too much to ask for?

All I want is a simple wooden play kitchen for the kids...I have been looking online and they are outrageously overpriced. I just refuse to pay $200 for some plywood and paint :) So, now I am been looking at trying to build one myself (aka, whining to Brandon how he should be making me one). Noah loves pretending to eat, make food and all that good stuff, and the play kitchens that I have found used are all too girly looking (boys can pretend to cook too people!). So...any suggestions on how to build one? I just want it to have a little sink, oven and maybe a fridge or something. Nothing too big, since the room we will have it in is smaller.

Thanks, but no thanks.

Because Eli is such a lousy sleeper, I have had many people (not anyone reading this) urge me to let him CIO (cry it out). I am sure most of you know this terminology already, but basically it's a "technique" for getting your infant to sleep through the night, by letting them cry alone in the crib until they pass out exhausted (okay...that is a little on the dramatic side, but also basically true), thus learning that their cries will not be answered overnight, which leads to better sleeping for mom and dad. While I have nothing against parents who use this technique it's just not for us, at least not at Eli's age. I'm just uncomfortable with the idea of it. I can't let either of my kids cries go unanswered through the night. I never tried this method with Noah, and he sleeps fine now. We have let Noah fuss in his room for reasons like not wanting to go to bed, but I think it's a little different when they are older, and are clearly just trying to get out of having to go to bed, and at an older age it is also much easier to determine when they are crying because they need something, and when they are crying because they don't like the idea of bedtime. And sure, Noah was a pretty good sleeper to begin with, but there were periods throughout his first year where he would wake frequently, and he was always comforted back to sleep. Babies cry for a reason, be it hungry, scared, lonely, cold, ect. They don't just cry to annoy mom (even if it seems that way sometimes), so I just can't see myself ignoring that and letting him cry. I figure he's got to learn to sleep through the night eventually, and while it would be nice if it happened now, I'm not going to hurry him into something he just isn't developmentally ready for. And while I am basically a walking zombie, I do enjoy spending some one on one time with him, which can really only happen while Noah is sleeping anyway.

So if you got this far...thanks for listening to my rantings. I know it is all well meaning advice, but it's just not for us. At least not right now, when he is still so young. However, if he gets to Noah age and still wakes up every two hours...maybe we'll revisit this discussion :)

Now, to reward you for getting through my whining (which I can still blame on being sleep deprived, just one of the many benefits to having a lack of sleep)....here are some super cute pictures of some super cute kiddos!

Sick kids and sleepless nights.

Noah has another ear infection, and sore throat...Eli has fever/sore throat. This is the first time Eli has been sick since his RSV bug when he was 4 weeks old and can I say NIGHTMARE! I was up with him until 4am until he finally slept for 2 straight hours. So, I got all of 2 hours sleep.

Noah was a sweet baby, not super cuddly and pretty independent. When he was sick as an infant it would maybe take a little longer to get him down, and he would sometimes wake up more...but I'd give him some tylenol, a few rocks and he'd be out again. Eli is a totally different story. He is also very sweet, but very cuddly and clingy (which I really enjoy for the most part!). He likes to be held as much as possible...and when he is sick this kid NEEDS (or thinks he needs)to be held, and rocked, and cuddled, and patted constantly. He would sleep fine as long as I was up bouncing him or rocking him. This is exactly how he was the last time he was sick too. I am desperately hoping he sleeps tonight. I am exhausted.

But as you can see...that face makes it all so worth it!

MVI_0214.AVI

pics to appease our family :)

Here are a few of the latest pics of the boys. I also included a picture of the Halloween costumes I am working on for them. They are going to be Thing One and Thing Two (characters from Dr. Suess' Cat in the Hat). I have the shirts done, and am going to be making their blue wigs in the next week or so. When I am done with theirs I am going to start on mine...which will be The Cat in the Hat!

And a quick update on the sleep situation... Eli slept well last night! He went to bed at 10 and was up at 7 to eat. Our bedroom door did get shut so it is possible that he woke up and I didn't hear him, but I am a pretty light sleeper so I think I would have heard him. At least that's what I am telling myself to keep from feeling too guilty about it. :)

I miss sleep.

Where do I start...

Noah was an awesome sleeper. After the first few nights home from the hospital he was sleeping 6 hours straight, and by 5-6 weeks, he was sleeping through the night. It was awesome. I wondered what all the fuss about mom's being so tired was about. I mean...it really wasn't that bad, so what was everyone complaining about.

When I was pregnant with Eli, I knew I would be getting less sleep since I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep once Noah was up for the day, but I was seriously not prepared for what I was going to get.

Eli is a terrible sleeper.

He has never grown out of his newborn sleep pattern. He is up every 2 hours (sometimes even every hour). Every night. It's just awful. I really miss my sleep.

While I am VERY tired most days, I can't say I really mind it. Yes I wish he would sleep. I really wish he would sleep, but I know it is temporary...I mean he can't do this forever right???

I guess what really gets me though, is that I know he CAN sleep. He has done it. Not often, but he has slept 8-9 hours straight before. So why wont he just do it for me???

more summertime pics

We have been having a blast in the new house! Here are a few fun pics of our days here.

6 month pictures

Here are the copies of Eli's 6 month pictures...sorry they all say Sears on them, but I was having trouble linking the site so I had to copy them to here.

6 month checkup

Wow. I can't really believe that Eli is going to be 6 months old on Monday. He has changed so much these past few months too! He can now sit up on his own, roll just about anywhere he wants to go and is starting to do the army crawl. He is eating solids once or twice a day, and I have even managed to get him to drink from a bottle a few times this week. Also, his personality is really starting to shine through. He is a very laid back baby. He only cries when he is hungry, and loves to cuddle and coo. He is very smiley, and happiest when someone is talking to him. He is also very content just sitting and watching me do the chores or watching his big brother play. He does love toys, but after a few minutes playing he likes to just sit and watch. Noah was (and still is) a very active baby, and just had to always be on the go, doing something or getting into something, and Eli is just very content with himself. It's very nice to have the best of both personalities :)

Today I took him in for his well baby checkup. He was 27 1/2 inches, which put him in the 75th-90th percentile for height and he was 17.5 lbs. He didn't gain as much weight as they usually like to see between visits, but she wasn't concerned with the drop in percentiles since he is growing just fine otherwise. My guess is the slow gain has to do with being too interested in his big brother to nurse as much as he was, as well as being more mobile now. He got a few vaccines, and is a little tender, but he did just fine with them. So overall a very healthy boy! We go back in November for his 9 month check, and for Noah's 2 year physical!

The playroom

This is the playroom! I finally dug out enough of the toys to make it seem fun enough to hang out in :) We spend most of our inside time during the day in this room playing and reading!