Taking back my mornings

Everyone is different, but for me one of the things that keeps me from going bananas is being able to wake up before my children. I love having some time to wake up before them and start getting ready for the day before they wake up. Other people love to sleep in and have a different schedule, but for me, if my kids are the ones to wake me up, it's usually a rough morning.

For me, getting ready means: making my bed, making breakfast, making Ryan's lunch, and emptying the clean dishwasher. If I don't get to these tasks before the girls wake up, I have to scramble to get breakfast ready and then I have no place to put the dirty breakfast dishes because the dishwasher is still full of clean dishes. Everything just seems to pile up and then I don't feel like doing it, or it's difficult to do it because I'm helping the children (or mainly just holding June because she loves to be held).

June, bless her heart, has not been a good sleeper - as I seem to continually write on this blog. She is mostly sleeping through the night, or at least I'm not getting her if she does wake up. But, she consistently wakes up between 5:00 and 5:30 am. Ryan and I get up around then, but I'm used to having about an hour to myself before Willa gets up around 6:30. With June waking up, I felt like I never had any time. I would lay in bed and just wish her back to sleep and it never worked. I'd just stare at the baby monitor and she'd fuss in there. The real problem is that she still needs about one more sleep cycle at this point, but she can't put herself back to sleep. So, if I get her up, she's a grumpy baby, or if I leave her there to fuss, she's grumpy. She doesn't go back to sleep, though, no matter how long I leave her. I've tried an earlier bedtime, and a few times a later bedtime, but nothing seems to make a difference.

To make matters worse, Willa has started hearing June. Normally, she waits in her room until one of us comes to get her, but for the first time in her life, she has started getting out of bed when she wakes up! So, then I'd have two cranky kids up at 5 a.m. It's bad enough when they're up that early and worse when they're also cranky. I just couldn't handle it.

The last week or two I decided to take back my mornings. Instead of laying in bed staring at the monitor, I get up as usual and went to the kitchen to start the routine. Instead of fretting that she was already awake, I just ignore her and set about my tasks. And guess what, from the kitchen it's pretty hard to hear her :). Then, when I am finished and everything is prepped and the kitchen is clean again (after making breakfasts and lunch), THEN, I go to get her. When Willa was getting up really early, we started marching her back to her room. Now, if she wanders down to the kitchen while I'm puttering, I allow it since I'm already up and moving.

It has really made me feel a lot more in control! June's not getting any more sleep and usually she goes down for a long morning nap around 7:45 am, but at least I can cope. It was just the worst holding a tired, fussy baby while trying to do all the kitcheny stuff that needs to be done in the morning. So there you have it. Nothing especially interesting, but I'm one step further from the loony bin.

Fun in Newport Beach

Ahoy, I sail!

We finally decided to take advantage of living semi-close to family and planned a Memorial weekend trip to visit the O'Kelley/Daniels clan in Newport Beach. Brandon and Rebecca hopped on board and we knew we were going to have a rollicking good time.

Rebecca and I drove out Friday morning with the girls. It was only four hours door to door and the girls did really well. Ryan and B-man drove out that evening after work.

We loved seeing Shannon and Graham's house and I'm fairly certain that I would be happy living the rest if my life in Newport should the opportunity and $$$$ arrive :).

The O'Kelleys certainly spoiled us. We went to Balboa Island and rode the Ferris wheel.

A quick look at the ocean for Willa, but we opted to save a real beach outing for another visit. She was in awe and exploring when we needed to get going so we sent Dylan to go get her. He held her hand to bring her back. He is a very sweet nephew and cousin.

Graham reserved a Duffy boat for a night ride through the bay on Saturday evening. We brought dinner to eat onboard and it was so pleasant! Poor  June was the only sad one because of her giant life jacket. Willa looks a little sour here, but I think she just didn't want to pose. She had a great time.

Rebecca snapped this of Willa and Claire. I love her expression! I think these two will be good pals.

Claire also had a fancy jeep that Willa was in love with. She called it the "beep" and was so so so excited when we finally let her take it out.

