Update - finally

Oh, so much! I am going to preface this post by noting that some of these pictures are from last month. They have changed SO much in the past month. First of all, the sleep issues are going ok.

Olivia now cries maybe 2 minutes after I walk out, then she talks and sings for awhile. She may gripe a little and cry another 5 minutes before she finally gives it up, but then she lays right down and goes to sleep. Go figure! Our little drama queen is handling it well. Abby? Not so much…she will cry the entire time, big sobbing cries. She has not really cared about a blanket but after last week she has latched onto them. She would stand or sit in her crib biting it while she cried. It would be soaked when we would go in. Heartbreaking…so we are taking a break with her. After I lay Olivia down I hold Abby until she goes to sleep. Then she naps in a pack and play in our bedroom. It is not perfect but it is what works at this stage for us.

Any guilt I feel for letting Olivia fuss while I hold Abby is erased with this smile.

She is a MUCH happier baby for it. She is no longer exhausted. She is rested and happy. (And check out her hair! It has grown so much!)

Now onto the fun stuff -
I am so flippin’ busy these days. They are into everything. I mean…eve.ry.THANG! I turned my back for a second (I swear it was only second) and Olivia was up the first flight of stairs and around the corner to the second. Whoopsie! And Zachary totally told on me as soon as Gary walked in the door. Little traitor. They bypass toys in favor of shoes, video tapes, the Wii remotes, the cat food, the pasta packages, OY!! I swear I can’t get anything done besides cleaning their food off their trays while they pick up food off the floor they just turned their nose up at in their chairs. Really, girls? Reallly?? Oh sorry, did I just get off on a tangent?

Ok back to the fun stuff…They are both holding their bottles and have been for over a month now. Oh, how great this is.

Of course, sometimes the bag end is more fun.

Olivia says Mama and Dada. Abby says Mama, Dada, and Hi. She also mimics sounds so that it sounds a lot like she is copying us.

They both are cruising around the couch and other things by holding onto them. Abby has actually let go and attempted to take a step. EEeekk!! Olivia can stand still for a bit but then falls. Abby is now in her big girl car seat. She also pushes her car toys around and makes car noises. Brooooommmm broom brrrrrmmmm. Hilarious! Both her and Olivia LOVE to blow raspberries.

Their new favorite thing to do is play in the dishwasher. Here Abby is drinking the water from the door (don’t worry, it’s clean).

My two domestic divas

Another great past time is playing under the exersaucer.

Abby is now very attached to her doll. She drags it as she is crawling around. And don’t you DARE try to hold it and love it yourself. Olivia has one too but most of the time Abby has both.

This is her favorite face to make, complete with breathing through her teeth. Cayuute!!

Olivia is still attached to her silky blanket.

She will crawl over to it and just snuggle it up close.

Olivia has also figured out how to play peek-a-boo. For a week or so she would slap her hand on the side of her head when she wanted to play.

I so meant to get a picture of it then she stopped. :-(

They fight over toys. All.the.time. Everyday…all day. There are tears, people. And screeching and pulling and gnashing of teeth. I imagined two girls who would be the best of friends. ::sigh:: Hopefully this is just a stage. Stop laughing, it's not nice.

And now I think this has driveled on long enough. So there you have it…

Dang

I just spent all day downloading Windows Live Writer and working on a post about the girls. ALL DAY! With lots of pictures and stories. I can't get it to upload to the blog. Dang it!! I will try again tomorrow. ::sigh::

Update on our sleep issues

They actually did well last night. And today during their morning nap, Olivia went to sleep after about 10 mins of crying and slept for an hour and a half. Abby did not. at all. She cried for an hour. Great big sobbing cries. It was heart breaking. But I did stay in the house with the monitor on today so go me! Abby went on to fall asleep in her high chair for a cat nap during lunch. Afternoon nap went well also for Olivia who cried a few mins and then off to sleep she went amid Abby's cries. again. for an hour. ::sigh::

Thanks for your encouraging words. I am feeling better myself. I have some bad moments where my thoughts tend to go where they were yesterday, but I know that better days are ahead.

You know what else is ahead? Normal blog posts of cuteness, couponing, way backness, works for meness, braggingness. I know I owe you Easter pictures and my blag about Gary.

Defeated

Well, Olivia got Strep Throat too. Lovely...

It has been an emotional week for a variety of reasons.

I am not sure what the answer is for us and getting more sleep but I am finally at my end. They fight and fight their naps now during the day. They will only sleep in their swings, stroller, or car. I can't physically rock both of them at the same time anymore because they mess with each other. If I take turns, they wake each other up as I am putting them into their crib. My end is here. All I know is my girls are exhausted, grouchy, whiny, and not happy babies. And I am not a happy mommy.

My mom stayed with the girls today during nap time while they cried it out. I was crying it out at my friend Sarah's house. I went back after about 2 hours. We put them back down for their afternoon nap and I went downstairs to rest and turned off the monitor. They did a little better. We are hoping to cut out the night time bottles and comfort back to sleep during the night without putting a bottle in their mouths.

I feel so defeated. I know they are fine and everything; with no permanent damage. I just feel like I am short changing them by going against what I believe is right. I feel like I have failed them for not being able to find a way to establish healthy sleep habits without crying it out. I hate this. I hate that we have come to this. I hate that I am not strong enough to listen to their cries myself. I hate hate hate this.

