sleep update

i want to thank everyone so much for commenting, emailing and leaving suggestions and encouraging words regarding e's nightmares. i think we've nailed down the culprit and it was sooo obvious, i'm feeling bad i didn't realize it before.

e does seem to have more restless nights than usual. where she just tosses and turns, is up 5 times to pee, talks in her sleep, etc. i have those too. maybe everyone does. those aren't fun either, but the nightmares - well those are for the birds.

e has definitely had nightmares. she's scared, panicing, acting out in her sleep, etc. it's heartbreaking. heart.breaking.

and it's definitely when she's overtired. or really really tired. like you would think she'd sleep like a rock. happens all the time to us, to me. but usually it's when i miss hours of sleep. for e, she could miss a half hour. doesn't matter. she's 2 and requires a certain amount and she needs it.

what happens when elena gets overtired....

sleep in bowl e from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

she's been playing around with her sleep schedule... she sometimes naps, sometimes doesn't. we are definitely in a transition period. and it can really depend on the day. i've been really trying to nap her to avoid nightmare issues...but it's a slippery slope. sometimes she simply isn't ready to nap...ya know, until like 4pm. or sometimes she could nap easily...ya know, for 3 hours. so then we have nighttime issues all over again...ya know, where she isn't ready for bed til after 9pm. not a horrible option, but we prefer an early bedtime for our kiddos. plus, she's always up at 7am and 9-10 hrs at night is not enough for the misses. and the revolving door goes round and round. so i've been trying to put her down for a nap, wake her from the nap (that's fun!) and still get her to bed at a decent hr (7-7:30pm) so she can get 11-12 hrs at night. which isn't easy.

but it's really sad and helpless-feeling to see her get over tired. my babes need their sleep! that is for sure! those active brains should NOT be active at night! i'm happy to say - the nightmares are keeping their distance with our back-to-nap schedule. elena has not slept with us for weeks. weeks. [and of course when j got up at 5am this morning, she woke and came and slept with us. ha.] she's getting used to napping again. and although, we of course see signs of over tiredness here and there (or maybe it's just the signs of a two, almost three yr old), she is doing much better sleeping. yay!

i captured this peaceful moment when she fell asleep with daddy on the couch for her nap...there were about 90 minutes of these peaceful moments before elena pee'd in her sleep all over the couch...all over daddy. :(

my sweet e. i'm so sorry you're sleep gets so easily out of wack. i'm afraid you come by it naturally and i will do all i can to make sleep a GOOD experience for you, as it is meant to be. this is one area i do not want you to take after me in!



as for the other little misses. my sweet ad has been up for hours on end this whole past week. screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night. nothing seems to help. when i've really been at a loss, i bring her out and let her play. yep. you know this of course had to happen the week before we leave for vacation to ensure mommy was good and anxiety filled for the trip. duh. well every.single.time. she does this, a few days to a week later, she breaks a tooth. and sure enough 3 days into it, tooth #13 broke. bottom left. 3rd tooth over. welcome #13. it has been a little better the last 3 nights, i started just going in and rubbing her back until she falls back to sleep. which only takes about 20 minutes. which only feels like about 16 1/2 hours when standing, leaning over a crib when your shorty spice (i need to put a stool in there), rubbing a teeny weeny back in the middle of the night. but really, we're getting extra time together before our little break from one another. and now we're back to me not going in at all. she doesn't scream anymore. she may fuss for several minutes on and off and i wait patiently for her to fall off into la la land again... wishing i could take her pain away.

my sweet ad. i'm so sorry you go through hell with those teeth. i wish nothing more than to take that pain away from you right now.

