Wordless Wednesday

We like to play dress up every so often.  This was right before bath time.  Anna demanded her tutu as I was undressing her, and Sam didn't want to be left out.  They requested the other things on their own, and had a ball sashaying around our house.  I think these photos will probably resurface around high school age... Sam is going to love that!

Tuesday Tidbits

Sam's smile has morphed a little into a sweet little closed mouth smile.  He still grins a big open mouthed toothy grin when he's really happy, but sometimes now he'll smile with his mouth closed when he is content and just simply happy. 

Sam's favorite animal has changed in the last few weeks.  He now has a huge obsession with anything Llama (sheep are soooo last month).  His favorite books?  Llama Llama Red Pajama and Is Your Mama a Llama?  If you humor him by reading one of those books for the 20th time or so that day, he'll settle into your lap and flash you that closed mouth smile to let you know he's grateful you're reading it again.  It's a must before bedtime too.  We told him the alpaca at the State Fair was a llama (close enough) and he was pretty thrilled to see one up close.  That is, until it moved.

***

Anna's such a big imitator.  She picks up on things so easily and quickly because of her tendency to imitate everyone around her, both with actions and verbally.  Counting on her to imitate us is the best way for us to get her to do things- either eat more at mealtimes, cleanup, or learn signs.  I foresee an annoyed older brother if she continues to imitate as much as she does now when she gets older, though!  Her favorite thing to imitate right now is snorting or sneezing.

Anna's hair was much darker than Sam's when they were born.  Although his color hasn't changed much from his newborn hair, Anna's is much lighter now and has settled on a darker warm blond (slightly darker blond than Sam's but almost the same hue).  It took much longer for hers to get to growing, but now that it is, I am amazed at the curls on the ends.  The longer it gets, the more the curls roll up, making it seem like her hair isn't getting longer at all.  But when it's wet during a bath, her hair is well past her shoulders.  I love to wrap the little corkscrew curls in my fingers!

***

Today Anna bit Sam so hard, she broke his skin.  This was all because he had a toy she wanted and he wouldn't give it up.  While they have both attempted to bite before, this was the first time a lasting mark was made.  We marked the occasion with Anna's first ever time out.  Later, Sam had been up from nap for over an hour and I asked him if he wanted to go wake up Anna.  Before I could blink, he charged in the room (opening the door on his own on the first try) and patted her on the head in the crib before handing Anna her favorite book, Goodnight Gorilla.  ...I think he had forgiven her.

Then and Now

This is me, 31 years ago, sitting in the rocking chair where my monthly photos were taken.  I was 10 months old.

This is Sam and Anna, taken this weekend at 17 months old, sitting in the very same rocking chair at my parents house.

I was a chub, they are not... but I see Sam's smile in my face and Anna's eyes there too.

Yup, We Were Crazy

The fact that I'm sitting typing this post will show you that I did survive our first camping experience with Sam and Anna.  In fact, all of us did survive.  But, because of the extraordinary events that happened this past weekend, there were times that it truly felt like survival wasn't necessarily a guarantee!

We arrived Friday evening and things were okay at first.  Sam and Anna took 1 hour 20 minutes to fall asleep at bedtime in our pop up camper, but I expected that.  That's why we put them to bed at 8 pm more like usual without letting them stay up later.  While they were asleep we sat around the fire with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law.  At that point, our dog Bella found some rotten eggs off in the brush and had a heyday rolling around in it.  Things went downhill from there pretty fast.

The adults went to bed at 11 pm and just as I was falling asleep around midnight, Sam woke up crying.  I could tell pretty quickly that he had a dirty diaper (which has not happened during his night sleep for him since he was a little baby!) so we took him out to our car to change him to avoid waking up Anna.  He really would not go to sleep after we were done.  We spent 3 hours trying.  Thankfully Anna did not wake up- a small bone God threw us since the challenges we were going to face on our camping trip were just beginning. 

At about 2 am ( I had not slept at all yet) I started to feel ill.  I should probably mention that Anna had thrown up Wednesday night and there was a bug going around daycare.  I handed Sam off to my husband and booked it to the bathroom... a 5 minute walk away.  While I was headed there, it started to rain so I was soaked by the time I got back to our camper.  Let's just say that bathroom and I spent a lot of time together in the next 24 hours.  I should also add here that there were car alarms going off multiple times at around 3 am.  Anna again did not wake up (Sam was already awake).  If Anna had woken up, I probably would have marched over there and given that campsite a piece of my mind!

Sam finally fell asleep at around 4 am.  Anna woke up at 6:30 am.  I got 2 1/2 hours of restless sleep.  Sam got less than half of his usual night sleep.  Smarter people would have probably packed up and headed home at that point.  We did not.  Besides, I wasn't sure I could handle the 2 hour drive anyway.

Saturday, both  Sam and Anna were super cranky and fussy because they were so overtired.  They had fun, but any little thing would set them off.  I felt horrible.   We couldn't go for any long hikes in the woods or anywhere because I needed to be close to the bathroom.  My husband gave our dog a bath so she didn't stink.  I should also probably add in here that we spent over an hour trying to put up a screened shelter borrowed from friends without directions and eventually gave up.

Saturday afternoon Sam took a 1 1/2 hour nap ( I did too), which wasn't stellar, but at least it was something.  Anna slept for 3 hours.  While Anna was still sleeping, we discovered that Sam and gotten bit by a deer tick on his arm.  Since it had to be in for less than 24 hours, we shouldn't have to worry about Lyme's Disease.  We had a super time trying to hold him down and get that thing out though.

I started to feel a little better around dinner time and ate something for the first time that day and was able to keep it down.  Sam and Anna took 20 minutes to fall asleep at bedtime, so that was an improvement.  We headed to bed at 11 pm again after sitting around the fire and our night # 2 began.

This time Anna woke up when we tried to get in the camper, with her usual bloodcurdling scream-cries.  She had a dirty diaper this time, so like the night before with Sam, we took her out to the car to try to avoid waking up Sam.  And just like with Sam the night before, she would not go back to sleep for hours.  Around 2 am we finally succeeded, but I couldn't fall asleep because of the mosquitoes that had apparently gotten into out camper.  Then from there on out, Sam and Anna took turns waking up off and on for the rest of the night.  The mosquitoes were probably bothering them too- because the night before they had gotten quite a few bites on their faces while the slept.  This time, when they woke Sunday morning, they looked like they had chicken pox from all the mosquito bites. (I called them my polka dotted kids.)  It is also possible that they had trouble sleeping because they were cold. 

We ended up putting them in bed with us as a last ditch effort.  I was amazed that Sam co+slept pretty soundly but he was ridiculously overtired and that's certainly why.  Anna kept waking up off and on between us while I slept on about an inch of bed space.  They woke for the day at about 7:30 am.  I may have gotten more sleep the second night, but not by much.  What I did get was in short bits mostly less than 45 minutes each time.  I lost track of how often they were waking around 2:30 am.

You can imagine we were quick to pack up Sunday morning and head home but before we left with our overtired, cranky polka dotted toddlers, we noticed that this time Anna had gotten bit by a deer tick on her arm.  Of course.

So I'm not sure what the icing on the cake was of Sam and Anna's first camping trip- our dog rolling in something rotten?  The double toddler tick whammy?  Having the flu and the bathroom being impossibly far away?  We figured they wouldn't sleep spectacularly, but gosh, it would have been nice if they would have at least slept the worst on the same night so we could have had one decent night.  Who would have imagined all those other things happening too???  And this is minor, but I forgot to add that somewhere in the woods we lost Sam's amber teething necklace.  We are now discovering just how helpful that little necklace was to ease his teething discomfort.  I will be ordering a new one, stat!

We packed our camper and have no plans on using it again for a long time.  Maybe by next summer, the memories will have faded and we might be crazy enough to attempt camping trip #2 with two  2 1/2 year old toddlers.  But if I read this post again next summer, I really doubt it!!!

My polka dotted kids

My Summer Is Over

Last year, I wrote a lot of posts about returning to work after 6 months of being home with Sam and Anna.  It was definitely one of the harder things I've done, but because being a SAHM 100% of the time isn't an option for us, there was no choice.

