I don't want to!

Oh, our sweet little Ella, who was always (for the most part) so willing to go along with whatever Mom and Dad said, has now turned two and has decided she does in fact have a mind of her own. How I miss the days of simple obedience.

Something turned on in her brain a few weeks ago that made her realize she often has a better idea of how things should go than mine. Mostly this consists of her not wanting to take naps--EVER, as well as never wanting to leave anyplace and have to go home. No matter where we are. . .even if it is as boring a location as the grocery store. . .we always hear "No go home" from our sweet Ella. Poor thing hates her home and is never tired. What will we do?



I took this picture last Sunday after I went in her room and tried to wake her up--she didn't fall asleep until after 4 and it was 5:15 or so when I was trying to wake her. This is a common scene in her room now at nap time. She will take out and read every book, stand up and look out the window, and do whatever else she can to entertain herself rather than sleep. At least she still is pretty obedient at staying in her bed until I tell her she can get up. She usually eventually falls asleep if you leave her alone long enough. On Sunday it just made me laugh that by the time she finished with all of her books she was too tired to move them off her bed, and instead curled up in whatever corner she could find to fall asleep.

You've gotta hate, I mean LOVE, the mind of a 2-year-old!

Room Sharing 101

I need some help from all you moms(or dads)out there who have tried the room-sharing thing with your kidlets. How do you make that transition from seperate bedrooms into one?

The background:
Maggie has been sleeping in our room since she was born. I, being the incredibly light sleeper that I am, am desperate to get her into Ella's room so I can sleep a little more soundly. At about 3 months Maggie started sleeping through the night for about a week's period of time--bless her little heart. I decided it was time to make the move and put her in Ella's room. Here's the problem: at this point Ella decided to start waking up and crying out to me multiple times a night. What?? How frustrating is that? Of course, this began waking Maggie up too. And in the middle of the night when I want to go back to sleep, the quickest way to get Maggie back to sleep is to feed her. So, no surprises here, that is just what I did. After about 2 weeks of getting up 4-5 times a night between children trying to get them to fall back asleep, I gave up. I moved Maggie back in our room and now she is back to waking up once a night to eat (but that's better than twice a night like it was when she was in Ella's room).

What to do, what to do? I would SO love for Maggie and Ella to start sharing a room again, and I realize the only way they will get used to it is by just letting them do it. But where and when do I start? Is Maggie too young? Do I need to wait it out a little longer until she is older? How old--6 months, 1 year? I'm just not sure where to begin. TO be honest, I'm really not worried about Maggie waking Ella up at all. Ella does sleep pretty soundly, plus I feel if Maggie wakes her up Ella is old enough to just tell her to go back to sleep. But Maggie is a different story. If Ella wakes her up, then what do I do? I obviously don't want to feed her every time she wakes up and start having her expect that all of the time. Can I just put them in the same room, give them a couple of nights to themselves, let them wake each other up and then they will just be used to it? I'm just thinking out loud here. . .

I'm really not sure. I would love any tips, tricks, or advice from those of you who have been down this road before--or even if you know someone who has. Please educate me--share your knowledge!

A Few Videos

These are mostly for the grandparents. . . I know the rest of you probably won't think these are that entertaining!

We have very few videos of Ella since she is a little camera shy and not much of a performer. However, on Sunday after her nap she woke up and wanted to show off a little more than usual. We were able to capture her doing some of her latest habits.

The first one shows her doing her new "trick". She figured it out a few weeks ago and now will randomly surprise us with this new expression. It always makes us laugh--but we're her parents, we'd laugh at almost anything!

The other two are of her singing. She is singing constantly now everywhere we go. It;s usually ABCs, Twinkle, Twinkle, or I Am a Child of God.

Enjoy!

3 Months

Maggie turned three months this past week. I think time goes by even quicker with #2.

She often sleeps through the night, but is a TERRIBLE sleeper during the day.

She is giggling, cooing, and even rolling over from her tummy to her back (but only to the right side)! What fun, what fun! And I am always one who thinks it just gets better and better as they grow!

She spits up like a champ! No reflux though, she is what the pediatrician called a "Happy spit-upper". She overfills her tank and then smiles from ear to ear as it all comes out time and time again, much to my dismay. I don't even notice that rotten milk smell that is constantly all over me anymore (however, Brad might).

She also has the best bald spot you could ever imagine--there isn't a strand of hair on that bald spot. . . cutest cue ball you ever did see!

We love our Maggie Waggie Moo Boo Boo (as Ella calls her), what a great daughter and sister she is! Can't wait to see what is in store for us in the next 3 months. . .


I tried to capture some of Maggie's many different faces at 3 months: