Ernie

Sebastien and Eden love Ernie from Sesame Street. We have a little Ernie figure. I don't do a great Ernie impression, but I'm willing to give it a go, because my kids just love it. They ask to hear Ernie's voice all the time.

What I don't quite get is whether they think Ernie is really talking to them or not. They come over and show Ernie things: "Look Ernie," "here, a baby Ernie," "do you see that Ernie?" They want Ernie to play their games, tickle them, fly through the air... They love Ernie.

Here's the dilemma. I have discovered on a couple of occasions, that if Ernie asks them to stop doing something, they will stop. When I ask them to stop doing something, I get about a 50/50 response. So, do I turn Ernie into a disciplinarian? Do I use him and his amazing power to get what I want? Or does that rob my children of their innocent love for this character? Eventually, will Ernie asking them to quick turning the lights on and off get as old as me asking the same thing?

Stories From Today

Here are just a few things that happened at my house today, starting with the youngest and moving on up.

Violet had her 2 month appointment today. She weighs 12 lbs 2 oz (85th percentile) and is 22 3/4 inches long (70th percentile.) The girl is growing like crazy! She did alright with her three shots at the office, had a crabby afternoon, but has been sleeping this evening away like you wouldn't believe. I did get a couple of smiles before she went down for the night, so I think she'll be just fine.

Eden, the little smartie pants, loves looking at letters, trying to figure out words, listening to different sounds. So today, I was doing her hair, and she said "Pah-pah ponytails... Pony tails start with 'p'!" Impressed, I said, "Wow, honey, that's right, good job!" She smiled, and then as we were talking about her sister, she started saying "sah-sah-sister." I said, "Yep, s-s-sister. What does 'sister' start with?" And Eden looked at me and said "CAT!" Hmmmm.

Sebastien... oh dear, I could tell 85 different stories about this boy, but none of them would have the impact I want them to, because you sort of have to experience Sebastien in person. His imagination is just unbelievable. But so is his memory. He has a video that tells different stories for different colors. Today he spent about 15 minutes reciting one of the stories again and again and again. He does that with songs lately too. Today was also a day of singing "This old man" again and again. Sometimes he just picks one line from something, like from Veggie Tales "God made you special, and he loves you very much" and he'll just repeat that again and again.

Adam decided to be ambitious today. He started and completed the back splash for our kitchen. Here's how our kitchen "renovation" went. In February, he painted the cupboards. In July, he tore off all the old counters and re-did the countertop. Now, here it is October, and we have a back splash! WOO! I've said it before and I'll say it again: What a guy.

Me. Um. I got my hair cut. And I took care of my family. Not a great story.

Just some pictures

Credit for these pics go to my friend Lindsey Iverson

Big Kid Beds: Naps

Oh the drama.

Eden and Sebastien are doing very well sleeping in their big beds at night. We are able to go in, do our routine, leave the room, and they fall asleep mostly on their own. I'm not saying they don't get up and monkey around a bit. But for the most part, we are able to leave them in there, go in only when there is an owie or a lovey-stealing incident...they eventually find their way and fall asleep on their own.

Naps have been a totally different story. Enter the drama. I am writing this after finally having figured out a way to not lose my mind, therefore I can write without pulling my hair out. Prior to figuring out my new system, we spent hours in the room with Eden and Sebastien, trying to get them to lie down, not get up, not bother each other, not scream, not kick the wall... just LIE DOWN and SLEEP!! (Sense the frustration.) They would be exhausted, yet they would be up and up and up and up again and again, while Adam or I would sit between the beds just trying to keep them in.

We tried leaving immediately and just letting them be. But they would never fall asleep. They would stay in there ramming around for two hours if we let them. (Then getting up so overly tired, the rest of the day was a bust.) We tried focusing on one at a time, letting the other just roam around in the room. It worked to some extent, but one of them had to be ready to settle, or we would essentially be wrestling them down. We tried giving in-room time-outs... And because of my experience in parenting education, we tried each of our approaches consistently for a couple weeks at a time. (Well, except the one where we let them be, because too many days passed without naps.) They just kept each other all riled up. One would seem about ready to sleep, closing his/her eyes, and the other would burst up out of the covers and scream. And what response for their sibling is there, really, but to burst up and scream right back.