This August, I've pretty much steered clear of the topic because my motto has been mostly "it is what it is."

It will be hard.  I will be sad.  I will wish for more than just the summer months to stay home with Sam and Anna.  But it is what it is.

I know it will get easier.  I know some days will be harder, but I know it will be okay.  I know that our daycare provider is a great person to have care for Sam and Anna during the day and I know they'll still love me more because I'm their momma.  I know I may miss some giggles and smiles, but the ones I will see will be that much more heart-bursting.  I may miss a "first" but I'll always have my firsts with them.

It is what it is.  And it is going to be okay.

Wordless Wednesday

Puppy-love



 Sam eating a popsicle (and sharing it with Bella)

Cuddles all around

A Summer of Firsts

Last summer, we did a lot of tummy time.  A lot of playing in the house and a lot of walks around the neighborhood (and a lot of battling reflux, but I'm perfectly fine with glossing over that right now).  Our wake time window was short, and Sam and Anna even then were the type of babies that only really slept in their cribs so our trips were shorter.  Plus, my little 3-6 month olds were a little too young to get much out of special places to make it worth the effort.  Instead of special daylong trips, we went to the store, the library, the mom's group, etc... 

This summer, I wanted to make an effort to try to do new and different things every week/weekend.  At 15-18 months old, they are at a prime age to really get something out of new experiences. 

This summer, Sam and Anna went to the zoo for the first time.

We went swimming in a lake for the first time too.

Sam and Anna went on their first boat ride.

They saw their first planes and trains up close.

They ate their first ice cream and popsicles.

We went to the fair for the first time.

...among other things.

Next weekend we will be going camping for the first time.  Yup, against probably my better judgement, we are taking our twin toddlers camping.  We have a pop up tent that should fit two pack n plays.  It has been sitting unused for two years, because I'm at least smart enough not to take twin babies camping.  I'm itching to put it to use again.  I'm sure sleep will be far less than ideal, but we'll get through. 

17 months

17 months old and a mere month away from being 18 months old? Just simply WOW.

We finally moved Anna up from size 3 diapers to size 4.  It is nice to have both of then in the same size diaper again.  Both are wearing mostly 12 month clothing, although more and more 12-18 month stuff is filtering in.  Anna does have a thing or two in 6-9 month that she can and does still wear... I even put her in a 3-6 month dress the other day.  She swam in that dress last August when she was almost 6 months old.  It was short, but otherwise fit her just fine!  About 50% of the time Sam or Anna are in 18 month pajamas.

While in the past few months Sam and Anna's vocabulary has taken off in lightning speed, this month was just steady progress in that area.  They are on the verge of putting multiple words together for phrases and sentences (I don't count things like "all done" and "I love you" as phrases because they represent a singular idea) like "go play outside?" but aren't quiet doing it yet.  When I say one, they will say "two" next or if I say "one, two" they say "three" next.  Sam and Anna are also enjoying repeating letter names from our refrigerator magnets, bath foam letters, or chicka chicka boom boom book.  They will happily repeat most of them and their sounds, except a few of them like V are tough for them to say.  Sam's favorite letters seem to be A and T, while Anna likes D, O and Q.  I find it interesting that he seems to like the letters without curves better, and she likes the ones with curves. I am not sure what words are "new" in the last month, since they have such a large vocabulary now.  "Goodnight" "thank you"and "poop" are the only ones I can recall, although I am sure there are more.  New signs they make include fan, sun, day, play, dad, work, cracker, hurt, outside, wind, tree, flower, cold, hot, no, stop, etc.

Within the last month, Anna and Sam are becoming more interactive while reading books.  They will say some of the parts from memory before I read them.  In Goodnight Gorilla, Anna will say "goodnight" throughout the book, and say "uh oh" and gasp like I usually do.  At the end they will both snore like the little mouse.  While reading Where's Spot?  They say "no" in all the appropriate spots.  In the past they were able to make animal noises in relation to an animal in a book, but now I can say "where's the dog, duck, ladybug?" etc.  and they will point to the animals I ask for.  Sam's favorite book lately is 10 Wriggly Wiggly Caterpillars.  Anna's favorite book is Ladybug's Lesson right now.