Lastly, we drove up to Westwood on Sunday to see Bishop Rudd and his family and to attend church. He was our USC bishop and then immediately got called as bishop of his family ward after five years at the USC ward! It made us so happy to see them and their cute kids. 

It also felt so right to see him conducting in his usual manner.

We also lucked out seeing Ryan's other law school chum Scott and his girlfriend Aubrey, since he attends that ward now. Seeing old but true friends is such a blessing! It has been 3 1/2 years since we left and returning to our old stomping grounds brought back a lot of emotions.

Mainly, we were so grateful for our time at USC and for the eternal friendships we made there.

We drove back this morning with very worn out kids. It was such a great trip, we hope that Shannon and Graham aren't too tired of us because we hope to see them often.

June Walks!

Yesterday, June decided to to retire from ankle biting and become a walker! She looked and me and then just did it. She hasn't tried much today. I think she just needs us to chill out and sit around with her on the floor for a while. That doesn't happen too much because we are home for her naps, but often we run out the door as soon as she wakes up to run errands. What errands? I can't really put my finger on it, but it seems like we have always run out of bananas, or the milk is low, or the library books or due, or something!

This is only the third attempt, and she's pretty steady. If you take almost 15 months to walk, you ought to catch on quickly when you finally try!

Also, today is our seventh anniversary! We made it over the hump. I mentioned to Ryan that I thought it was coming up, but we couldn't remember if it was on the 15th, 16th, or 17th. Good thing it's engraved on the inside of his wedding band.

Sick sick sicky

A week ago Monday, June had a runny nose, which I thought was probably allergies. Well, it progressed and I thought it was just a minor cold (Willa and I caught it too). June just kept getting worse, though. Each day I thought she'd be a little better and instead there would be a new symptom - goopy eyes, cough, fever, higher fever. On Sunday I decided that if she wasn't better by the next morning, I would take her to the doctor.

Monday dawned with sicky June again so I made an appointment. I decided to schedule it for both girls because I didn't know if Willa was having just a milder version of the virus or if she was just behind a few days. You know when you keep debating doctor's appointments because usually there's nothing they can do and they just tell you to give them Tylenol? This was not that day.

When the nurse came to call us back, we stood up and Willa cried out in pain and grabbed her bladder. Uh oh. I neglected to write about her last UTI two weeks ago (with a different, horrible doctor who called me a LIAR when I called her office to say that CVS had faxed her because they couldn't fill the prescription). I decided to try a new physician's office, but that's another story. Willa grabbed her bladder so I just turned to the nurse and said, "Hey, could we do a urine test while we're at it?" Again, fully expecting nothing to come and to look like a fool at the end.

Okay, long story short. Willa had another horrible UTI. They said her urine was really, really bad :(. Poor thing! I'm so annoyed with the first doctor who promised me that her last UTI wasn't Amoxicillan resistant, because we had just finished up the round of antibiotics last week. Then, June's stuff was just upper respiratory so that was good because it wasn't in her lungs. BUT, she did have a double ear infection and had given herself pink eye! Her eyes weren't actually pink, but they were very goopy. The PA said that if she rubs her hands in her nose and then her eyes that it transfers the virus to her eyes. Anyway, both girls were sick little girls and I got loads of medicine for them and I'm so so glad that I decided to take them into the doctor and that I made an appointment for both of them. Also, we saw this awesome PA who is part of a good physician group. My girls actually didn't scream their heads off for him and he gave them lollipops!

Finally, the point of this post. June's been a little cranky and I've been imagining in my mind what she would be saying if she had words.

"NO NO NO NO, I don't want anything! Give me my pacifier! No, I don't want it, take it away. I'm going to bat your hand until you stop holding that pacifier. Wait, no! I'm going to grab the pacifier now so that I can fling it as hard as I can. I want a banana!!! No, not that banana, get that out of my face. I want a banana!!" (Proceeds to throw offered banana). "I'm hungry! No, not that. No, I don't want that. No No NOOO!!! Give me that so I can throw it and scream really loudly and shake my body and kick. Now I'm going to swat your hand away while I scream and arch my back. No, I don't want that. Yes, I want it! No, I don't! Get it out of my face!"