I was baffled and frustrated. Enter Violet and her needs into the equation and you can imagine how difficult it was to spent hours trying to get the big kids down for naps.

Part of the frustration is that I have yet to find a good book or resource on the "how to's" of parenting twins. I know what I would advise to parents of singles. But 2 year olds who share a room...I had lost all perspective. I needed a way to enforce the rules (no getting out of bed, no kicking the wall, no pulling the curtains, no screaming) without being physically present in the room.

So I asked around to some twin parents I knew. Of course, every home is different, so I can't say that I was given advice that I was able to follow exactly. But two things came out of this. The first was merely a reminder: Don't be in the room if at all possible. I knew that. I did. But I was beginning to feel like it was impossible to have naps in my house without me being there until they drifted off to sleep. Hearing from another parent of twins that it WAS in fact possible, gave me the perspective I needed. Second: Do they HAVE to be in the same room? Initially I thought: yes. They do. They share a room, they need to learn to sleep there.

On second thought: Nope. So, I set up a Pack N Play in the nursery. Now, for naps only, if I have to go back to the room 3 times, on the 3rd time, someone is going to the Pack N Play. How do I decide who, you ask? It is usually obvious which one is trying to sleep and which one is being a monkey. If not, like today, I said, "Ok, that's 3. Someone has to go to the Pack N Play." And Eden said, "Eden!" She grabbed her lovey and off we went.

Initially the PNP was a place where talking and crying happened but no napping. But only for one nap each. Honestly. Now they both sleep just fine in the PNP. In fact, the one who goes to the PNP is generally asleep much faster than the one who is left in the big kid room.

So, that is the update on naps. It's going alright, and I feel like I am actually able to manage all 3 kids at nap time without calling in reinforcements.

These last few posts have been text heavy. I will post pictures or video soon to make up for it.

A record of our days...in somewhat painful detail

This truly is just a record of what our days are like. It's probably more for me than anything else. I have found that I look back on old blog postings to help me remember things about life with Eden and Sebastien, so I can only assume that at some point I will wonder: "How did things go when Violet was 7 weeks old?" This is how.

Violet is beginning to settle into her "EASY" routine (See: Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, referenced when Eden and Sebastien were newborns as well.)

Here's a typical day in my house: (And, the times listed are "for example" times; it is not the same every day...Yet.)

Violet wakes up around 5:00am to eat. I can feed her and get her back to sleep and get myself back into bed by around 6:00am. (Usually.) Adam leaves for work before 6:30, so I can often get a good half-hour nap in before Sebastien and Eden start to wake up, which is any time between 6:30 and 7:30. I get them up and fed before Violet wakes again at 8:00 or 8:30, wanting to eat. She stays awake at that point for about an hour, then falls back to sleep for a morning nap. This is fairly good timing, because generally around that time, my 2-year-olds are getting restless and are tired of waiting for Mommy's attention. I get some good play time in with Sebastien and Eden while Violet sleeps.

Violet eats roughly every 3 hours, so she wakes again 3 hrs after her last feeding. I can usually feed her before feeding Eden and Sebastien, who usually eat around noon. I utilize all tools to keep Violet happy while I make lunch: the Baby Bjorn (her favorite, but this often lulls her to sleep), the bouncy seat, the swing, the play mat.

Here comes the tricky part. Eden and Sebastien's nap is their highest maintenance time of the day. Though it has gotten markedly better in the past week or so, as I have employed a new strategy (to be discussed in a post all its own.) Often I have help at this time of day so that I don't have to hold Violet while trying to get the twins to sleep. Sometimes Violet is sleeping already, so that works out when it happens. However, there have been times that I have had her in my arms while trying to create a peaceful and sleepy environment for Sebastien and Eden... as you can imagine a squirmy (and usually sleepy by this time) newborn is a bit distracting for them.