Anna's favorite toys are a new farm tractor that has 5 animals that make sounds and the cozy coupe. She adores riding in it and throws a fit if Sam gets in.  Today she demanded that he get "Out! Out!" and that he was "All done!!!" before collapsing on the driveway in full-on temper tantrum.  Sam's favorite toys right now seem to be our large beach balls because he's figured out how to kick them around.
 

New body parts they can identify are eyelashes, feet, mouth, and hands, in addition to the old ones: head, hair, ear, eye, nose, tongue and belly button.  Anna has discovered eyelashes because of the butterfly kisses I now give her before bedtime.  She'll grab my head and pull it in close and giggle as I blink and tickle her cheek or forehead with my eyelashes.  After I do that a while, she'll either try to give me butterfly kisses back with her eyelashes, or study my eyelashes up close.

Beyond their vocabulary, they are expressing their preferences for things a lot more.  For really the first time, they are particular about some things they want to wear.  Anna loves her hair clips and flower hairbands, and Sam often wants to wear them too, but they both seem to understand that they are Anna's.  She gets so mad when I attempt to put one in my hair instead of hers!  The girly girl in her is really showing now.  The other night she wanted to wear her tutu and sashayed around the house.  I also discovered that painting her toenails will grant me a little more leeway to clip her toenails.  Otherwise she wails and resists like I'm hurting her.  Sam is pretty thrilled when he gets to wear his wool newsboy hat.  They try to get us to put their sandals on instead of their daily shoes as well.  Sam has a favorite outfit that he likes to wear too- his bright yellow shirt with his blue plaid shorts.  Sam and Anna will also ask for specific food when it is not in view, like blueberries to eat. Sam will ask for more of things beyond food by saying and signing more- like more Baby Signing Time, or more music, or more playing outside.  Unfortunately, we're also getting a lot more "No"s too!
Sam has also taken to pushing me where he wants me to go.  If he wants us to play on our porch, he'll get behind me and push my legs in that direction.

This month I have seen some small changes in their fine motor skills.  Both have been able to successfully drink water out of a normal non-sippy cup.  Also when coloring, they will mimic vertical and horizontal lines I draw, instead of only scribbling back and forth.  Sam is also opening round door handles and helping himself to his milk or water cups in the frig whenever he wants by opening the door, too.  Sam seems to have finally mastered the art of closing drawers while keeping his fingers out of the way.  I can't wait until I can say the same about Anna!

Both Anna and Sam are working on molar #3- their bottom left molar is just barely peeking through.  Their top two molars are almost completely through now.  That makes the tooth tally Sam: 9, Anna:11.  I cannot wait until the last two molars are here for this go 'round and we can take a break until the next set of molars (hopefully?)  Double the teething pain from molars is no joke!  We've never had an issue like this before with any of the other teeth, but now we're even having trouble getting Anna to eat much, we think because of the molar pain.  Still no sign of Sam's lower two lateral incisors!

This month was a pretty illness free month, although Sam did get ear infection #5 since the end of February.  That's 5 ear infections in as many months.  Hopefully the tubes that were placed in his ears today will eliminate any of those in the future.  Anna developed a mild rash on her arms and legs after our trip to the cabin, but it didn't seem to bother her and decreased pretty quickly.  I am NOT looking forward to cold season and all the germs being back at school and daycare are sure to bring us.

We don't just have walkers now- we have two runners!  It only took a week for Anna to go from walking unsteadily to being completely comfortable on her feet.  Along with her confidence in walking, she's also shown a greater enjoyment in dancing by herself now: stomping her feet, twirling around and swaying.  That means we get to dance a lot more, since they aren't both clamoring to be in my arms while I dance!  It is so much easier to go outside with them since they can both independently toddle all over the yard investigating the world around them too.  We also discovered that they can climb up the rock wall and slide down one of the bigger slides all by themselves.  In the last month, Sam and Anna also learned how to walk up and down the stairs in our garage while holding onto the railing.  The other day I got home from an shopping trip, took them both out of their car seats- then Sam let our dog out of her kennel by himself and they both walked up the stairs and into the house by themselves.  Then Anna shut the door behind me since my arms were full of shopping bags.  It seems so long ago when I hauled two infant bucket car seats into the house!

