1.1.12

2012 didn't have the best start for us. I woke up to the sound of water rushing through our basement. The water line that runs to our fridge had split, and water was pouring from the ceiling all over the basement. It looked like probably about 2-3 inches of standing water in spots, and yet Josh still wanted to clean it up on his own initially. I called a cleaning company in town that does 24 hour emergency water extraction, and he was in and out before 10am.
In the meantime, we sent Wyatt to Josh's grandparents. Hanging with his favorite great grandparents = no nap. No nap almost always = cranky, rude, short tempered Wyatt. Within 5 minutes of coming home he was trying to bend Paige's fingers back. Between 5-6pm, he spent most of it in time outs because of hitting (the dog, Paige and Josh). After we started supper, he got another time out for trying to hit me with his fork (I'll avoid using the word "stab" here, because I don't think he didn it on purpose, but it was more of a stab than a hit). Then he sat there, alone, until bathtime, because he refused to eat. That kid is so stubborn. Surprisingly though, after his bath he didn't complain one bit and went right to bed. Just tired, I guess, but I was growing weary of our pint sized dictator.

12.31.11

Happy New Year!

12.30.11

Paige got this doll for Christmas, and she just loves it. In a really intense (violent?) sort of way, as you can see. The doll giggles when you push on it's stomach, and Paige has figured out if she headbutts her, she can make the doll giggle. It's really quite amusing, and hopefully I can grab a video of it to share too. :)

12.28.11

Well, after several weeks of MANY night time wake-ups and repeated failed attempts to transfer a sleeping baby to her crib, I caved. I'd been trying to put her down drowsy, rub her back, sing to her, etc to no avail. She still screamed - or would try to get up to play. So tonight, I decided I'd try the Ferber method of "crying it out". We tried it with Wyatt and got nowhere (one terrible, terrible night we kept at it for FOUR hours at the urging of my doctor and friends and family to "really try". After four miserable hours, I went in there and he grabbed my hand and fell asleep in less than 3 minutes - so you can understand my resistance to CIO.). I put Paige down, and right away she wanted to play. Gave her a kiss goodnight, turned on her Sleep Sheep, gave her a small blanket and left the room. She cried. I waited. Went back in and repeated that whole she-bang 4 times, and she fell asleep after 45 minutes on her own. Initially I didn't think it was going to work, because after a brief period of silence, she started babbling and giggling...but I guess she babbled and giggled herself to sleep. :)
The real test comes tomorrow when Josh has to do it (I have plans in the evening and won't be home for bedtime). He's a serious softie for his baby girl, but he also was getting frustrated with the 3+ hour long bedtime struggle, so hopefully he remembers that. :)

12.26.11

I hope everyone has recovered from the Christmas madness! We still have one gathering to tackle, but thankfully Josh has the week off, so we can all relax a little longer.

Does anyone else find that Christmas with toddlers/babies is very overwhelming for them? Everyone was so generous to my children, and it really is so appreciated that so many people wanted to give them gifts (even great-great aunts and uncles!!), but I don't think Wyatt even knows where to start. He opened a few small trucks and cars and has been sticking to those for the last few days. Paige, of course, does not discriminate, and has chewed on almost everything we opened for her. :P We put the majority of the toys in the basement and will haul them out later on in the year.

It was lovely to see my brother and sister in law (and niece) again, but I find that once you have toddlers, visiting during family gatherings does not happen! I noticed this at our extended family gathering - after we went home, I realized I had hardly talked to anyone at all. Oh well, in a few years it will be different and the kids will be off in a corner playing while the adults secretly drink Bailey's out of a coffee cup.

12.22.11

Wyatt has really mastered the 2 toddler games that we downloaded for him - a memory card game and a puzzle game. The only thing is, when something does go wrong (he taps something he doesn't want to, for example), he loses his mind. So unfortunately, the last 2 times that he's used the tablet have ended in time outs - even with time limits and warnings before hand. :S
Not sure why the back of his head looks like it's glowing - maybe that's what technology does to 3 year olds.

12.21.11

If there was audio to go with this, it would be: "pbfftttttttthhhhhhhhhhh."