It's so sad and bad that it's almost funny. I'm just so glad I already took her to the doctor. Mostly she gets in these moods after she has just woken up. I think the Tylenol and Advil have probably worn out of her system during her nap so she's a little on edge and she's a little hungry and she has a little fever. It's almost impossible to get anything inside of her, but once I do she calms down a lot and will take some more medicine. She really loves Honey Bunches of Oats with the milk and she'll calm down enough for a few bites of that. Then, once she's been sated and drugged she's about 70% her happy self again.

That's our drama! Ryan says he was happy that I could spend Mother's Day being a mother, i.e. waking up at 5 a.m. with sick kids :). I made him stay home from church with June. I was teaching Relief Society and I wanted to go to Sacrament meeting to get my prize, which was a full sized Toblerone - yum.

For the annals

So let it be remembered and written, we have broccoli. That's right, a three year old has eaten broccoli in this house. Not only that, but after licking and whining through the first tree (which I ignored) she then asked for seconds and thirds! Praise be!

Photo not from this momentous occasion, but from a few days ago when she received a new puzzle in the mail from grandma and completed it by herself on her first try. I loved puzzles growing up so it's fun to watch her enjoy them. We might be getting ready for 40 piece-er soon!

When to fire the 'fire and nuke the NUK.

I've got two things on my mind. Pacifiers and breastfeeding. I will admit it, Willa is still using a pacifier for sleeping. She's 3 1/2!!! I thought for sure we would get rid of it when she turned two. Then as that date approached, I thought it was  a good comfort for her and decided FOR SURE when she was three. Then, we were moving to Vegas around that time and it really is such a good comfort for her!

I realize that when your child brings you her pacifier and says, "N - U - K, what that spell Mommy?" that it is probably time to get rid of it. Brandon also remarked that once your child can say the word pacifier then they're probably too old for it. I keep putting it off, though. It's so easy and she still naps during the day so it's nice for that. I also strongly believe that children need a little lovey or comfort item. Willa has special things, but nothing quite so special as her pacifier.

Our plan is to give her three days and tell her - in three days we're going to get rid of the pacifiers, then two days, one day, etc. Then, I'm going to take her to Build A Bear. She can pick out a bear and put all her pacifiers inside of the bear when they build him. Then, she can have that at night. I actually think it won't be too bad. I keep meaning to start on it, but I also keep dragging my feet. I've got a feeling that once they're gone, it will be great. But right now, they really don't cause much of a hassle (she leaves them in her room of her own accord when she is done sleeping). Maybe next month :)?

June girl is still nursing. I cut out the nap feedings about two or three weeks ago and it wasn't too bad. She protested a little, but wasn't really hungry and so she could be easily distracted. It's still a habit for me, though, and I still almost go to nurse her every time I get her up. She's still nursing at morning and at night. I think I'll cut the evening feeding next. The thing is, it's not really a big deal to nurse her twice a day, so I'm not really put-out by it. On the other hand, I remember how great it felt when I finally weaned Willa at 15 months. It just feels so good to finally not be pregnant and not be nursing. June turned 14 months on Monday, so I feel like the time is coming. I'm so grateful I've been able to nurse. It's a fine line between letting the baby grow up and still appreciating their babyness.

The girls have been working through some little colds this week. Willa is starting to have a little more patience with June and I love to see them together. Last night she was pretending to stand up like June, crawl, and sit. They were both naked (one just had a bath and the other was about to get in), and Ryan remarked that they really do look like sisters as their little brown bodies crawled around together.

June is so close to walking. I expect it to happen any day. If I would sit down to work with her, it probably would have already happened. She can go from sitting to standing all by herself without using anything to hold onto or push off of. She thinks its especially hilarious to look between her legs as she's trying to stand up. She loves to stand, wobble, and then plop down.

June is also experimenting with talking. She loves to wave bye-bye and say, "Bahhhh." The more attention she gets, the more she loves to do it. She has started saying it to Willa when we put Willa down for a nap. The first time, Willa was quite alarmed that we were going to leave the house while she was asleep. Mostly, she loves to do it when Ryan is getting ready to go to work. She also said "Cheese" yesterday, at my prompting when I opened the fridge to get her a string cheese.