The temper tantrums seem to ebb and flow in amount.  Month 14 there were a lot, month 15 there were less, and in month 16th the temper tantrums picked up a little again for us.  They just seem to be a little more testy this month due to the 6 molars that worked their way through gums this past month.  There seems to be a little more sibling fighting this month, probably because there is even less parallel play now and they have a hard time playing with the same toys interchangeably.  Although Sam is more grabby of toys out of Anna's hands, Anna's more stubborn about keeping toys once she has one.  Sam will give his up fairly often and "share."  Anna screeches and throws temper tantrums if you even suggest sharing or another toy to her.  Sam is definitely more rough- still likes to tackle, and is in a hitting Anna or Bella on the head stage.  He even pulled a clump of Anna's hair the other day.  Conversely, he's also still the most affectionate.  Sam loves his sister so much and gives her hundreds of kisses throughout the day.  Some readily accepted, some not!

With Anna's 5:30/6 am wake ups the last few days, we've had a few two nap days lately: from 9:30-11:30, and 2:30-3:30  They nap well for the first one, but have a hard time going down for the second, although on those days I know they need it and are tired.  Before that, most of the month we had 1-nap days from 12:00-2:30/3:30 when they were waking at 8 am for the day.  We'll be transitioning to an early bedtime with day care returning soon, since they will have a regular weekday wake time of 7 am. 

Food-wise, Anna has been harder to feed than she has in a long time.  She's drinking lots of milk but not eating really any meat and not much fruit these days.  Yogurt seems to be the only ace-in-the-hole I've got on a day when she won't eat much of anything.  I hope this phase passes quickly.  Her other food favorites are pickles, green vegetables like cucumber and green peppers, and black olives.  Sam is also on a yogurt kick and will eat almost anything we set before him.  He doesn't have an off button if you give him fruit like peaches or watermelon and will keep devouring pieces until you stop giving them to him.  Other favs lately are cheddar cheese and whale crackers.  He's also discovered the tastiness of dipping in BBQ sauce.  Now he won't eat any chicken nuggets unless they get dipped a little first!

I have really enjoyed being home with Sam and Anna this summer and spending so much time with them.  I can't believe it is almost over so quickly and they will be heading back to daycare for a few days already next week!

Tubes Are In

Sam had tubes put in this morning for his repeat ear infections.  Everything went well- completely uneventful, and so that was a relief.  We don't tend to have the best track records for things that should be routine in Augusts- in past years, our dog Bella almost died from her "routine" spay appointment (she almost bled to death), I dropped a board on my foot while setting up for a garage sale and popped off my big toenail (resulting in an ER trip where my toenail was reattached by sewing it on my toe), my husband had appendicitis (I was just under 12 weeks PG with our twins and almost fainted from lack of eating while we were at the hospital.  The nurse on duty did my PIO shot in my rear since my husband couldn't) and last August we were given days for our dog Benelli to live (we put him down Labor Day weekend).  One of those happened every year for the past 4 Augusts.  So far this month nothing out of the ordinary has happened, so I was maybe a tiny bit uneasy about doing this very small, routine surgery this month. 

We had planned for me to bring Sam to the hospital alone, and have my husband stay home with Anna so she could keep sleeping.  Ha.  Ha.  She woke at 6 am anyway, minutes before I got Sam out of his crib and into the car.  We kept Anna at home anyway so she wouldn't have to sit and wait at the hospital for 2 hours.  Sam couldn't eat anything until afterwards because of the anesthesia, and he's usually our grumpy guy when he wakes before he's ready, so I was sure he'd be in quite the mood when I got him up.  I put him in his car seat still half asleep, and he actually didn't even fuss as he woke up completely on the way there.  He had a little bit of a hard time waiting by sitting on the hospital bed in the scratchy hospital gown for an hour, but that was the only discomfort I saw, besides not wanting his blood pressure taken. 

