Sleep Training part 2

When we first started making Tommy "cry it out" so we could all get some sleep at night, I hated it. I set a timer so I'd know when it had finally been 15 minutes and I could go rescue the sweetest most hysterical baby I'd ever known. But I did it anyway because "you only have to do it for a few nights and then never again."

Apparently never is a relative term.

Now that Tommy's sleeping in a big fat mattress with no walls, he isn't thrilled when we close his door after wishing him a good night's sleep.

After roughly 25 minutes of the screaming and wall pounding I started counting seconds between his outbursts. It's really no different from counting seconds between popcorn kernels popping.

Only instead of getting closer to a delicious bowl of popcorn, you're getting closer to the child giving in and falling asleep with just the top half of his body on the mattress.

I really love popcorn, but the kneeling-sleeping-child-wonder is significantly more beautiful.

Plus popcorn doesn't give you kisses in the morning.

One thing I love about snow in May....

One thing I love about snow in May is that on the last day of May my spring flowers are prettier than they've ever been.

Where's Tommy?

I'm gonna let you go ahead and guess where Tommy slept last night.

Is anyone else freaked out by my baby's hugeness?

Happy Birthday Wendy!

My sister-in-law Wendy does not take parties lightly.

Remember when we had a valentine's day tea party?

So for her birthday she threw a fancy party. Fancy meaning "wear your prom dress and bling" and meaning that she baked beautifully delicious goodies and decorated all day long in preparation.

This jewelry was laid out for people who felt "inadequately blung".

This food was laid out for people who felt inadequately sweet.

And this chandelier was hung for people who didn't notice that it was a fancy party.

Everything was simply beautiful. And purple. And delicious. So so delicious. Which makes it good. 

Also we got to get all fancied up and I only took one series of "self timer" shots because we were busy having so much fun!

T: Katy, Sarah, Wendy B: Ryann, Amy

Now I wish I took pictures of each person in their dresses because it was something to behold. But I'm more glad that we had fun and ate deliciousness.

Happy Birthday Wendy!!!

Happiness =

For Tommy Happiness = no pants + lovey bear + fire truck + snacks

For Mommy Happiness = tiny boys trying not to smile just because the camera is there....

.....but not really being able to. 

Because didja read the part about no pants? 

The good thing about Daddy coming on a diaper date....

Buying diapers is one thing that I really could do without. It's the going to the store specifically for the purpose  of handing over a small fortune so my child can poop his pants that gets to me. So, Tommy and I started having diaper dates to make it slightly more bearable. We go to target and split a pretzel and slurpee on our way out.

Sometimes Daddy crashes our diaper buying dates.  It means we have to share our pretzel and slurpee which is unfortunate, but the good news is that he takes a picture of me and my baby. And it's a picture that I love.

See? Lookit how cute we are. And see how Tommy simply can't stop looking at the best part of our date? The slurpee. *sigh*

The other good part is that Daddy gets to wrestle the slurpee/nacho cheese covered child while I sit on the other side of the table making stupid faces for the camera.

See how much fun we are? I bet you wish you could buy diapers with us.

Books

Yesterday Tommy and I sat on the couch and ready nearly every book he owns. We were snuggling on the couch, watching a little Ellen when he started signing book like a crazy-boy. So he ran to his room, got a story and brought it to me begging me to read it to him.

Then we finished it, and he ran back to his room and brought out another.


Repeat at least 20 times.

It was a beautiful 45 minutes in my life.

Also, the running back and forth is why real books are better than nook books. Just sayin'.

Fire Man

This morning Tommy read me a story while I laid on his big boy bed. It's about some things that are quiet and some other things that are LOUD!!! He only read the pages about being loud.

After waking up from his nap and receiving the appropriate hugs and kisses, he wants me to put him down on the floor in his room so he can ride out in style.

Lovey bear under one arm, a seat so loaded with balls that he has to kneel on it to keep it down, and grumbling like a fire truck the whole way.

Luxury

Before Tommy came into my life, my idea of luxury came from a cruise ship.

