Friday, December 30, 2011

Two is Better Than One








Busy Boy

Here is how the cool boys wear their clothes...


Or maybe just the boys who are too busy to sit still and have their pants buttoned up! I LOVE having a busy busy boy!!!!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Fun

The kids are finally playing together on their own! This is so great!!! The video is blurry in spots, but at least you can still hear them having fun.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Merry Christmas

This Christmas was very low key for us. We stayed home!!! It was just our little family of 4 (5 including Crash)...and we had a great time. Of course we missed our family, but it was nice to be home and not have any schedules to follow.

Christmas Eve we did some shopping, went to church, went out to eat and then came home to watch movies and eat snacks! After the kids went to bed we put out the gifts we had wrapped...and of course Santa came :)

Christmas morning Saffryn woke up and ran to Pierce's room where Pierce and I were playing. She was excited and actually remembered that it was a special day. We got Daddy who was still sleeping and came into the living room to see what was there. Saffryn ran straight to her pile of presents and she went ooohhh. Then she wanted to open them and play with everything! Pierce was the funniest little boy he stayed really far away during the gift opening and just played with this old pink hacky sack of Saffryn's. He literally stayed there for almost an hour. So I opened his gifts...hehe. He eventually warmed up and started exploring the gifts and goodies.

We spent the rest of the day playing with toys, eating snacks, went outside and just spent time together! It was really fun. Both of the kids were fighting off colds which was a major bummer though.

It is now the second day after Christmas and all the decorations and toys are put away...I KNOW...what a scrooge I am! I usually leave the decorations up until after New Years but with Dan being home I decided to just tackle it now and be done with it.


We are sitting by the tree opening gifts while he is sitting over there playing by himself...hahah!

He loves that old hacky sack...who would have figured?
I had planned to have a cute pj photo of her...but this is the outfit she chose: a top on backwards and underwear inside out :-/
Surrounded by toys! We are all so spoiled!!!!
Dan got the kids a remote control car...they both loved it! Pierce was always trying to chase after it.
He made it! Having fun together!
Pierce in his new hat getting ready to go outside!
Pierce and Momma
Safffryn in her new hat...trying to get a picture of her is SO hard!
Hat hair!
Daddy and baby
Well that was our quiet and relaxing Christmas this year! Looking forward to 2012 and all that it brings us!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Is It Spring Yet?

This weekend we got to play outside! It was so nice outside!!! The only problem is it gave me a serious itch for spring...uh oh. This may be a long winter for me...Oh well! Enjoy a few pictures!!!

Playing in his bouncer outside. He likes being outside, too!

She picked out her outfit today...hehe!

Loves playing on her bike...aaahhh spring come quickly!!!

Such a happy boy!
Love her!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Defeats and Victories

Well to sum up my first week of sleep training Pierce I think I will use one word. FAIL. HAHA! I knew it was going to be hard...but it was even harder than I was expecting. I knew it would be an adjustment for both of us, but I figured it would get easier as the week went on...but instead it became almost impossible. The first time I used the method it took about 25 minutes to put him to sleep which I was pretty encouraged about. But he woke up almost every hour that night and by 3am was not going to sleep without nursing. Well the next day he took about 25 minutes to go to sleep using the method so I thought...ok I can do this. Well he slept a little longer that night but when he woke up he was screaming at me for almost two hours. Rocking him was not comforting him, putting him in his crib was not working either. It was really stressful.  That was basically the rest of the week for me. I was completely stressed and exhausted. He REALLY fought me on this method.

BUT the most frustrating (to me) part was Dan put him to sleep a couple of nights and it took him seriously 2 minutes to put him to sleep using the method. He did not fight him at all. Then we had planned for Dan to wake up with him during the weekend and put him back to sleep and wouldn't you know he slept through the night. UGH. What am I doing wrong??? So the bottom line is he can put himself to sleep...he just wont for me. I don't know why but that really upset me. It made me feel like I am doing everything wrong. But after talking to Dan and my Mom and MIL I felt a bit better. The reason he is fighting me is because I am very comforting to him and he doesn't want me to put him down. Dan does not have the same relationship with him right now so it is not as hard for Pierce to be put down by him. So after thinking about it and digesting it some more we decided not to push the sleep training to much right now. When Dan is home he is going to put him to sleep and get Pierce used to going to sleep without me. When/if (remember he is mr. inconsistent) Pierce wakes up at night I will nurse him and put him back to sleep because this is the easiest and fastest way for both of us to go back to sleep. Eventually we will have Dan wake up with him at night and put him to sleep and test to see if he is actually hungry or just wants the comfort momma brings him. We are very very slowly going to transition him out of rocking/nursing him to sleep. Apparently neither one of us is ready for a full on cold turkey approach.

It is hard to admit defeat. But right now I have to...we are not ready...well I guess I am not ready. Pierce is ready (for Dan) and Dan is ready...but I just cannot seem to fight and win this battle right now.

