Always learning

So I feel kinda sheepish admitting this to the internet, but after a lot of thought, talking to friends, reading your comments, and after even more deliberating, I decided it was not worth it to take his binky away during naptime. AAggh. I know. I took it away and then I gave it back. But we didn't do a huge ceremonial binky boycott, we just said 'bye bye'. (That makes it better... right?) And really, why was I feeling like it was so important that he gets rid of it? I think the pressure came mostly from myself. Anyway, he now uses it for naps, and not for bedtime, and we put it high on a shelf where he can't get to it. And now, I have such a pleasant happy boy who takes naps!! And I think the 5 day stint without his binky has left him more independent and not nearly so attached. So there you have it. Ah, motherhood.

Such a cute little girl:

Look!! A candid picture of ME! With my babe.
(Cause I threw my camera at Ross)

My kids at their best. When their mouths are occupied.

Look are her just sitting up so pretty!

ONE WEEK UNTIL WE CLOSE ON OUR HOUSE!! I can't wait. But Ross has finals the next week, then he has to go to 'training' in San Diego the next, so we won't be moving in until the endish of May. But we can go run around in the empty rooms!

OH! and no headway yet on the solid food. She has tried all of her baby food multiple times. Today we tried pears with blueberries and it was the best response I've gotten yet, only one gag, and it was after successfully swallowing at least 5 bites!

Oh and thanks everyone for your comments! They were much appreciated.

Mothering woes

I've got a couple of questions. I'm writing right now with a little bit of desperation...

Parenting issue #1:

Ethan has had a binky for a long time. But when he turned a year or so it was only for nap time and bedtime. He's been fine with that, but he has now become very attached to it, and will go into his room, grab his binky and blanky, and lay down on his bed just so he can have his binky. He will also sneak around sucking on it at random times. On Thursday night we decided that we would tell him that binky's are for babies and big boys don't need them anymore, but that he can still sleep with his blanket and a favorite stuffed animal if he needed to. He didn't give us any problems. Friday nap time was a different story. We were out and about, so we didn't get back in time exactly for his nap, so we thought we just missed our window. He went to bed fine without it. Same story on Saturday. No nap, but went to bed fine. Sunday we have church at 11:30, missed his nap, then he screamed a lot Sunday night, but eventually fell asleep. Right now (Monday) it is nap time, and he is sitting in his room playing with his cars.

Do I have to sacrifice nap time in order to get rid of his binky??? Is it worth it? We are talking about a kid who has a regular 2-3 hour nap every single day. I KNOW he needs it, because he is a beast for the rest of the day without it. Maybe we can put him to bed at 6:30 or 7. Ugggh.

Parenting issue #2:

Leah doesn't like solid food! She doesn't like rice cereal, nor does she like other baby foods. I have tried bananas, peas, pears, applesauce. I've tried mashing up foods instead of the baby foods. She will NOT have it! This is totally the opposite of Ethan who loved everything and anything we gave him. I'm ready to drop a feeding or two of nursing, but because little Leah will not eat anything else I've got to nurse her. I'm not overly worried, just wondering if there's anything else I can try, or if I just have to keep at it, and eventually she'll give in.

If you have any advice, please share!

p.s. I really love my children most of the time. :)

Easter

We had a fun Easter. Spent some time with Ross' parents in Lincoln and his brother's family. I rarely get a picture of Ethan looking at the camera anymore.

Cousin Matthew:

Hiding with his loot under the table:

And we have the most beautiful trees
in our apartment complex. I am positive that Heaven will be full
of cherry/pear trees in full blossom.

Only 3 more weeks until we close on the house!! We are lucky and the sellers are paying for a chimney lining and a radon mitigation. Also I can't sleep at night sometimes cause I keep thinking of everything I want to do to that house and how I want to decorate it.

Leah is getting really good at sitting up! I need to document it. But poor girly is sick again. Grrr... *hopefully* it's the last time this season.

Cute kiddos

So we got Ethan this magna-doodle for Christmas and I cannot tell you how much he loves it. Best gift idea ever. No mess and hours of entertainment! So he has always loved balloons, and his favorite thing to ask me to draw is a balloon. The other day I found him sitting on the couch making his own 'boons'! It was so cute.




Also I made a headband for Leah, and I think she likes it. I always find so many cute things on etsy, but do not want to spend 15-30 dollars on a headband! I ended up combining a few ideas I saw online and made my own. It makes my little bald baby a wee bit more girly.

Ethan's alphabet

Ethan has become really interested in letters in the last few weeks. I saw these flashcards at target for a dollar and I thought he would have fun looking at the pictures and letters. It turns out he really likes them, and between them, Sesame Street, and Wheel of Fortune he has learned all of his letters. Pretty cute!

House!

Of course I would be a slacker right after I exclaim that I'm blogging so much. But we've been busy; we just bought a HOUSE! It is not the one I talked about in the last post, they took another offer. I was initially very disappointed, but I feel really good about this new one. We do not close until the end of April, and it has not yet been inspected, but it is in great shape, so unless something really bizarre happens I think it's ours!

It's a cute brick house, 3 bed, 2 bath and a big garage. It's pretty outdated, it needs new carpet and there is wallpaper in all the bedrooms, but it is immaculate. And it has a groovy green stove in the kitchen that is original to the house, but looks brand new. (We'll see how well it works) It also has a basement that is unfinished, but is very finishable and clean. And it has all new windows. It's really the perfect amount of work for us, because we did want a project, but we don't really have the time or the know-how to do a major renovation. Anyway, we're excited!

I will add more pictures later, and will hopefully be doing several BEFORE/AFTER posts in the next year.

Holy cow I'm blogging so much!

Know why? Cause both my babies go to bed at 8:00! Hallelujah! And Leah is napping better during the day too. It has opened a whole new world. (Leah used to go to bed at 11:00). And now Ross is gone again Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday until 10:00pm. So I've got a lot more time on my hands.

So we've got some exciting news! Ross just got hired as an auditor for computer systems, working for the OIG. (Office of Inspector General). Turns out government jobs are pretty great! He gets to go to Washington, D.C. on occasion as well, and his first excursion is next week! And probably again a week after that! How lucky is that? For him anyway. Kinda stinks for me. So we're really excited to have a 'real' job. But the bummer is he is still going to school full time, which is why I don't see him at all during the first part of the week.

Also equally exciting: because Ross has a good job, and because we want to take advantage of the tax credit, we have been in the market for a house. And... we put in an offer on one we love! It is a 'short-sale', which means its on the road to forclosure, and it can take up to 45 days to hear what their response is. It kinda needs a lot of work, but it has great potential and lots of room. I've become far too attached already I know, especially cause I'm thinking the odds are about 50/50 that they'll accept our offer. I guess there is no opportunity to counter either, since the bank is in charge. I'm trying to remind myself that if they don't accept it, it is not the house for us.

In other news, Leah found her toes!

(p.s. I think baby legwarmers are super cute)

Man, she is such a cute little peanut. She has become such a content and happy little baby. Ethan on the other hand. He has come full swing into his tantrum-throwing toddlerhood. Holy cow. I have to prepare myself for at least one melt-down a day. Some are worse than others. I have found that if I give him a REALLY long time to prepare himself, like starting to tell him that it's time to go 20 minutes before we actually go, or saying it's time for bed soon when he still has 30 minutes before bedtime, that helps. Or tricking him into thinking something is his idea. That works too sometimes. He's been sick lately so his tantrums have multiplied in intensity and frequency. That is tough to take. It's hard to know what is normal behavior, and what is a result of mediocre parenting. Ah well. Still love him lots.