Can't a girl get some sleep?

I finally have a few minutes to myself. I should be sleeping, but I tried that earlier and it didn't work out. Every time I try to lie down for a few Zs, something happens to prevent it. It's like the process of lying down on my pillow jinxes one of the girls and my hopes of sleep are destroyed. A little background:

I am NOT a morning person. Never have been. I don't do well on little sleep either. Lack of sleep is one of the hardest parts about having kids for me. Ever since Kate was three months old and started sleeping in her crib, things haven't been good. She is capable of sleeping through the night and has done it a few times, but usually wakes up several times a night. Not to eat. Just because. I used to be able to just give her a binkie and she'd go right back to sleep. She finally started improving, then got even worse. Then things were slowly getting better and she got shots. Things haven't been the greatest since then. She doesn't want to go back to sleep after waking up. I resorted to feeding her or rocking her just so I could get back in bed as soon as possible. She would still wake up several times, so I decided we needed to let her cry it out. She had already learned to fall asleep on her own at bedtime, but it still didn't help her sleep through the night. So we let her cry in the middle of the night. Then that would wake Ada up. I now have to turn on music in Ada's room every time Kate starts crying.

In the meantime, Ada has had sleep woes of her own. She pretty much stopped napping, but I would still give her quiet time during Kate's afternoon nap so I would have a little time to myself. But that ended up being too late in the day because sometimes she would fall asleep. Even if I woke her up soon afterward, she wouldn't go to bed at night. Tyler and I would be just getting into bed and she'd start knocking on her door. No matter what, she wouldn't fall asleep until after 11:00. She would still wake up at the same time in the morning, so she was extra grumpy the next day due to lack of sleep. Thus began the vicious cycle. So I now have to prevent her from napping so she will go to bed at night.

Since I haven't been getting much sleep (and broken sleep at that), I try to nap during the day. I've tried to nap during Ada's quiet time and Kate's afternoon nap, but then Ada will fall asleep. I can't even go there anymore. So I put on shows for Ada during Kate's morning nap. Yesterday, Kate woke up after 40 minutes. Today, Ada started knocking on my door and in the process woke Kate up. No matter what I do, I just can't get a good nap in! Anyway, last night Kate finally slept until after 5:00 without waking up, but what happened? Ada started yelling in the middle of the night that she wanted a CD on. Tyler and I were both startled awake and he went in to help her. But she just wanted Mommy. So I went in and for no reason at all, she suddenly started FREAKING OUT. She was screaming and crying and bucking (I don't know how else to describe it) in her bed. I couldn't do anything to calm her down. I turned on her CD and went back to bed. The screaming didn't stop. I finally went back in and tried everything to get her to calm down. I asked her if she was scared, and just like a switch was flipped, she went silent and then said quietly, "Yeah." I put her back in bed and that was that. She is crazy!

Maybe one day soon the planets will align and both girls will be good AT THE SAME TIME. Until then, I guess I'll have to be my grumpy, unproductive, tired self. Wow, that was long. I'm done complaining.

Two-and-a-half

My little princess is 2 1/2. It has gone by so fast, yet she somehow seems older to me than that. It's hard to explain. Maybe it's because she has always been so darn smart. I got an e-mail today with a milestone chart on it. By 31-32 months (older than she is), most kids can say their name. I think Ada could say hers around 8 or 9 months (she does has an easy name). At 33-34 months, most kids can name one color. She has known several since she was a year-and-a-half. At 35-36 months, most kids can use 3-4 words in a sentence...well, you get the idea.

Despite filling (and sometimes exceeding) her daily tantrum quota, she has been pretty good lately. As long as I play with her (and play EXACTLY how she wants to play), she's happy. She wants to play with her Mickey Mouse clubhouse ALL the time. Lately I've also had to role play scenes from Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with her over and over. She's very imaginative.

She's been making a few friends from the neighborhood. She was inviting to a princess birthday party and had so much fun. She is also involved in a neighborhood music class right now with other kids her age. She absolutely loves it. Her favorite things from the class are singing, dancing, and playing instruments (especially the triangle). It's fun to see her interact with other kids.

She still loves Goofy, but she's slowly morphing into a Minnie lover. She has become SO girly as of late. She has been dressing up daily for months now, but she is suddenly obsessed with the color pink. She only wants to eat on pink dishes, which means I have to do a lot of hand washing. She now only wants to play with Minnie and Daisy in her clubhouse and I have to be all the boys. She loves Disney princesses, and I'm afraid she will soon join the throng of little girls who eat, sleep, and drink princess. Hopefully we can vary her interests enough that that won't happen for a while.

Finally, a few funny things she's been has said lately: "Oh, that's lovely!", "I want a wife that will work by my side.", and "Mommy, is there something wrong with you?" She makes me laugh every day. She's like my little friend. I just love this girl!

Family update

Ada:

-has stopped napping. She goes in her room for "quiet time". She usually doesn't want to stay very long and starts knocking until I let her out. Today she's been in there for around 2 1/2 hours (more like how her naps used to be). Ah, bliss!
-is obsessed with her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Santa couldn't have found anything that she would have liked more.
-has a pink polka dot dress that she wants to wear over her clothes every day so she can be Minnie.
-is also obsessed with all things princess and is wearing a princess dress if not her Minnie dress.
-is very imaginative and can play by herself for long periods of time.
-still loves her baby sister.
-is now in the "big" nursery and still loves going.
-has a mind of her own. She likes us to play with her, but always tells us that we're doing things wrong. Everything, play or not, has to be done her way or WATCH OUT!
-is super smart but not yet potty trained.

