Micsellany Monday

1. Last night as I was picking up toys I emptied out three gift bags that E had been carrying around.  Inside them I found:
• 6 Duplo Blocks
• 3 wooden pepperonis
• 4 wooden mushrooms
• 2 wooden peppers (They got a Melissa & Doug pizza set for their birthday.)
•  a wooden policeman from a train set
• 1 slice of pizza, wooden
• 1 cupcake baking cup
• a Mr. Potato Head nose
• a strip of red fabric that had been tied around their birthday shirts
2. After S and E's nap today we were picking up more Duplo blocks but S couldn't part with two of them.  One was a see-through block and the other was a brown block with coffee beans on it.  I asked him what he had and he said, "Blue and coffee."  I asked, "Who likes coffee. He replied, "Mama."  With a sly smile.
3. Please ignore the incorrect punctuation and lack of new paragraphs in the number two.  Blogger won't let me indent and keep my numbers.
4. Today was our two year appointment with the doctor.  S is in the 99th percentile for height and the 95th for weight while poor little E is only in the 25th for weight and the 75-85th for height.  This explains so much about gymnastics class tonight.
5. I have an agreement or I "okayed" alternating gymnastics classes with S and in for two sessions.  E went the first two because S was sick last week.  It was finally his turn.  I had to take E with me and Mr. P met us there.  E was not happy about missing out on class but S was pretty excited.  He does a much better job copying motions of the teacher but he just isn't as nimble or a fast or as much of a risk taker as his big sister.  I think he larger than average size has affected his flexibility and it takes him a little longer to be confident.  He did love the parachute too.  He did a pretty good job but got "stuck" under the tent once and then was unprepared for a quick up and down and did a face plant with a little blood onto the chute.  But he happily joined back in a ran all over it.
6. When I asked what his favorite part of class was he said, "Tunnel. Swing, knock it down."  There was a tunnel set up over a wedge that he would have stayed at all class and they got to swing on the bar and knock down a larger block.  He giggled with excitement every time he knocked it down.  Oh boys...
7. E got a little baby for her birthday that has a paci.  We are only 3 weeks into being paci free and I was a little worried she'd inherit the baby's.  BUT she tells you to be quiet when the baby is around and gives it the paci and she hasn't tried to suck on it once.  (Her brother did twice at dinner though.)
8. We played with play-doh tonight for the first time.  In the 30 seconds that I left the kitchen to grab the camera S had taken a bite of the orange dough.  Yuck!
9. No pictures today.  I'm still trying to learn our new computer.  Our old one died on Saturday and we're still trying to recover the memory.  No fun!

Another step away...

from being my babies.  As of today S and E have been paci free since January 1st.  It is the one resolution that we can check off the list.  Mr. P has been trying to get me to get rid of the kids' paci's since they were about a year old.  I have been reluctant for no reason other than laziness.  It was part of their nap and nighttime routine.  They knew the paci meant it was time for bed.  They were becoming more attached and E had started throwing major fits when you tried to take hers from her.  So, we made it a resolution to wean them off, or really quit cold turkey.

Tuesday before nap time I asked Mr. P, "So do we start now?  Should we put them to bed without their paci's?"  Of course he said, yeah.  We talked to the kids for awhile about being big and big kids don't sleep with pacifiers and then we put them to bed.  S didn't have any trouble.  He whimpered for a bit but he was tired.  (They were both up until 11 pm on New Year's Eve and didn't really sleep in.)  E on the other had cried, after 10 minutes Mr. P went up and told her it was time to go night night and put her back down, she cried, and repeat.  After 30 minutes of crying we decided that maybe she needs to just use a broken one.  So I slit the tip and gave it to her.  She took it and went right to sleep.

So we decided to try the same trick that night with the broken paci.  She cried a little bit but not too bad and then went to sleep.  S continued to have no trouble.  He'd ask for his paci and we'd tell him big boys don't use them and he would go to sleep.  So we thought it would just take time for E to get tired of the broken paci.  Well, we were wrong.

On Wednesday, Jan. 2nd, we spent the morning running errands and getting E's first haircut.  We made it home late, about an hour past nap time.  The kids were tired so we thought they'd go right to sleep.  We decided to try to put E down without her paci, give her some time then, if needed we'd give her her paci.  I snuck downstairs to escape the crying and because I'm not very good at just putting her down and telling her it is night night time.  I'm a sucker and I know it.  So Daddy gets to be in charge.  Forty minutes later Mr. P comes downstairs and tells me that E is still crying.  He hadn't given her the broken paci and every time he goes upstairs she has taken all of her clothes off.  We decided to give her the broken paci and see how it goes.  Well, it didn't help.  She still screamed for almost an hour.  I finally decided to try to get her to sleep.

When I went in she had taken her clothes off, again, and she was saying, "change".  So I figured she must be dirty.  Well, she was practically dry.  But not she had gotten herself out of bed.  So I took her to my bed to lay with her to try to calm her down.  She was calm and asleep, I thought, so I took her back into her room.  Well, she was back awake and clingy to me like a little monkey.  I finally pried her from me and put her into her bed.  Where she cried, and cried, and cried.

Well needless to say a little bit later I gave her a regular paci, she still cried.  The girl needed to sleep so I laid down with her in our bed and she was out like a light.  Unfortunately all the commotion had taken a toll on S's nap.  He was up.  Phew, the worst nap time we've had in a VERY long time.  My kids are generally great sleepers.

So Mr. P and I had to come up with a new plan of action.  E is a smart, stubborn little girl.  So we went back to cold turkey.  There wasn't a time that we'd give her the broken paci, she wasn't going to get one, or we'd but up for hours at night.

So we put her to bed with a paci and I went to the grocery store.  (I did the same thing when we had to let her CIO around her first birthday when she just wanted to be held when she slept.)  I got the all clear about 40 minutes later.  She had fallen asleep without her paci.  Hooray!

Nap time yesterday went pretty good too.  She only cried for about 8 minutes and then was asleep.  We did however double layer her clothes and put a onesie on just in case.

Last night I put her down and she went right to sleep.  Not a peep.

Today at nap time she cried a little bit.  Then woke up about 30 minutes later crying.  I went up and she again had taken off her shirt.  I put her back down and after a little more crying she was out.  Tonight, not a peep.

Hopefully it will continue to go well.  I am a little worried about going back to work next week.  Grandma has her our first day back and last time she watched them E didn't take an afternoon nap...at all.   

Now I just have these 4 pacifiers left and I can't get myself to throw them away.  It is just another sign my babies are getting big.