It's Raining, It's Pouring

Last Tuesday it was raining. I decided we would stay inside all day. Tali insisted on going out. She really wanted to wear her rain boots, rain coat and carry her umbrella. So I let her play out back. She had a blast!

My (Failed) Attempt at Sleep Training

Eli after his second night of sleep training.

Two weekends ago, I decided to start sleep training Eli. He was still waking up twice a night and not taking a good feeding at either time. When he slept an hour past his morning wake time, I thought it was time to teach him how to sleep through the night. I started right at three months, even though most say that you shouldn't start until four. I knew it would be rough in the beginning but I figured it would be worth it if I could get a full night's sleep when Tali started school (30 minute drive each way!). 

So, the training began on the Saturday night of a long weekend. It went exactly as I thought it would the first two nights (awful then a bit better). And then I really threw a wrench in the plans. A few people had been trying to convince me that it was time to drop the swaddle because Eli was three months old. I thought he still needed it but after a bit more thought, I figured maybe they were right. He was a terrible napper and since I already doing the sleep training, I might as well do this at the same time. WRONG! We went 1 1/2 nights without the swaddle and it was awful! He woke up every hour crying. In the middle of the second night, I swaddled him and fed him (yes, I caved) and he happily went back to sleep for a few hours. At that point, I decided that maybe it was too early to train.

Eli had his three month visit the next day so I spoke to the doctor about it. Yes, it is too early to train. And, yes, some babies need the swaddle past three months (even in to the fourth or fifth month). So now we're back to feeding at night. But we're down to one feeding instead of two. My fingers are crossed that he'll sleep through the night on his own soon. I could really use a full night's rest!

Random Cuteness

We live next door to a family who has a son about 5 months older than Tali. They like to play together because, as you know, Tali plays like a boy. She can run, climb and get dirty just as easily as the boys (sometimes even better than them). Here is a picture of them from last week. He was on his way home and we were on our way out so it was just a quick little hug to say hello.

Some Pictures of Tali

In her rocking chair.

Reading one of her favorite books (Brown Bear).

This one is my favorite.

She loves that horse!

I know you cannot see her face in this picture. But I'm obsessed with her hair and thought I'd show you how beautiful it is. Wish mine looked like this!

Tali starts school soon and they've asked for two recent pictures of her for her cubby and their board. So yesterday morning I snapped a few. Here are my favorites. (And yes, I switched up her outfit a bit so it looked like I actually take pictures of my daughter on more than one occasion. )

A Whole New View at the Grocery Store

Tali and Eli in the cart a day after this post was written.

For Tali, there's been a monumental change in the way we go shopping at the grocery store. Now, instead of riding in the cart, she gets to walk! Lucky girl. This all started because having Eli in the baby carrier is not as easy as it was with Tali. He's just not as happy there. So I decided to keep him in the car seat (which conveniently clicks into the front of the cart) and let Tali walk. We've done it three times now and she loves it.

The first time we did this, Tali was so excited that she did EVERYTHING. I decide that instead of asking her to name the piece of produce I had grabbed, I would ask her to help me find it. She loved this game. She also loved that most of the produce is reachable. So first she reached into the green beans bin and grabbed a green bean. Then she saw the nectarines and happily bit into one before I could stop her (I saved the sticker so we could pay for it). Nearby customers thought it was cute. She did, however, slightly abused her freedom and ran away from me twice.

The second time we went to the grocery store I was prepared. I had wet paper towels to wipe down any fruit she might grab (she ate a nectarine and green apple) and we had a conversation about running away before we got inside. This time, she was very well behaved. She stayed near the cart the entire time! Her reward was a number of customers telling her how cute she was. (I'm not sure if she understands this yet, but she will soon.)

Tuesday was the third trip to the grocery store out of the cart. Since the newness has worn off, Tali only wanted to be out of the cart for a little bit. Then she asked to go in the cart with Eli. So I put her in the large basket, told her she wasn't allowed to stand up and grabbed a small second cart to put all of my produce (grocery items went in with her as I wasn't afraid she'd eat those). Aside from the whole two cart thing, this was actually a great way to shop with both kids. They were contained and happy. Until checkout. Then Tali wanted out of the cart so she could build a tower out of the chocolate boxes at the checkout counter and Eli started crying. At least I made it that far!

I am convinced that one day soon I will leave the grocery store with a smile on my face and just as calm as when I walked in.

Picture

It's sad, but up until yesterday I didn't have any pictures of me and Eli and he's almost three months! Yesterday, I asked Savta to take some. Thought I'd share one of the better ones. (Note: The photographer did a good job. I just don't look so great right now.)

Hurricane Irene

We've been stuck inside all weekend due to Hurricane Irene. Luckily, we haven't lost power, even though most of our city has. But, obviously, Tali is a bit bored. This morning poor Jackson was the target of Tali's boredom. He handled it well. He's such a good boy.

Wow!