But one thing I learned about luxury on a cruise ship is that it's mostly about having someone else do things for you.

On a cruise ship they make your bed, then later turn it down. They clean your room and fold your towels. They prepare and clean up your food. They bring you drinks if you look a little parched, they tell you where you can go when you dock. They help you make choices and they make sure that all of your needs are met.

At home Tommy pre-chews my pretzels, unrolls my toilet paper, brushes my hair, and takes the pillows off my bed. He unfolds my towels and opens my doors (especially the bathroom door) and holds my hand. He reminds me when to eat (all day) and always wants to share his drinks with me.

So even though I don't live on a cruise ship, and nobody in this house can make towel animals, I still think I'm living the life of luxury.

Wake up wake up

The morning conversation at my house goes like this:

Tommy wakes up, Josh goes to get him.

Tommy babbles "dadadadadadadadaddaaaaaad" while Josh walks across the house.

Tommy hears the door open and immediately makes the happy squealing noises and bouncing on his bed. "Dad dad dad dad!" he says.

Dad says "goooood mornin!" then picks him up and asks "are ya ready for a fresh new bum?" Bubbah smiles. So loud I can hear it through the whole house.

Then daddy starts in on the "holy smokes! you gotta poooooo steenty bum!!!" routine and Bubbah responds with "oh poo! oh poo!" Complete with giggles that your wildest dreams can't replicate.

It may not be much, but I love this morning time routine.

Eventful

Sometimes I look at the calendar on Sunday and want to cry.

Meetings in the morning, followed by more meetings in the afternoon, followed by some kind of family event in the evening and juggling Josh's work schedule and Tommy's nap schedule in between it all just feels overwhelming.

But sometimes it's Easter, then Mother's Day, then Stake Conference and my "weekly" schedule quickly becomes my "every-other-weekly" schedule.

Since today was Stake Conference I had exactly 1 meeting from 2 to 4 in the afternoon. Period.
Since we just saw every member of our family for Easter and/or Mother's Day we had exactly 0 family events.

That's why I tried to do a backflip last night.
And why we ended up the ER this afternoon.

Okay okay, that suggests things which are not true. But both sentences are completely true. Just unrelated. Didja gasp?

Last night I realized what a beautifully boring day it would be today and I pretended to try to do a backflip. Really I just laid down in the middle of the living room floor and stuck my feet up in the air. Whatever, I'm pregnant - effort looks different now.

This afternoon Josh made a relatively foolish knife-in-the-air error while working on banana splits for dinner and sliced his finger open. That's why we were in the ER.

Add to that the deluxe breakfast I made and cleaned up, the haircuts for my boys, and the chasing a 2-year-old around a circle building for an hour and it wasn't quite the relaxing Sabbath Day I pictured.

But it was mostly lovely.

Josh's finger is fine. They even let him pick "glue or stitches" and of course he picked glue, now he can't wash his hands for a week, but aside from the certain infection and disease that will come from dirty hands, he'll be fine. Thanks for your concern.

Brothers

I had my first taste of brotherly love this weekend and I liked it.

Josh was having a guys' night here with all my brothers on Friday night. Naturally, in a move of retaliation, I invited myself and my sisters to my mom's house for a girls night.

Since Mom lives so far away, and we planned to party all night long, and I didn't want to come to a house full of smelly boys (no offense guys...) I planned to sleep over at my mom's.

That's why Tommy and I were sharing a room.
And why I woke him up when I tried to sneak into bed in the middle of the night.
And why instead of letting him cry it out I let him join me and snuggle me all night long.

He couldn't get comfy next to me until he crawled around the bed in circles (stealing his moves from Fido) nuzzled his head into my hip curling his body around my bulging belly to snuggle with his baby brother.

We tossed and turned together all night long. Repositioning and rearranging. First thing this morning I was laying on my back with Tommy on my right side, legs curled around my face, butt right under my chin with his face stuffed up against my side.

Out of habit I started to feel my stomach just to see where NBE was hiding this morning. I was pleasantly surprised to feel him squished as far to my right side as possible instead of his usual nest right in the middle of my tummy. Curled up right next to his big brother.