Once in a while... every now and then... a magical thing happens. Eden and Sebastien sleep. AND Violet sleeps. At. The. Same. Time. When it happens, I feel like mother of the year. But it has so very little to do with me. Just timing of Violet's feedings, hitting the twins' sleep window at the right time, and the moons being aligned with just the right planets or something.

The bigger kids sleep for around 2 hours. Violet's sleep varies. Sometimes she wakes up to eat right on schedule and sometimes she wants a really long afternoon nap and sleeps through her feeding time.

Lucky for me, Adam comes home around 4:15, and we all breathe a sigh of relief. Often he takes Sebastien and Eden out of the house somewhere, or we all go somewhere together.

Dinner is around 5:30; but with Adam home, it is not the juggling act that lunch time is. Sebastien and Eden go to bed around 7:30. Adam and I take turns putting them to bed, which I really enjoy. Violet tends to want to eat around 8pm, and is asleep any time between 8:45 and 9:30. Since my last post, she has started going 9 hour stretches, and one time almost 10 hours without eating. She sleeps until at least 4:00am, often later.

And then it starts all over again.

Having a newborn in the house again has been very fun. It has created some challenges for sure, but snuggling a little baby really makes up for all those challenges. Not to mention how sweet it is that Eden just wants to smother her sister in kisses, and mimics many of the things we say to her, "You are so cute, Violet" or "Hey smiley!" And Sebastien often just comes up and notes her tiny features, "Tiny toes!" and "Tiny fingers" or simply offers a "Hello Violet" as he passes by.

Violet at 6 weeks

I have not had a lot of time for blogging since Violet's birth, but it's about time that I write down what life has been like since our little Honey joined the family.

First thing's first: One baby is easier than two. We heard rumors that this was the case, but we had not experienced it ourselves. Now, sure enough, one infant is just plain easier than two infants. Not only that, but Violet is a pretty content little girl. Her first two weeks home, we barely heard her cry at all. She would sort of grunt and make little noises of "Hm, I think I might be hungry..." but she did not have inconsolable crying spells or anything.

Starting in her third week, Violet developed a pattern of having a fussy time in the evening. Initially it wasn't even too much fussing, it was just that compared to the rest of the day, she wasn't as happy. But after a week or two, her fussy time became a time of crying for a couple hours each evening. This continues, but does seem to be settling down a bit in the last week. With newborns it seems like every time you think they've developed a pattern, something changes. But really, give her a break, she's still trying to figure life out.

Violet is a great eater. She came home at 7lbs 10 oz, and was 9 lbs 9 oz when she had a two week weight check. She didn't see her doctor at one month because she had gained weight so well her first two weeks; I don't know exactly what she weighs now. But she is growing like a little weed.

She is also a pretty decent sleeper. Before I knew she was gaining so much weight, I woke her up every 3 hours to feed her. After I got her pediatrician's blessing, I started to let her go as long as she wanted in the night. The longest she's gone without eating is 7 hours, but it only happened once. Right now it seems that she fairly consistently goes about 6 hours, I feed her in the middle of the night, and she'll go another 5 or so. I'm not saying that she (or I) am sleeping for all of those hours, but these longer stretches give me hope of things to come.

Let me note here though, that to me, this is a LOT of sleep compared to how I wasn't sleeping the last time there were newborns in my house. So, I'm pretty happy. Still tired, but happy. Again, one baby is easier than two.

Violet started really smiling clear and certain smiles just before she turned four weeks old. She has a gorgeous smile and the sweetest little coos. We have just adored spending time starting into her precious face, getting to know her and making her smile.

Violet is very loved by her big brother and sister. So far, neither of them has shown any resentment or any desire to get rid of her. Part of this is the amazing help we have had from grandparents since Violet's birth. They have made all of our lives easier, and have made sure that Eden and Sebastien are not wanting for attention. It's also been very helpful and fun to have visitors, many of whom have brought meals with them. I don't know what we would do without such wonderful people in our lives.

Sometimes I just can't believe that we hit the jackpot AGAIN. With Eden and Sebastien, we have always felt like we are really blessed with two kids with wonderful temperaments and fun personalities. And now, again with Violet we often remark, "She is such a good baby," "She is such a happy baby," and other such totally unbiased musings. We really are very blessed.