Kate:

-finally takes good naps in her crib and sleeps much better at night.
-had her six month check-up yesterday. 12th percentile for weight and 89th for length.
-got four shots yesterday. :(
-has the most adorable chub (especially on her thighs). Not sure how she can be heavier than only 12% of kids her age.
-won't drink out of a bottle or cup. We're working on that.
-rolls from back to front now, but would rather scoot. She scoots backwards while laying on her back. She can get all around a room this way.
-is super sweet, calm, and happy. She smiles like there's no tomorrow.

Tyler:

-has been sick for over three weeks. He has a horrible cough and doesn't feel well, but still works long hours every day.
-has a new calling as the Welfare Specialist. He goes to people's houses who are in financial trouble and help get them back on their feet. It seems like a tough job, but if anyone can do it, he can.
-spent half the weekend playing Sim City 4 and still can't understand why I have no desire to join him.
-reads books like crazy. He has seemingly stopped blogging, but updates his book review blog frequently.
-pulled out a few little surprises for Christmas. Unbeknown to me, he got up early several mornings to work on staining and putting together a bench for our piano. A Christmas miracle! And he made Ada two cute CDs. One had Christmas songs and the audio to The Grinch and Frosty the Snowman. He recorded himself reading several of Ada's books for the other CD and added Disney songs between. It was the cutest thing, and she loves it!
-is pumped for the season premiere of American Idol tonight.

I:

-am going to finish Jane Eyre tonight. I love it! I read it in 9th grade and, as with most school books, didn't really care for it and forgot everything about it. I've reread most of the books from high school English and love them. There's a reason they're classics. I can now start my book club book (and hopefully have it finished before we meet next week).
-have been so lazy lately. I need to get my butt in gear and clean the kitchen floor (among other things).
-have really been enjoying teaching new member discussions as part of my calling as a ward missionary. I've learned a lot, and love helping others learn as well.
-took a shower and a nap today before noon. Thank goodness for Disney movies.
-miss my sisters.

The year is dying...

Actually, it died almost two weeks ago. I've been so lazy lately. My sister Emily has been in town the last little while and I keep thinking that I wish I was more like her. That girl never stops! She is the opposite of lazy.

Anyway, here is a recap of last month:

Kate started eating solids. She still struggles a bit, but she's getting better.


Kate turned 5 months. I've been taking a picture of her every month, and it's fun to compare.


Tyler and I went to his work Christmas party at La Caille. It was fun to dress up and pretend like we were rich.


Ada met Santa at our ward party and told him she wanted a Goofy toy. Kate was asleep, so didn't get to partake in the fun of sitting on a strange man's lap.


I did lots of baking, and even got a little help.


Went to several family parties, including the Lisonbee party where there was a pinata for the kids and a surprise visitor.


Kate got a turn this time. She was milliseconds away from crying, but then somehow changed her demeanor. This Santa gave her a little farm toy that makes noise.


Ada loved this Santa every bit as much as the last. He gave her a baby doll, which she lovingly named Chewybacon (thanks to Tyler's suggestion). She was so thrilled that she interrupted someone's else's lap time to thank him.


Tyler's parents acted out the nativity this year for the first time. Ada at first liked the idea...


...but then wasn't so thrilled. I had to take her upstairs so her screaming wouldn't disrupt.


Christmas Eve evening. I love the girls in matching jammies!

We had to wake Ada up Christmas morning, but she was thrilled to say the least. She didn't know what hit her.


Santa brought Ada a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and she has been obsessed with it since. She told me to open the rest of her presents because she just wanted to play with her clubhouse. She still sleeps with it, hugs it, and says she loves it.


Kate tried out her cousins' hew horse at Grandma's house.


Ada, of course, took a turn too.


My out-of-state siblings all came into town (except for Abby, who gets home in less than two months!), but we were only all together for one day. Here are all the dudes in an intense game of Blokus.

All in all, a great holiday season. I loved experiencing everything with Ada. Not much can top the year we had last year, but I think this year will be pretty darn good. I'm not one to get caught up in the doom and gloom that everyone is scared about. This year I hope to get more organized, lose the extra baby weight, and help my family eat healthier (among other things). Happy 2009!

Happy 6 months

Was there ever a sweeter baby?

Sports and sleep

This year in college football has been as crazy as ever. BYU, despite having 10 wins, had a disappointing season. The Utes surprised me. I didn't think they had a chance against Alabama. They were good all season, but they didn't seem THAT good. They now have a legitimate argument at being national champions. Tyler and I are currently watching the "national championship" game. It's tied 14-all. I'm cheering for 'homa. I hate Stoops, but I can't stand Florida, including Meyer and the stupid gator chomp. The BCS needs to go away. There needs to be a playoff, but they also need to get rid of the automatic bids. That, to me, is what is most corrupt.

In other news, I finally got a decent sleep last night. Kate only woke me up twice before getting up just before 8:00 a.m. to eat. She has been giving me fits at night for the last few months, and it's been worse the last week or so. I hope this continues (and improves). But she's finally napping well in her crib. She's still an angel during the day and smiles like crazy. Ada? She's always been an amazing sleeper, but she give me fits during the day. She has pretty much stopped napping. And she has lots of anger.

(Florida just took the lead on a FG.)