I can't believe it's been almost three weeks since I've posted anything. I think about it all the time but then get tied up in doing something else. This two kids at home/new house lifestyle has kept me busy! So here are some basic happenings:

ELI
Eli is doing well but has developed acid reflux. Honestly, I used to think that diagnosis was sort of a BS diagnosis for cranky babies. But I see how it sometimes bothers him to eat (arching back, constantly pulling away, screaming, etc.) and how he can get so upset before a big burp/spit up and continues to scream for a minute afterwards because it burned on the way up. Poor little guy. He's on medication and it's helped some but the reflux is still there.

Other than that one issue, he's a pretty good baby. Yes, he cries and has his witching hour, but on the whole he is much happier than Tali was. I find myself constantly saying "Tali never did this" about Eli's smiles and cooing.  This baby has to be good natured and flexible because I'm carting him everywhere. In two months, he's been breast fed in the car more times than I think Tali was for the entire first year. He's pretty good about it, luckily.

TALI
We're done with camp now so I have both kids home for a few weeks until Tali starts school. For the most part, she's been great. I try to do something fun for her everyday. On the days I can't, I make sure we get in a good game of hide and seek (she LOVES this and never tires of it, even though there are only about five "hiding" spaces in our apartment) or something else equally fun. She has become an excellent dog walker and now holds Jackson's leash 90% of the time we take him on a walk. When he has to pee or poop, she patiently sits on the curb and waits for him to go.

We go to the new house 2-3 times a week and she loves it because there is a (very old) swing set there. She's perfectly happy as long as she gets to play on the swings/go down the slide for a bit. She's also gotten comfortable napping in her Peapod in her new room. Last weekend we hired the 16-year-old down the street to babysit her while we met with our landscaper. Tali had no problem warming up to her and I'm glad we'll have a babysitter so close by.

ME
I have my hands full these days and am constantly reminded of this by strangers who hold doors open for me. I think I hear "you've got your hands full, don't you" at least 2-3 times a day. Luckily, my MIL and cleaning woman come to babysit every so often so I am able to run out and get some errands done without both children in tow. But, there are still daily outings for the little things. I am thankful that Tali has really handled the transition well. It makes it a bit easier.

Eli's still not sleeping through the night so I'm still not getting that much sleep. Between the lack of sleep and everything going on, I truly think I've lost my mind. H will agree. I say/do things that I just wouldn't have done in the past. It's strange and a bit embarrassing. Hopefully my brain will find it's way back to me soon.

H
H has been very busy at the house. He spends the majority of each weekend there either meeting with contractors or working out the details of the renovation. He's hardly had a real break in the past month. I don't think he's had a full day at home since we've closed. He's also up late at night working on house-related things. I feel for bad for him. We knew it would be like this but knowing about it and living it are two different things. For me, as long as I can keep the end goal in mind (a nice house that is ours, no more house hunting/renovations on weekends, etc.), then I know we'll get through it. When this is all over, we won't know what to do with all of our free time!

Jackson
Jackson has been on a diet for the past few months and the results are finally starting to show. He's lost about two pounds (which is something like 20 pounds for a human) and looks much better. He has more energy as well. Jackson has gotten very used to being walked by Tali or her 2-year-old friends and simply follows whoever is holding the leash. Oh, and he loves the new house also. When I take him with us, he spends the first few minutes just running around. He's never had such a large open space to himself before and it's great to watch him enjoy himself. Luckily, he's very well behaved and never strays too far from me. He comes when he's called and isn't interested in trying to escape.  

So that's the basic update over here. More to come soon. Promise.

Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. It was mostly uneventful. I went to pick up cupcakes for our dessert last night and bought one for Tali. The nice boy behind the counter put a "T" on the cupcake for Tali. She was very excited about "her" cupcake. She ate it all (of course). 

Bought A House

So I haven't posted in a little while. That's because I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to sit down, let alone type up a post about what Tali and Eli have been up to.

Last Wednesday, H and I purchased a house! This has been in the works since March but I haven't posted anything about it for fear of jinxing it. For those who know us well, you'll know that this was a four year search. We've looked everywhere and finally found what we were looking for - sort of.

The house needs plenty of work. It looks nice from the outside, but the inside is a mess. So on top of a toddler and a newborn, we are taking on a major house renovation and the house is about 30 minutes from where we live now. Yes, we must be crazy.

I was thinking about starting a separate blog to chronicle the house renovation but haven't had time to do it yet. If I do end up starting one, I'll let you know. (If anyone has a good name, let me know. I Must Be Crazy was taken - I checked.) In the meantime, here are a few fun facts about our new home:

1. We have 4 1/2 acres of land.
2. There are lots of wild raspberries growing on the property. Tali now asks to go pick raspberries every time we go to the new house.
3. Our backyard is on the local riding trails. Every once in a while, a horse trots through our backyard.
4. Speaking of horses, we have a barn. And two paddocks. H can't wait to turn them into Tali's and Eli's very own amusement park.
5. Our new town has NO chain stores or restaurants in their downtown. It's all local and completely adorable. Looks like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
6. We're hoping to move in some time this winter.