Breakthrough....

Finally.  Luke is catching on to the 'sleeping through the night' idea!  Luke and Olivia are very different kids.  But, Olivia did like to sleep!  She caught on to the concept early.  So, I couldn't help but think #2 might go down the same path. 

Luke though....he likes to smile, laugh and giggle at 3am.  There could be worse things.  But, mama likes her sleep! 

This week was different.  For the most part, he now goes down at 7:30pm, sleeps until 5:30am, eats and goes back to sleep until 7am or so.  I will not complain about that schedule.  For now. 

However, one night last week, he slept from 7:30pm until 7am!!!  On a week night!  That meant I went to work rested! 

We put Luke to sleep in a 'sleep sack'.  The wearable blankets due to the whole SIDS thing.  We were a bit behind on the laundry and due to reasons I will not share with you (i.e. baby stuff) he couldn't wear the two we have.  So, I went searching for one from Olivia's baby days. 

This is the only one I could find.  And, he slept 11 1/2 hours.  I'm convinced he was channeling Olivia.  Just don't show him this when he's 16.  What he doesn't know, won't hurt him. 

Lord....Help Me

I am SO.....not ready for this.  Thank goodness, I have a few years ahead of me to toughen up my skin.  Or to find the best lock made by mankind. 

I'm sitting in a restaurant innocently having lunch and minding my own business.  Next to me are 3 rather innocent looking high school girls.  Who are secretly plotting their plans to 'pass one over' on the 'ol parents and sneak out, go to a party they shouldn't be at or all of the above along those lines!!! 

Now, Mom & Dad...if you are reading this, I know you are saying, 'what the heck is this girl complaining about!  We went through the same hell when we found out she stayed out all night at a party down the street when she told us she was spending the night at her friend's house.'  Paybacks is probably the word entering your head.  And, I was a 'good' kid.  I would like to think.

I also just overheard that these girls go to a private school near us that happens to cost $30k a year.  If you pay that absurd amount of money, shouldn't your kids behave!!  These girls are plotting how to get some kind of 'key' from one of the dads.  But, pondering how suspicious it will be if she asks for it.  Making comments joking around about how it will be the worst moment for their parents if they 'get arrested' and their parents have to answer that call you dread coming from the cops.  They are talking about having 'Nick' drive them around.  Should I tell themt that 'Nick' doesn't really have their best interest in mind??  :)  The amount of drop-offs required to make this plan successful is unbelievable.  Does more work = more fun? 

What are these girls thinking?  Do they think anything good is going to come of this?? 

I know, I know....we've all been here.  We all survived and our parents only had minor heart attacks along the way.  There is a BIG difference between raising girls and boys.  My boy is only 5 mos old and I already have this one figured out.  Olivia is going to be chained up or I'll find some way to stick a surveillance camera around her neck. DeeDee - glad you signed up for that 'tween' class.  You can coach the rest of us on raising girls post-millennium!! 

My stomach is in knots already......ugh! 

What do you get.....

When you have an island 21 miles x 1 mile, with 65k people and nowhere to go??  A bunch of couped up people ready to party!! 

I'm in Bermuda this week on a trip.  For the most part, it's been typical business.  However, in the last few minutes of our meeting today, 'customer' said that they had 2 extra tickets to an ABBA concert and wanted to know if me and 'employee' wanted to go.  The concert, after all, was in our hotel.  Who knew??  It certainly wasn't advertised when we checked in yesterday. 

Apparently, it's 'BermudaFest'.  Another thing I was unaware of.  Hmmm.  I have to say there was some hesitation from our side.  So, we went to dinner and decided at the last minute to show up an hour late to the concert. 

Wow!  I am SO glad I did not miss this.  For one, you cannot, no matter how hard you try, stay relaxed, serious, mad, sad, bored, enter-your-word-here, at an ABBA concert.  They are just ALL 'happy' songs!  Second, this was a true Swedish cover band that has been together for 16 years singing ABBA songs.  I felt like I was watching them live had I been over age 15 when they were around.  Third - unbeknownst to us...again.....Mike Watson, an original ABBA member and bassist was in the band.  As a special guest.  funny. 