...and two steps back

Abby has Strep Throat. It's bad. She is so miserable. She so did not want to go to sleep tonight. We finally rocked her in front of the TV and then put her in the swing to sleep while Gary sleeps on the couch. I am thinking I will just bring Olivia in bed with me.

The cereal worked for a few weeks but the past couple of nights have been rough again. It is almost like they figure it out and outsmart us. Oy! Hopefully it is just the sickness that is affecting them and they will get back with the program.

I know I have not been posting like I want. I am busier now than I have ever been with them. They want me to play with them constantly and then fight over my lap whenever I am in the floor with them. Plus, I can't leave them alone for a nano-second because they find the one piece of paper or rock I missed and into the mouth it goes. Or we have an all out tackle fest complete with face planting into the carpet.

I know I owe you all a huge update on what they are doing. It is coming up. Plus, I have a huge brag about Gary. It is a doozie and I can't wait to start on that post.

Tomorrow we are cleaning out the garage. Oh. Heavenly Days. It will be interesting to say the least. I will try to get some before and after pictures so you can gasp and shake your head like everyone else who sees our garage does.

Born 2 Impress GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Born 2 Impress GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Friendly Visits

One of my bestest friends visited last week from Tennessee. We have known each other since 1st grade and have been through thick and thin together. We have the kind of friendship that is just effortless. We see each other about twice a year and we never seem to miss a beat. We just pick right up where we left off.

She saw my girls for the first time very quickly last fall, but this was the first time she actually spent time with us as a family. She got to know them pretty quickly.

She loves Olivia diva looks. She seems to say, "You should feel honored in my presence" when she looks at her ( or anyone really, except us).

She loves Abby's laid back personality and sweetness. She kept us all entertained with her giggles and peek-a-boos. For some reason I don't have many pictures of Abby from those days. She was right there in the big middle of it all too. I did manage to get this one of her. She fell asleep about a second after I realized how tired she was.


Rob, Farrell's husband, tried really hard not to succumb to their girlish charm, but alas, you just can't resist these wonderful sweeties.


We cooked a great meal together of Tomato Cream Penne pasta. Umm, YUMMY!! It was so so good, but what can you expect from 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and fresh basil. Heavenly!

The above picture was taken 2 days before they started sleeping better. You can see the stress and exhaustion even though I was hanging in there.

We tried so hard to get them to smile or even look at the camera.

Aww...can't wait until the summer when I travel up there.

The really funny thing is. She doesn't even read my blog. I know!! In fact, very few of my real life friends tune in. I do know that there are a few ( Hi Casee, Sarah, Nikki, Brandie...anyone else...anyone???) And that is fine. I love my bloggy and internet friends. Mmmwahhhh!!!

Baby Jail Woes

Abby says, "Let me out!"













Olivia says, "Baby jail is no fun when Mama is on the other side."












These are from about a month ago but I had to share them. I will be posting some pictures that are from March and April trying to catch up. Busy, busy!!

Mommy instincts = good

I know I have been MIA lately. I even had a "I need a break from blogging" post all ready to post yesterday morning. It was getting really bad. We were walking zombies around here. I was so discouraged and just down. And so flippin' tired I could cry. I was beginning to wonder if we would make it. I was starting to doubt myself.

But then, Tuesday night, something happened. They SLEPT! For more than an hour at a time. In fact, Gary and I only got up 2 times each, compared to 5+ times we are usually up and that is just between 12:00 - 7:00. That doesn't even count the 4 times we have to go up to get Olivia before we even go to bed. But I digress...

Last night they slept from 8:00 until 2:30 (!!) Can you hear the heavens sing?? I sure can. Then only got up around 5:30. So we really are down to 2 times a night.

What happened you ask? Well, I'll tell you. I took Zachary to the doctor last week for a sore throat. She asked how the sleeping was coming along. Remember, she was one of the ones who said to let them cry. I told her flat out I felt very strongly about them not crying it out. So she gave me some different tips. BTW - Where were these tips the last time I was there? Why is it she only shared them after I put my foot down. Whatever...

She suggested giving them cereal before bed (in addition to their three meals) since they were actually finishing bottles throughout the night. She also suggested closing the door to their room so that it is very dark (we leave a small night light on). So we started. We didn't see a change at first. Then on Tuesday night they ate 2 bowls full of cereal mixed with fruit and yogurt. After the first bowl was empty we debated getting more but they obviously were eating it, so we tried it. Imagine our surprise when they finished another whole bowl of it.

So they were hungry. And here is where I am thankful I listened to my mommy instincts. Since they were not getting good rest, they were so exhausted they would drink just enough to stop the hunger and fall back asleep, only to be woken up with it an hour later. Poor babies...

I am so thankful for this corner turn. It is amazing how refreshed I feel after just 2 nights of sleeping more than an hour at a time.

I will upload some pictures from my camera today and hopefully work on an update. They are SO much fun now. I have some really great pics of them I can't wait to share.

Thank you for all your encouragement. I love you guys and I am so thankful you read me.

Intro to Grass

This was a few weeks ago but is just too cute not to post. It cuts off so fast at the end because Olivia was about to eat the grass. Yeck!! And yes, we usually have green grass. We are working on it. The rain this week helped and hopefully we will have a lush green lawn soon enough.