And then my heart melted a teeny tiny bit..

Messing with my head, or why I pee 20 times a day

Our appointment with Dr. Man was on Wednesday. They gave me a piece of paper with instructions for the ultrasound appointment to take home.

That paper has been sitting on my desk right in front of me since then.

Staring at me.

Taunting me with it's unreasonable demands.

"Start drinking 32 ounces of water...do not empty your bladder until after your ultrasound"

Just reading it makes me cringe.

And then pee.

So mentally speaking, my bladder is constantly full of 32 ounces of water. Constantly.

Puddle Jumping

When I was an obnoxious teenage OH so many years ago, we'd go puddle jumping and mud-sliding when it rained like this.

And when I got old and moved away to the big city where there weren't puddles and mud sliding places because of all the sidewalks and roads, Jamie and I just took off our shoes, rolled up our pants and walked 8 or 9 blocks to a friends' place to see if they'd like to come out and play. We waited outside until the rain stopped and the sun came out and we were dry enough to go back in.

I love the rain. Love it.

So when Josh & Tommy came home from a mud-ride....

....needing a few minutes spray off....

I had no choice but to teach Tommy about gutter-walking.

.....which he found positively delightful.

While it wasn't necessarily in my plans for the day, I'm glad I taught Tommy what you're supposed to do in the rain. Because I'm afraid all he's learned about rain this far in his life is that it is inexplicably linked to tv marathon days. Poor boy....

Fortunately he also learned about the beauty of warming up with a long hot shower afterward.

A family of 4

A month or two ago Josh and I were having the "what if NBE is a girl" conversation.

We talked about the small fortune I would definitely spend on clothes and bows and teeny tiny baby shoes.
We talked about the new bedding and room decor she would need.
We talked about what she'd be named (Kathryn Elizabeth, for my sisters, isn't that a beautiful name? We never even asked their permission, but that's what we would've done.)

And then Josh started talking about whether or not our family would be complete.

Before we got married Josh wanted 6 or 8 kids and I wanted 4 or 5. But suddenly the thought of having one of each flavor made Josh think that 2 was plenty.

My heart broke a tiny bit because a family of 4 just sounds so tiny and empty (right now). We sat at a table at Wendy's discussing it and I brought up all of my best points.
"But 2 kids don't even require a minivan!"
"But 2 kids means we would never finish a 9x13 pan of anything in one night!"
"But 2 kids barely gets us the family discount at places!"

Josh brought up all of his best points too:
"But 2 kids means everyone gets to ride at Disneyland. We'd all fit in one teacup!"
"But 2 kids means only 2 tuitions, wedding funds, and sets of hospital bills."
"But 2 kids means we could eat leftovers every other night for eternity!"

And that is just one more reason I'm so so glad that NBE is a boy. Because Josh and I agree that our family is definitely not complete.

It's not fair to say he really thinks we'd be done if NBE was a girl, I think it was just an overwhelming moment of "it's not possible to handle 2 children let alone any more!"

Da Belly: Week 16

This is the belly at 16 weeks.

No I am not kidding. I didn't even start the belly shots until I was 26 weeks with Tommy (this is why I blog...so I can check on things like that.) and now I'm already so huge that I can't wear anything that isn't stretchy and I'm confident that the checkout lady at the grocery store knows about NBE.

Don't judge - Tommy is playing with the potty, but it has been fully sanitized since his last potty experience. I swear.

I told Josh to make his "It's a boy!" face for the record and this is what he did.

Then I told him it was going on the blog and this is what he did.

 Good grief I love him.

Then I told Tommy to make his "It's a boy!" face and he smiled all cute and shy, waited till I took the picture then ran away and buried his face in the couch.

He signs baby when he pokes me in the belly. He signs baby when he sees other babies. He shrieks BEEBEEEEE! when I say "say baby." in my high "baby" voice. So he knows what a baby is, and we tell him all the time that he's gonna be a big brother, but I think he has ZERO concept that there is a living creature inside me. However, he is pretty clingy and I have a hunch that he gets that he gets that something is gonna change.