And...last, but certainly not least....I got to experience what Bermudians do.  Because they are couped up on an island.  Did i mention this earlier??  I swear, there were people ranging from 6-90 in the audience.  And, they were all clapping, swaying, dancing, and singing.  It was hilarious.  All of them, that is, except the grumpy, grouchy 90 yr old man sitting on the middle aisle of the 3rd row that grumpily asked the happy-audience dancers to sit down mid-show because he could no longer see the pretty ladies singing on the stage.  By the end of the show, he lost his battle.  There were dozens of people dancing in the aisle and in front of the stage.  And, his grumpiness was a lost cause. 

So, that is how I spent my evening.  At an ABBA concert.  Far away from any other civilization.  With half the population of Bermuda (ok, maybe only a very small percentage) and a lot of Dancing Queens.....

This one's for you Jules!!!!!  And if you know Jules, you know exactly what I'm talking about!!!  Love and miss you!  Could not help but think about you tonight. 

Sponges and Milestones...

Random title, huh? 

Our little 'sponge' would be Olivia.  The 'milestones'....well as you can guess, that refers to Luke these days. 

First to our sponge.  This has to be one of my favorite times in Olivia's lengthy 5 years.  She is right on the cusp of reading and it is incredible to see the progress.  I'm sure I'll be saying things like this as she progresses through math, science, etc.  Or, you somehow get used to it and take it for granted like everything else in life.  So, for now, I'm trying to really appreciate it. 

I think I mentioned this in an earlier post, but Olivia is dying and I mean dying to spell, read and everything in between.  I went in to her room last night and she had a paper with all kinds of words written on it.  Listed right down the page.  The first one there....'Glamorous'!  What??  I still have no idea where she copied that from.  But, that's what she does.  She sits down at her desk and finds things to copy.  Then, she writes.  It's so funny.  She can spell our whole family from memory. 

We also bought a deck of 'sight' words.  This week's words are 'On', 'No', 'Black', 'The' and 'And'.  She more or less has them down already.  So, after practicing them the other night, she picked out all the words she knew in her bedtime story and read them when she came to them in the book.  You can just see her little mind working.  It's so cool.  I love watching her think through the words, what letter they start with and what that must mean in terms of which one of the 5 it is on the card. 

To make it more confusing, she also has an incredible desire to learn Spanish.  Olivia has completely caught on that we live in a place where other languages are spoken.  And, she's anxious to participate.  The funny part about it is that she identifies anyone of Latin decent and tries, publicly, to talk to them.  Up until now though, the first word that comes to mind is 'Uno'!  We were at the park the other day and Olivia was on her bike.  As she rode past anyone looking Latin, she yelled out 'Uno'!  Imagine... a five yr old yelling 'One!' as they rode past you.  We got some strange looks.  She also did it in the Costco line checking out.  Awkward. 

So, I ordered some bilingual books that we're now reading at bedtime.  I'm going to take advantage of her curiosity so we can all learn Spanish.  It really is a necessity here.  My discovery of the week.....'Special Agent Oso'....you know the TV show.  Well, he's actually Special Agent Bear if you translate it.  Why does that just not sound 'catchy' to me??

On to the little guy. 

Luke survived his first trip on a plane, his first road trip (4hr drive from Dallas to SA), his first time in a pack and play and crib other than his own.  He grabbed a toy for the first time Sunday night and he sat in his Bumbo (or whatever they're called) chair for the first time. 

He also has decided not to sleep anymore.  This is the child that for 3 months has been waking up one time in the night 8 times out of 10.  He's the kid that has given me newborn sanity and made me think a 3rd child was a great idea!  Now....all hell's broken loose.  As of this past Sunday, all bets are off.  Kyle and I have now split up the night.  Whatever happens in your 'shift' you handle.  My shift is from whenever I go to sleep until 2am.  Kyle gets after that.  Last night, Luke was in and out of sleep from 11:30-1:45am.  At which time I fed him.  He then slept until 4pm.  Then, Kyle got to deal with similar patterns for the rest of the night.  Oh Lord help us!!  Praying this is a 'growth' spurt.  Isn't that what you call everything you can't figure out in a baby's world!! 

Here are some pics.  Luke in his chair...I laugh at every single picture.  He looks so funny.  I now purple is not 'manly'.  It's a hand-me-down. 

Little Luke.....

Our little Luke is almost 3 months old....many of you will finally get the chance to meet the little guy this week and I'm so excited!!  In such a short amount of time, he's such a big part of our family and it feels so strange that those closest to us have yet to meet him!!  For those that have met him, his changes are amazing (as all babies!). 