When he was wheeled back, he was completely fine with being set down on the bed and wheeled awayby himself.  I think he thought it was a fun ride.  He didn't even mind being taken away from me.  I'm sure as they gave him the meds, he got upset, but I wasn't there for that part.  I waited for 15 minutes in the Surgical Waiting Room, and then went back and saw a nurse holding him after recovery.  She said he was just fine, but then when she tried to put him on the bed, he got upset, so she picked him up and he immediately stopped.  What a cuddle-bug.  I held him and he finally got to have something to eat while we waited the half hour before we could go.  Then I got him dressed and we left. 

The nurse with us offered to help me get him and our stuff to the car, and I had to laugh a little- I had to tell her that this was pretty easy compared to what I usually have to juggle with twins!

Sam was quite the goof-ball when we got home- a little off balance, but I think he actually liked the kind of out of control feeling because he kept laughing at himself and getting more wound up every time he toppled over or bumped into something.  Other than that, no side effects at all.  My husband said Anna really seemed to enjoy her one-on-one time with him while we were gone, but Sam was really happy to see her when we got back.  He gave her a big kiss and a huge hug.  That boy really loves his sister!

I tried to take a picture while we waited, but this was the best I could do while trying to keep him on the bed and in his little gown.

It is Probably a Good Thing I'm Not Always a SAHM

It is probably a good thing I'm not always a SAHM. As my summer break from teaching draws to a close this week, I've found that I have gotten in a huge rut with my personal appearance.  Like I spend 0% of my time thinking about it or doing anything about it.  I toss my hair up for the day, and throw on a T shirt and shorts and call it good enough most of the time.  I haven't gotten a haircut since February, which I will be remedying next week, but only because Open House is less than 2 weeks away.  I was thrilled to exist in shorts and Ts once school ended in June, but now that that has been my staple for months I'm a little tired of it, but who puts more effort than that into it when you spend all day with twin toddlers?  Not this mama.

But the most important hidden bonus to not being a SAHM 12 months of the year for me is that I find I really cherish the time I spend with Sam and Anna once I have less of it.  I don't glance at a magazine while they are awake and playing around me once I'm working during the week again (but justifying it with the fact that I think it is important for children to see their parents as readers, too), and I don't hop on the computer for just a few minutes either.  Once I lose that extra daytime with Sam and Anna, I make the hours I do have with them count more.

Yes, I would rather have more hours to spend with Sam and Anna all the time.  Because being a SAHM 12 months of the year is not an option for us, it is nice that there are perks to being a WOHM, too.

Pacifier Free

This weekend, after multiple previous attempts, we successfully got rid of Anna's pacifier!  Sam has been pacifier free for months now (since our first attempt), but Anna just wouldn't budge.  Rather than suffering though days of waking up every hour at night without the pacifier, we'd give up and give it back to her in the past.  I was convinced that, like the swaddle, she would be stubborn and hold onto it as long as she wanted to.  Then, like the swaddle, one day, she'd just finally be okay without it.  And so that's the way it was.

We've never been huge pacifier addicts around here (we call it a Nuk, even though we used Mam pacifiers), and have only used them during sleep for over a year- starting probably sometime around 6 months.  I can't really remember when we stopped using them while they were awake.  We never brought pacifiers to daycare once they started going around 6 months old, so we knew they could nap without pacifiers outside of our house.  Our original goal was to completely eliminate Nuk usage by one year old.  Anna gave hers up for good the weekend before she became 17 months old. 

Sam never seemed bothered by not having a pacifier himself anymore but seeing one in Anna's mouth.  He liked to play the "I took it from you" game, but only because he thought it was fun, not because he actually wanted her pacifier.  He'd always shove it back at her once he got it out of her mouth anyway.  In fact, at some point he understood that the "Nuks" were Anna's, and would often give them to her or shove them in her mouth at the beginning of nap time too.  If they were especially chatty before going to sleep, sometimes one would end up in Sam's crib by morning (by Anna passing one over the crib side to him), but once we took it away from him, he never tried to really suck on a pacifier anymore, even though they were around.

