Riverbanks Zoo

The girls and I took a trip to the zoo with Kami and Austin.  The goats were a little too loud for Sarah Ellen. Sarah Ellen got a little too close to the bird and got a little kiss. Stoller Diva.  Lily woke up with a cold, so I gave her Sudafed (which she has never had) and it knocked her out.    Five minutes after getting home.

Biker week in Chapin

Not really, but you would have thought it was pulling into my parents house.  My cousins from Minnesota are on a ride with two other couples and made Chapin as one of their stops.  And yes, they rode motorcycles from MINNESOTA!   We had a great time visiting with them and meeting their friends. 

Mimi had plenty of helpers (although Sarah Ellen did more eating than shucking).

  The only way to beat the oppressive heat was to be on the water.

Lily was more interested in motorcycle fashion, than motorcycle riding.    Sarah Ellen was ready to ride.  

Picture Perfect

Night, Night

I suppose I didn’t have to worry so much about the transition to the big girl bed, since Sarah Ellen doesn’t seem to use it.  We put her in bed and she immediately climbs out with two blankies and lays by the door where she eventually falls asleep.  For naps, I just let her sleep there.  For nighttime, we go up around 10 and put her in bed where she stays for the night.  It is sometimes a challenge to get the door open.

I wonder if I should cancel the order we just placed for her big girl bed?

Think Someone Loves A Camera?

Ready or Not…

Big girl bed, here we come.  And let me tell you, this mamma is NOT ready.  But Sarah Ellen has given little choice in the matter as she has learned to scale her crib.
Sarah Ellen has thrown us for a major loop this week.  Let me just start from the beginning.
You may recall from a previous post, that Sarah Ellen did not really enjoy Cirque du Soleil too much when we took the girls in early June.  Soon after this, she began fussing going down for naps and bedtime.  We quickly correlated it with her traumatizing experience with Cirque du Soleil.  After a few days, though, she was back on track and going to bed great.  Something good even came out it - she now likes to be rocked.  I have loved snuggling with her each night before bed.
THEN, I took the girls to a little program at the library.  We are talking library here – no sound systems, no crazy lights – just a gathering of people.  Well, Sarah Ellen thought this was rather traumatic as well and we had to leave.  We have had to leave any event slightly resembling a show:  two library programs, a church talent show, and church gathering time.  After each event, she had a little set back going to sleep, but quickly got back on track.
Well the final straw was last weekend when we went to see the fireworks.  This was just too much for our little girl.  She began crying so hard going to bed that she would throw up, so for several days she threw up going down for her nap and bedtime.  Pretty soon we figured out that she had learned to throw up on purpose to get us back in the room.  I guess that is one way to get what you want.  After several days of this, she also learned to scale her crib.  Now we have an even bigger dilemma.   How do we get her to go to sleep by herself, without throwing up, and without getting out of her bed? 
Several nights I decided to stay in the room with her until she fell asleep to get her past this phase.  She was so pitiful and just wanted someone with her.  She would lay in her bed quietly while I sat in her rocking chair.  If I stopped rocking for some reason, she would say “rock, rock” until I started back.  I figured I could handle a few days of this until she got more comfortable going to bed.  That was until she began crying for me in the middle of the night as well.  After spending two nights on the floor in her room, I decided enough is enough.  Crying it out has always worked for us, and that is what this little girl is going to have to do. 
Since she was now an expert in climbing over her crib, we transitioned her to her toddler bed.  She was very proud of it, but still wanted nothing to do with going to sleep in it.  I would put her down and leave the room.  Through the monitor, I would watch her get out of bed and run to the door.  She would cry there for a while and eventually fall asleep.  So for the past few days she has been taking naps on the floor.  At bedtime, once she is asleep, we pick her up and put her back in her bed where she stays until morning.  Yesterday was the first day that she went down for nap and bedtime with a minimum of fussing and no throwing up.  Today, she actually fell asleep in her bed.  I’m hoping that is the end of this horrendous thing.  I can handle a lot of things, but lack of sleep is NOT one of them. 
I will soon post pictures of the big girl bed, but I am still having a hard time digesting the fact that my baby is no longer in a crib.  Sweet Sarah Ellen, you are growing way too fast.

Fourth of July

You know how I love traditions, so we packed a picnic dinner and joined Doncie, Poppy and Snookie down at Waterfront Park to watch the fireworks as we have the past few years.  After last year, we vowed we would never go back again because the fireworks did not start until 10.  We found out that they were going to start at 9:10 this year so we decided to brave it.  I’m glad we did.  The weather was perfect and fun was had by all.

    Much to Sarah Ellen’s dismay, the fireworks did actually start.  She, as predicted, was not a fan and was “scared.”  She had to try all of our laps to see which one seemed the safest.  It looks like Poppy’s lap won out.

We also fared better the morning after the fireworks this year than we did last year.  Does anyone recall this picture:

Cutest Present I Ever Did See

Visit from the Clines

Kami, Richard, Adam and Austin came down for a few days to hang out with us and celebrate the holiday weekend.  First thing Saturday morning, we hit the water park.  Who would have thought we would be freezing in July?  It was hard to complain about being cold though after the record breaking heat we had in June.  Maybe Mother Nature just got confused and July will be cooler (one can hope, right?).    

That evening we went out to Sunrise Park and found endless sharks teeth.  The girls had a blast with their big cousins and I don’t think Austin minded all the snuggles he got from Sarah Ellen.

Thanks guys for coming to visit.  We all had a great time and look forward to the next time.