Here are a few things about Luke:

- He is a HAPPY kid.  He sizes up the world around him and likes what he sees.  Or hears. 

- Luke doesn't cry.  Sure, he squeaks out a cry or two, but there is no pacing around from 5pm-7pm trying to get him calm for the evening.  When he wakes up in the middle of the night or in the morning, he wakes up cooing and smiling.  It's crazy.  At 4am, that's a very nice noise...despite the sleep deprivation! 

- His favorite thing in the whole wide world......the ceiling fan!!  It doesn't matter what room you're in.  If there's a ceiling fan, Luke is smiling at it and having conversations only he understands.  It's hilarious!!  It can be a white one, a brown one, fast moving, slow....doesn't matter.  He loves them! 

- He poops sideways.  More information than you want to know....!  Sorry.  But, it's funny.  First, he's all boy - he lets us know when he has gas or is going to the bathroom.  But, when he has gone, it's often only along the left side of his diaper.  Maybe Erika can explain this one!! 

- He's doubled his weight (almost) in 3 months. Luke is now 15lbs!  I think he stayed in 0-3 month clothes for about 5 weeks! 

- Luke loves his sister!  If he hears Olivia, he will turn his head every which way possible to find her.  And, the feeling is mutual.  Olivia takes her new role seriously and knows too much about bottles, breastfeeding, etc.  She wants to pick out his PJ's and his clothes on a daily basis.  They often take a bath together and he will hang out with her as long as she'll let him.  They are buddies in the backseat, although there are times when Olivia would prefer to relinquish her 'big sister' duties and just play! 

- He loves to snuggle.  In any way, shape or form.  He loves to be swaddled.  He loves his Baby Bjorn.  His favorite position is upright with his head on your shoulder, nuzzled into your neck.  It's a beautiful thing. 


See you all soon!!! 

Luke with his two favorite things...Olivia and his ceiling fan! 

XOXO

My Little Girl Turned Five....

Olivia turned 5 last Friday!  We had quite the celebration.  My parent's were in town and it was a full blown party for about 4 days!!  The morning of her birthday felt like Christmas!  Pictures are coming....

In the meantime, here are a few things that mark the last year for Olivia:

- She survived her first year in a brand new school and has made many new friends.

- Olivia learned to spell and write her name.  Very well.  She is a writing fool.  All she want to do is write.  We keep a 'journal' in the car so she can practice spelling and writing.  We have 'words' all over the house and I often catch her with paper and pen practicing what's on the cards. 

- She can draw.  I think she's a budding little artist.  Just like all kids.  But, this kid loves arts & crafts.  She's learned to draw her own versions of lady bugs, the sun, rainbows, people that now have arms and legs and hands and many other body parts.  She loves to add a mouse and a dog to almost all her pictures.  And butterflies.  Olivia was so excited when she learned how to draw butterflies. 

- Olivia started her first organized sport...soccer.  She loves the social aspect of it so far.  the 'competitive' part.  Well, we've got time.  She's fast though.  She definitely keeps up with the boys...just not the ball. 

- We discovered her first cavity.  And, she got to experience laughing gas for the first time.  And, a numb lip from getting the cavity filled. 

- Olivia watched the Wizard of Oz and the original Annie this past year.  We bonded watching both of them.  And, she's now going to be 'Dorothy' for Halloween. 

- Olivia became a fish.  And, I'm not kidding.  This kid can swim.  At the beginning of the summer, she was still pretty gun-shy about the pool.  She liked the idea of the pool, just never got anywhere with it.  Now, this girl is doing freestyle, the backstroke, flips, jumps off the diving board.  You name it, she'll try it...and excel at it in the water. 

- She became a Big Sister.  I love watching her with Luke.  It's precious.  She takes the role quite serious.  Some of the time.  But, it's also turned her into quite the little mom.  Her 'pretend play' with her babies is very entertaining to watch.  She has picked up on all the happenings of carrying for a new baby and acts it out with perfection!! 

Happy Birthday my sweet girl.....I love you!!! 

Family Comes To Visit...

Here are a few pics from DeeDee's trip to Miami.  We also had another visitor this past weekend - Allison.  It was a great weekend and so good to have her here in town.  The last time she was here, I went into labor.  Needless to say, it was a little less eventful this time, but a little more fun for all of us!  More on our weekend, but here are a few of the pics of the newly expanded cousin-clan!!