I am sick of second guessing myself. The weird thing is when I was a teacher or a nanny I didn't do this to myself. Of course I was conscientious and thoughtful about what I was doing with the children but I didn't over think EVERYTHING. But I do now that I am a parent. I would not have thought twice about rocking a 7 month old to sleep for bed/naps while I was nannying or in a childcare center so why am I so worried about it now??? In both a nanny setting and a classroom setting I remember rocking 15-18 month olds to sleep and not even blinking an eye about it. And yes they naturally grew out of being rocked and it was pretty fluid (and I am sure they are well adjusted loved children now)...why oh why am I second guessing it now with my sweet baby boy????

Anyway...can you tell I am torn about this subject. Did anyone ever tell you being a parent is hard? No...no one. Well let me be the first...LOL!

Before I wrap this jumbley blog post up we do have a victory...Pierce took a bottle this weekend!!! This is such great news! This means I can more easily get a break and Dan gets a chance to continue to bond and grow closer to him. And of course this is one step closer to eventually not needing momma at night time and possibly sleeping consistently through the night. You know what is so funny...he took the bottle and sucked it down like he had been doing it his whole life. I cannot figure this kid out. He is so not like Saffryn (or me) at all!

Until next time....

Monday, December 19, 2011

Gems 2

More hilarious conversations with Miss Sassy Pants!

I can't remember what we were talking about but Dan said something about pathetic lifeforms.
Saffryn looked at him with a puzzled look.
Dan to Saffryn: "Are you a pathetic life form?"
Saffryn: "No, I'm just really happy!"


Me to Saffryn: "What is your name?"
Saffryn: "My name Saffryn"
Me: "Good job. Did you know your full name is Saffryn Mahoney?"
Saffryn: "NO MOMMA! Not a hoe-nee. You a Hoe-nee"
Dan: "Yes, you are Saffryn Mahoney."
Saffryn: "No I'm not. I'm 2!"

Saffryn: "Look at me momma, I'm standing like a big girl." (picking up on what we are saying to Pierce. HAHA)

Saffryn: "Momma what you doing?" (We hear this phrase A LOT)
Me: "I am just washing the dishes, what are you doing?"
Saffryn: "I'm just watching you."

Saffryn at a parking lot pointing to a woman: "Who is that?"
Me: "A lady."
Saffryn: "A lady and the tramp?" (One of her favorite movies)
Me: Burst out laughing
Saffryn: laughing... "OH BOY"
Me: still laughing
Saffryn: "Lady and the tramp..hahah good one"
Me: Where does she come up with this stuff???

Saffryn: "Mamma, may I see your guacamole?"--looking at my tummy
Me: "Do you mean my mole?" I have one on my side by my belly button
Saffryn: "Ya."
Then she pulls up her shirt. "Where is my guacamole? I don't have one."

While in the car driving:
Saffryn: "OUCH"
Me: "What happened?"
Saffryn: "Piercey punched me."--They are literally 2 feet away from each other...not physically possible!
Me: "Nice try you faker. He didn't do that."
Saffryn: "Oh ya. He is resting."

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Pulling Up

This little boy is so strong! I can't believe he is already pulling up on things. He is changing so quickly!

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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Sleep Training

As you may have read from previous posts Pierce has not been the most consistent sleeper in the last few (like 4 or 5) months. It has been so weird because he will have a few days of sleeping through the night followed by weeks of waking up at various times throughout the night. I kept hoping that I would figure out the common thread that led to the good sleeps...but I have finally come to grips with reality. Those were flukes.

I feel like this is such a hard place to be at as a parent. Or at least it is to me. I have loved rocking him to sleep at night. I have loved nursing him whenever he wanted. Those moments are so precious and few. It was our time. It was something that no one else could or did do with him. It is just our thing. I know that as he grows up we will have other special moments...of course I know that. But still it is so hard for me to say goodbye to these sweet and tender baby moments.

BUT I am really tired. I am also realizing that it is not just going to get better on its own. I know how hard this is going to be on both of us...and I think it will only get harder the longer I wait. So with a sad and heavy heart I am starting the sleep training process.

With Saffryn we did the cry it out method. I have no regrets about it because she responded so well to it. The first week we tried it I think the longest I had to let her cry was 15-20 minutes and she started sleeping through the night fairly quickly after that.  so before Thanksgiving I decided I had had enough waking up and I was going to get tough. I was prepared to let Pierce cry it out for 20-30 minutes like I did before. So when 2am rolled around I was tired enough to be stubborn I let him cry for an hour. Yes ONE HOUR! He still wasn't asleep. He was actually so upset it took me another hour just to calm him down and put him to sleep. It was torture. Dan and I tried a few other times with the same result. It was not going to work for him...and let's be honest...it wasn't going to work for me either!

So I just decided to keep rocking him and nursing him. I wasn't ready to let him cry any longer than that just for the sake of being stubborn. And there were times when he would sleep through the night so I thought...hey this is working. Except all the other times when it didn't.