"There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

roadtrip

roadtrips are always fun. aka - we need to get out of the house.

we get to eat out. aka - big sissy swipes anything left on little sissy's plate.
we get to do and see fun and different things, like go to a museum. aka - we get to play with things that possibly haven't been washed in years.
lots of laughing and running was going on. aka - a lot of chasing a 1 and 2 yr old was going on.

every kid loves water tables. aka - no kid likes to be dry. it's seriously so much fun to soak yourself.
role playing is the coolest. aka - role playing really is the coolest and i want this stuff in my house for them.
elena, a doctor and adelyn, running with scissors. aka - i can totally fast forward 25 yrs and see elena as a doctor and adelyn still running with scissors or doing something wild. ;)
'driving' a tractor is pretty neat. aka - 'driving' a tractor is another photo-op for ma.
turning knobs does not get old. aka - really? this is all it does?
we are combining. aka - eh?
watching things fly through tubes is pretty cool. aka - adelyn put everything she could in the tubes...they would go through, shoot out and smack elena in the head or chest. seriously.
she loved it. aka - she really loved it.
they can see themselves dancing on the big screen. aka - we have got to get one of these!!
last week, j and i needed to do some last minute shopping for our upcoming vacation. we zipped through that, grabbed lunch and spent all afternoon at a children's museum. it was so much fun for the girls. and for us to watch them. i just love family days!

"When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses." ~Joyce Brothers

adde ann

miss adde ann...
you are just beyond gorgeous...
you have the most perfect eyes, perfect lips, perfect nose, perfect hair...
seriously, you should see yourself...
it's a wonder how i haven't eaten you...
and even with a big booger...
right between your eyes...
you're still the absolute cutest thing!
and i'm not biased at all! i even find you cute when you keep me up for 3 hours in the middle of the night...like right now.

"A little girl is sugar and spice and everything nice - especially when she's taking a nap." ~Author Unknown

4th of july parade

elena's been playing 'parade' for months and months. she lines up her dolls, gives them all kinds of purses/bags and throws little toys at them....blocks, shapes, potato head parts, etc....all meant to be candy. it is too cute!

thank goodness for another holiday parade! my girls were in heaven. and we're averaging playing 'parade' about 7 times a day again...

"I’d thank my lucky stars, to be livin here today.

‘ Cause the flag still stands for freedom, and they can’t take that away.
And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up, next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land, God bless the USA.
From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas, From sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston, and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart, and its time we stand and say.
That I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up, next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land, God bless the USA.

sorry to kill the mood, but then we were off to the petting zoo...which made me uncomfortable on many different levels. but the girls loved it... :)



and later that night j and i headed out with my brother tony and several other friends for the fireworks along the river. we had so much fun that this is the only picture you'll see....
hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th!

"Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better." ~Albert Camus

big girl e

for the last 6-7 months i've struggled with the decision to put elena in 3 year old preschool. she will (most likely) have a late birthday and be one of the youngest in her class, just like i was. i think she's ready for school. i think she'd love school. i think she'd be fabulous in school.

but we ultimately decided she has years and years to be in school and off doing 'her' thing. we're not sending her to school for another year. and she will be at home doing 'her' thing.

i've been looking through my video clips from the last few months trying to get them published and have come across several of just what a big girl e really is.

sniff sniff. they grow up so fast.

elena has become obsessed with letter sounds. she is constantly sounding out the beginning of words to then determine what letter they start with. she quizzes us and asks us to quiz her.

letter sounds from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

elena pumps while swinging now. when she gets really into it she gets herself higher, but more often just maintains her height. she's really enjoying the perks of this skill...and so are we.

pumping elena from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

elena rides her tricycle around the block...

trike ride from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

there's so much more. like how's she also obsessed with time - always asking what time it is and trying to read the numbers of a digital clock and like how she is already signed up for her first class this fall - dance class.

you have so much to learn miss elena and we are so proud of your want to learn!

"You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again." ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau,

zoo playdate

last week the girls and i headed to the zoo for a playdate. it was probably the smoothest playdate we have ever attended. i'm talking all 12 kiddies were meltdownless, fightless, sharers, listeners, etc. it was so great. they were all pleasant and being good friends and it just made our day soooo nice!

charlie, evvie and elena watching the sea lion show...

ad thought the otters were pretty cool...


nora and elena checking out a turtle...

our playgroup...6 adults, 12 kiddies
e did have a tiny meltdown when she had to get off the carousel...






leo, lane, eli, evvie, charlie, elena, nora, landen, adelyn and sam...(lana and leya were not feeling it)


"A characteristic of the normal child is he doesn't act that way very often." ~Author Unknown