Living Planet Aquarium

We were gonna go to the zoo yesterday, but then we remembered we live in Utah, and although the calendar firmly plants us in the last half of May and well into spring, the weather plants us in the 40's and well into a rain/snow storm.

So instead we went to Living Planet Aquarium.

Millie, Cayson & Lori

She's a very popular grandma.

The penguins might have been the coolest part - they were CRAZY swimming and jumping and diving all over the place. We had so much fun watching them. I love this picture of the 4 of them lined up and watching.

Tommy, Millie, Megan, Lori

Plus now we know that Josh is smaller than an ape and bigger than a penguin. I suspect these will be our new 20 questions questions. :D

Grandpa is hard to catch a picture of in places like this because he's too busy reading the signs, watching the fish, and playing tag with the stingrays to pose. But I did get one!

Frank & Tommy

 At the beginning of the summer Tommy would never dare touch the glass, but after a few zoo trips, he wasn't so scared of behind the glass. And that's good.

Tommy

 Also, Tommy's head would fit in a shark. See?

Tommy

 Tommy and Cayson were glad to get to the part where they didn't have to be boosted up to see. They are starting to interact more and more and I love to watch them be friends.

Cayson & Tommy 

 Grandpa makes an excellent step-stool.

Tommy, Cayson & Frank

 Megan was there too - but her jacket glared her face out of a lot of the pictures. (Sorry Megs!) We had so much fun.

Millie, Tommy & Megan sittin' on a frog.

And I was there too - but I was busy taking pictures.

The oar is nailed to the floor....good thing I didn't actually need it....

Wanna see some fishies?

Josh looking at jellyfishes

The biggest dang lobster I've ever seen. SICK!

I have no idea what this fish was, but it's cool right?

Sea Horses are cool.

As are enormous turtles.

Rock-star penguins. They were JUST so cool!!!

This exhibit was jam-packed full of beautiful bright colorful fish. It was beautiful. 

And apparently I was the only one making a fish face...meh, I love my boys enough to post the picture just because they look cute. :D

All that lookin' around flat wore him out. He was make fishie faces and squealing and then mid-sentence he totally fell asleep. Poor kid, he was exhausted.

Tommy

It's a........

Well, if it was a girl we'd be so glad to have one of each. Also it would be fun to have a girl because girls are pretty and they don't pee in your face.

If it was a boy we'd be so relieved that we wouldn't have to buy stuff. Also it would be fun to have a boy because Tommy would have a built-in buddy and Braden (Josh's little brother) doesn't ever want any girls in the family so a boy wouldn't be shunned by the cool uncle.

Josh however was certain it was a boy. No question in his mind. Just a question of when he'd come. My closest friends were certain it was a girl though. "Because this pregnancy just feels different."

So when Dr. Man said "that sortof looks like.....wait, let me try for a better angle......yeah, that's definitely a boy." Josh and Tommy got all excited because they wanted to continue outnumbering me.

OK I'll be honest, that picture is from before Dr. man was even in the room, while the stranger was waving magic wands on my belly Tommy was having a tiny meltdown not sitting on Josh's lap smiling.....Until I convinced Josh to give him a dum dum. Then he was happy.

Afterward we went for the traditional Keva and Great Harvest bread stop on the way home. We sat at the table, sipping drinks and calling/texting a buncha people.

Do you think I could get Keva to pay me for posting this picture?

So I'm thrilled, relieved, exciting, and baffled because if it was a girl I was already sure what her name would be, but the boy name(s) are still up in the air a bit.

So for now, I'm just glad to be able to call him him instead of it.


Also, it's time to start posting pictures of my big fat belly. I can tell because when I stand up in front of Tommy he pulls my shirt out and looks up there and giggles. But I can only hear the giggles, because the belly blocks the view of the adorable laughing face.

So...you can go ahead and look forward to that. :D

One thing I love about the aquarium

One thing I love about the aquarium is this face.

(Click to blow it up - you won't be sorry for the wasted 2 seconds.)