So while talking to my mother about this, she sent me this CD. On the inside cover of this cd is a sleep method to try...I hope saying their secrets wont get me in trouble...LOL. But basically they suggest rocking the baby until they are drowsy then putting them in the crib awake but drowsy (while the cd is playing softly in the background). They will learn to put themselves to sleep in the crib instead of your arms. If the baby cries you pat them to soothe them letting them cry for only 2 min. If they are still crying pick them up and repeat until they fall asleep in the crib. Follow the same guidelines when they wake up in the night.

I thought this may work better for Pierce than just letting him cry. It teaches him how to self-soothe instead of forcing him to get tired and give up. For some babies like Saffryn crying for a bit forced her to learn how to soothe. But for babies like Pierce who is a snuggler by nature and apparently super stubborn this method doesn't work.

So anyway I am going to give this a try for a few weeks and really see if it helps him sleep more consistently at night. What do I have to lose at this point..hehe! So wish us luck and wait to hear back from me.

Afternoon

Here is a typical afternoon for us:

Pierce has woken up from his nap!

It is of course a family affair to come get him.

Big boy getting ready to pull up!
Now this little monkey decided to climb up

That didn't work so she got her stool and tried again

She was quiet proud of herself...I should have rebuked her..but she is so cute :)

Come on out you little monkey

Crash playing with a toy, Pierce crawling around

Playing together!
Welp there it is...a typical afternoon for us 4 ;)

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Special Drinks

Dan and I have always loved getting drinks. We stop at fast food places, gas stations, etc just to get a drink of some kind. This love of drinks has been transferred to Saffryn. We call them, "Special Drinks."

Some of our stops include:
Sonic for a limeade or slush of some kind
Braums for a milkshake
Starbucks for a strawberries 'n' cream frap
Quicktrip for a lemonade or sometimes a sprite...I know I know judge judge judge...yikes!

It has been so fun to get to share this with her. One of my best friends encouraged me to try hot chocolate with her. She does with her son and he really enjoys it. It is kind of a tricky drink. You have to make sure it is hot enough to stay hot chocolate, but cool enough so she can gulp it down :) I am so glad we get to add this on the list of special drinks we can go out and get!!!



I am excited for Pierce to get old enough to enjoy this tradition with us. I hope he loves it as much as we do! I know one day they will realize "Special Drinks" are just regular drinks that you get at the store. I also hope they realize that the special part about it is getting them and enjoying them together!

Getting "Special Drinks" is one of my favorite things to do as a family!

Monday, December 12, 2011

You Better Not Shout


You better not cry, you better not pout I'm telling you why...Pierce will take you out. Santa...you better watch your back. I'm just sayin'
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Friday, December 9, 2011

6 months

I am a little behind on this. My little boy is now 7 months old!!! These last 2 months have been filled with milestones!




Stats:
Weight: 20lbs 1oz (85%)
Height: 28.5 inches (95%)
Wearing: 12m clothes, size 3 diapers




Solid foods:
This has actually kind of been a dud. We have tried rice cereal, bananas and have started oatmeal. He is really not that interested. I can barely get him to eat a tablespoon. SO different from Saffryn who would eat bowl after bowl. He hates the texture of it, even if it is basically liquid. The weird thing is he seems so interested when we are eating...LOL. Oh who knows!!

Crawling:
Such a big boy!!! He is crawling everywhere. I thought he would love this new sense of independence but he is even more clingy if that was even possible. He now just crawls to me and follows me around. It is really sweet most of the time! He has a serious case of "momma's boy"!






Pulling Up:
He is able to pull of on some lower items and get to his knees with higher things. He is SO strong!!!

Sleeping:
We are on day 6 or 7 of him sleeping through the night! Yippee!!! He has been so weird about sleeping. He was a really good sleeper the first few months of his life. Then he started getting weird and waking up a lot. Then he had this weird period of complete inconsistency. We would literally not have any two nights the same. He would sleep all the way through the night one night only to have him wake up 3 times the next night. But I think we have finally figured it out. I still rock him to sleep at night...I am just not ready to give that up yet. Call me crazy!



Language:
He has started making some babbling noises! It is so crazy and makes him seem like such a big boy. He can now respond to his name. How cool!!! He laughs so much. He is really starting to understand things around him. We have started doing sign language with him. We shall see when he picks it up on his own....probably a few months from now! He will respond to "No" when I say it (usually when changing his wiggly butt) he actually sits still for a minute.

Overall:
He is such a sweet and sensitive boy. I have been wondering if he is teething because he has been extra clingy and semi-cranky...but no teeth have popped up yet. I hate to admit it, but I think you do treat the second child differently than the first. I hold him all the time, I rock him to sleep still, I have not made him "cry it out" like I did with Saffryn. It is not because I love him more, I love both of my children with all I have. It is that I now see how fast it goes. I see how insignificant these little things are now. I was SO worried about creating bad habits with Saffryn. I wish I would have held her more and just relaxed more with her. The good news is she is doing just fine and I get to hug her and give her lots of kisses now! But it has changed my parenting and I am just trying to soak up as much as possible with Pierce because I only get this first year once and it goes by so fast (could explain the clingy momma's boy thing I have going on here...hahahahaha). Oh well I love him. He is my little boy. ALWAYS will be my little boy!