So back to our final attempt.  Since Sam and Anna were at daycare last Monday through Wednesday and didn't nap with pacifiers there, we thought it would be a great chance to try again without Anna's Nuk at home.  First, we did naps without Anna's Nuk on Thursday, but let her have it that night.  The nap went fine.  Then Friday after no Nuk at nap, we tried a Nuk-less bedtime.  It did take Anna a little longer to fall asleep, but over all not too shabby.  She had no overnight wake ups, and just woke up pretty early for her the following morning.  She woke around 5:30 am, but was able to fall back asleep for a little while.  While the before-7-am wake up was not her typical 8 am lately, I was pretty thrilled that it went as well as it did.  Saturday night was similar: a little longer to fall asleep than normal and no overnight wake ups.  BUT she woke up at 5:30 am Sunday morning and would not go back to sleep. 

The early wake up was not completely lack-of-pacifier related... we discovered later than day that we had the unfortunate timing of getting rid of her pacifier right before her next molar is cutting.  Poor Sweet Pea is teething worse than she ever has before.   She was cranky all morning, slept badly at nap, and continued throughout Sunday as one big hot teething and overtired mess.  I do think she probably would have woken up at 5:30 am even if she had her pacifier, but I'm guessing she would have been able to go back to sleep with it.  She is still wearing her amber teething necklace while awake, and I do believe it helps- but molars are just in a difference category of teething.  Can you just imagine how it feels to have that flat side of tooth trying to push through solid gums, tearing the gums as they move?  Poor babies.

This morning, the same thing happened- she woke at 5:30 am a crying teething mess and she was cranky and overtired all day.  I am wistful for those 9 am wake ups that we had earlier this summer!  I'd even love the 8 am ones!  Heck, at this point, I'd feel pretty good if she made it to 7 am.

I still think our pacifier removal was successful, because she is sleeping through the night.  I do think if she still had it, it would help her through those early morning hours, but at this point- they are all in the trash and I'm not getting new ones.  Hopefully this teething episode will be over quickly.  Waking up at 5:30 am is really destroying our routine.  I cannot bear waking Sam up when she gets up that early because he's always needed more sleep than she does.  She cannot make it from 5:30 am to noon with no nap, but really struggles to take a second nap in the afternoon if she takes one in the morning.  I'm crossing my fingers for later than 5:30 am tomorrow! 

I'm Baaaack

My absence from posting should have been a good clue that I decided to push through whatever was holding me back and go on my little mommy-cation by myself.  I left Monday morning... and returned Wednesday (the earliest I was thinking I'd return).  It was possible for me to stay until Friday, but after one full day of relaxation, rest and rejuvenation- the advantage of having more time to continue relaxing was outweighed by the amount I missed my family.  So I came home.  It was amazing how easy a 7 hour drive was without two non-napping toddlers in the back!

I got tan.  I read 1 and a 1/2 books (The Help and The Happiest Toddler on the Block).  I swam.  I slept in.  I watched a movie without multitasking by doing something else at the same time.  I unplugged and did not go on a computer for 3 days in a row.  It was very nice.

I also made Anna these hair clips and two hair clip organizer boards to hold all of the clips she has, now that she has enough hair to be able to wear them!  (One board is larger for later, once she has more hairclips and needs more room.) I used fabric that was incorporated into the quilt my friend made before Sam and Anna were born, so it goes with the colors we have in the nursery, and will coordinate with the stuff in her room once we separate them into their own rooms.  We are attempting to get rid of her pacifier once and for all this weekend, and I'm planning on giving her the hair clip board as a "big girl" gift afterwards.

 

(The hair clips I made)

(The empty board)

(All the hair clips I have for Anna's hair on the board)

I also got bit by a few flies on my feet, and for me this is bad news, because I am severely allergic to fly bites.  My feet swelled up and were insanely itchy.  In the past I've had fly bites that have swollen my eye shut and swelled joints so badly that I couldn't bend my arm or knee.  Besides missing my children and husband, that was the other biggest downer to my mommy-cation.

My husband did great without me.  Sam and Anna did just fine too.   I'm glad I went, and glad I came home when I did.  It was just enough time for me.  I think I might just do it again next August!