 Willa was assigned to give the prayer in Primary last week. We talked about it the whole week leading up to it and discussed in detail what would happen. "Your Primary teacher will say, Willa Daniels is going to give the prayer. Then you walk up to the front, climb the stairs, and say the prayer,  and daddy will go with you." She wanted to say the prayer for everything throughout the week. When Sunday came, she was very nervous, but she sat in front with the other children (as long as Ryan sat with her), she bravely walked up to the podium, and then she was too shy so Ryan ended up praying. I'm pretty proud of her for doing that much. My jaw probably would have hit the floor if she had actually prayed. Most of her prayers are exactly the same, but she is getting a little daring and adding a new phrase occasionally. Last night we had the missionaries over and she prayed, "Bless the workers...." They had on shirts and ties just like her daddy when he goes to work. Therefore, they must be workers! We got a good laugh.

Stuffing face with cantaloupe.

My two girls. Definitely sisters. Eating taquitos samples, I believe.

FlipFold

Here is a video Ryan took of Willa meticulously folding some shirts. She also kept saying, "This is the greatest thing ever!" but that never made it onto the clip. Does anyone see a little of Aunt Shannon in her as she stacks the shirts?

What to write, what to write

There was so much to write about, but now I've forgotten most of it. Today, June lost a little toy under the pantry door, so she banged on the door and cried until I opened it. Then, while I was busy getting breakfast things ready, she played in the pantry and pulled down the bag of Tuttie Frutties (Kroger brand Fruit Loops), crawled off with it, and proceeded to shake it and get herself several loops. Breakfast is served!

I've also been on a Spring Cleaning kick. Actually, I've been talking and thinking and reading a lot about it, but not actually getting down to much of the cleaning bit. Earlier this week, I decided to tackle one teensy tiny chore. Instead of focusing on cleaning a kitchen cabinet, I decided to organize my recipe box and the three inch pile of loose-leaf recipes that have been in the same messy pile since we lived in Los Angeles. It was a pile of recipes pulled from magazines, printed off the internet, hurriedly written down on a piece of scratch paper, etc. Every time we would move, I would find this pile of papers and think, "What a mess, but look at these great recipes! Some day I'm going to make this stuff." Well, I decided to set myself a goal to clean that pile up. I sat down, copied recipes onto recipe cards for my recipe box, threw out loads of recipes that I know I won't make, and when I got interrupted, I left the project on the kitchen table. I finished it up during the girls' naptime that day and it feels soooo good. The cupboard and my recipe books and box aren't in pristine condition, but it feels so good to be done with that huge, annoying stack of papers. I'm trying to think of Spring Cleaning as more about organizing and preening down the collections of stuff that we accumulate. There are so many things that need to be gone through that it overwhelms me, but if I break it down to one small task at a time it's much more doable. And here, you see me writing a lot about it, but not actually DOING it. One day, if we ever get this giant EXPEDIT shelving unit organized, it will be a glory to behold instead of a giant eyesore that makes me shudder.

Ryan did purchase something that he has had his eye on for quite some time. The Flip n Fold! He then proceeded to fold all my shirts and our clothing has never looked to organized! I was a skeptic, but I've been won over. We need to get the kids'-sized one now.

June helped me with some cleaning today. As I was in the kitchen she crawled around and emptied a couple of drawers of their content. I grabbed a wet paper towel and decided to wipe them out before putting the stuff back. Spring cleaning!

 Here are some old pictures. About two weeks ago, my sister Carrie and her kids came down for Spring break. They stayed at the fancy Cosmopolitan and took us swimming. Here are some after the swimming photos of tired Willa and June eating a watermelon. It was so much fun to see them!

For some reason, Willa really wanted me to take a picture of her holding this water noodle up to the ceiling.

Hike at Red Rock when my parents were in town. Kind of a dark and distant shot, but the other photo was way unflattering of me so it got nixed by the editor (me).