are my kids. They wake slowly and are pretty quiet in the morning which I appreciate. It gives me time to drink my coffee and not have to talk for a little bit.

Luke is adjusting well. He is much happier then when he first came home. I feel like we are all getting more comfortable with each other. He loves his big sister. She can always make him smile. He still wakes up every 45 min to an hour at night and needs some comfort. He has been saying "Dadda", he will give you "five", do "so big", and today I got him to clap. Poor guy has been sick twice since we have been home, he is getting teeth like crazy, and he is in a new place with new people. The other day we were in the mall and he was waving at everyone we passed from his stroller. It was pretty cute. When we are in crowds he can get a bit overwhelmed. Especially when lots of people are wanting to see him. I have learned to take him somewhere quiet to get him calmed down. He looks to both Ryan and I for comfort now, it is nice.

Susie is doing well too. She loves her brother so much and sometimes just can't her her hands off of him. She helps me a lot and I am so grateful for their age difference. (Mom, I spelled grateful right this time.) I do feel like I have to tell her "no" so much right now. I feel like that is what I do all day. She is having a hard time listening right now and most of the time I am having to hold Luke so I can't give her the same attention that she was getting as an only child. Ryan and I have been trying to each spend some special time with her. For the most part we have been staying at home to minimize stress for Luke and Susie is getting a little crazy. She is use to me playing and entertaining her most of the time and going to church three times a week. That hasn't been happening as much. So, we decided that she is going to start preschool. I called the school that we wanted to send her to. I wanted to find out if there were any openings starting in Jan. They are opening a new 4 year old class this week! Perfect timing. I was happy because this way all the kids will be new and starting up at the same time. She will be going Mon/ Wed/ Fri for 1/2 day. I am kinda sad that she is starting because I know once she goes to school she will be in school from then on. I am so use to her being around all the time and I am going to miss her. She just needs something more. I don't know if that makes sense or not. But, I am so excited for her to get her energy out and be back to playing with her peers like she would normally do at church. She needs that interaction so bad. She is getting bored at home. This morning we have already played candy land and hind 'n go seek.

I also bought the book Creative Corrections and have started reading it. I am hoping it will help me encourage her more, rather than always telling her "no", or "don't do that" over and over. So far I have only read a few chapters, but it is really good and I am excited to start using the great ideas in there.

Yuck

Susie throws up super easy. She always has, even as a baby she would throw up if she cried too hard or didn't like the texture of food. She has thrown up from seeing her own boogers, smelling Ryan's morning breath, seeing snakes on TV, and putting too much food in her mouth. In the last six months she has thrown up three times in the car. All on days that I was home by myself. Yesterday it happened again. She drank her milk too fast and we were on our way to small group. She said, "Mommy, my tummy hurts, I drank my milk too fast." She had that familiar look on her face and I instantly said, "Susie please don't throw up!" As I was saying it she did. Everywhere. I hate throw up, especially in the car. Poor Susie, she wanted to go to small group so that she could play with her friends. She asked me if she could go in and take her clothes off so she could still play. That way nobody would get throw up on them. I obviously told her no.