I have not been able to post as often since I went back to work. Things are so busy with two kids, and frankly, at the end of the day, I am tired. Preston slept through the night (11 hours!) for the entire month of August. Since the beginning of September, he has decided that he likes a 2:00 am feeding and sometimes a 5:00 am feeding every night! Maddie likes to rise and shine between 5:30 and 6:00. No, I'm not joking. This morning, I climbed back in bed after feeding P at 5:30. At 5:32, M yells out her door "Mom, I have to potty". I throw the covers off and go to get her. That stinking potty contract! (see below) We go to the potty and I decide to let her in bed with us hoping we will all get a little sleep. Now let me say that Marty and I are very strict that our children do not sleep in our bed. Ever. Not up for discussion. But this morning, I would have done anything for sleep. She lays next to me and says "Mommy, I need milk; Daddy, turn on the TV please." I explain to her that it's the middle of the night and she will not get milk or the TV. She gets upset. Back to her bed she goes. She laid in her bed yelling "Mommy, Daddy" followed by something we couldn't understand for an hour. Finally 7:00 rolls around, and Marty goes to get her. I can't believe she actually stayed in her room that long. She is sitting at the door and all he can see is her face. She is frowning at him and says "Daddy, I'm frustrated!"
Back to P...we have tried letting him cry it out. He is a little young for that but I know he can sleep through the night. The first time we tried, he screamed for 25 minutes and I gave in and fed him. He immediately went back to sleep. We have tried cereal, but he isn't ready for it. He smiles real big when I give him a spoonful and it runs all down his chin. The pediatrician told me to feed him when he wakes up. If anyone has another idea (other than putting cereal in a bottle or giving Benadryl) please feel free to share.
Maddie has done great with potty training. She started wearing big girl panties a few weeks ago. We actually had to sign a potty contract with her preschool. No joke. We had to agree to put panties on her from the time she wakes until she goes to bed. No pullups for car rides or naps!! Are they out of their minds?? We have to keep 5 full outfits in her cubby every day just in case she has an accident. We agreed to drop everything and take her to the potty if she says she needs to go (hence the grumbling this morning). She has already figured this out and tried to use it at the dinner table to avoid eating something that she doesn't like. We are constantly telling her "Maddie, don't pee-pee on Tinkerbell (or Dora, Hello Kitty, or Elmo depending on the panty of the day). It's not nice to pee-pee on your friends." She is doing great, but I must confess to sneaking a pullup on her for naps.
We have discovered that Preston has a milk protein allergy, which he should outgrow around 6 months. Since I am breastfeeding, I have had to eliminate all dairy and soy from my diet! That wipes out the whole cookie isle at the store. I am eating fruit, veggies, and meat. And I'm starving!! The good news is I have lost all of the baby weight. That's the trick people...if you want to lose weight, don't eat dairy or bread or pasta. You'll be in a bad mood, but you'll look good. When I wean him, I am going out for Mexican and a banana split. Marty has been very gracious through all of my complaining...except when he came home with a Reese's blast from Sonic the other night and laughed when he offered me a bite. Speaking of Reese's, Maddie passed the 2nd peanut butter test. Yay!! We will face the other allergy tests down the road.
So that's what we have been up to. Marty would like me to point out that he gets up with Preston during the night, too. We take a very scientific aproach to see who gets up each night...it's called rock, paper, scissors.
Our 1st lawn art. My mom will appreciate this picture. I remember coming home from high school one day to find these 2 huge Christmas light covered moving reindeer in our yard. I was mortified! I took them down and tried to hide them from my mom. I begged her not to put them out. I have hated "lawn art" ever since. Well, my little ones have apparently made me a little more relaxed about the subject, but there will be no riendeer in our yard this Holiday season!
