I was cleaning out my email today and came across this little note my Grandma sent me back in January. I thought it would be nice to preserve it here.
January 26th, 2011
Hi aleshia,
I have to tell you, Quinn's latest antic, I was working in the kitchen around the sink and he wanted to be held, after pushing and pinching my legs I decided to stand him on a chair and let him play in the sink. Low and behold the next thing I see, he has crawled into the sink and sits there with his silly grin looking at me. I take him out and stand him on the chair again and next thing I know he is in the sink again. Thank goodness there isn't any water in the sink but doesn't take him long to figure out how to turn the faucet on. I wonder what he will try tomorrow, I wish I had my camera but couldn't leave him to get it. Boy he can stretch those little legs when he wants to climb something.
Now that you have had your laugh for the day you can go back to work....................g
This past Sunday was Easter and we were lucky to have a beautiful day to celebrate with family. We started the morning out watching the kids hunt for eggs all over the house which eventually led them to find their Easter baskets. Quinn wasn't very interested in the hunt, or eggs or candy for that matter. He was more content to watch Paige from the couch with a bottle and his favorite blanket. Paige on the other had was ready to go and she was FAST! What a difference a year makes. Last year she was very excited as she searched the house thoroughly for eggs but this year she had a plan. She darted from room to room frantically tossing every egg she could find into her basket at lightning speed. She was not about to leave a single egg behind for her little brother to find, good thing he didn't seem to care. I was amazed at what she remembered from last year, and what was hidden for her in each nook and cranny of the house. I can see that next year the Easter Bunny is going to have to step it up a notch, no more eggs just sitting out in the open. She is going to have to work for those eggs!
Since the day was already so beautiful we decided to send the kids out to play on the deck while we made breakfast.
Paige had to try on her new bike helmet, I love how she is concentrating so hard!
After breakfast we all got a few things done in the house. Well, I did anyway while everyone else played, or watched television. I had food to prepare, clothes to iron and a disaster of a house to make a sad attempt to tidy up before bathing both kids and hopping in the shower myself. Once we were all ready we left to spend Easter with family at Auntie Shyan and uncle Mike's house in Eden Prairie. Shyan had organized an official egg hunt and invited both side of my family in order to have plenty of kids in attendance! It was so nice to get together with all of my cousins since this year was the first Christmas that we spent apart. All of our families are just growing so much that we have started to branch off and celebrate with our immediate families. When we arrived we had plenty of time to visit with everyone and enjoy a wonderful array of food before the hunt. I tried to use this time to get a nice picture of Granny with the kids. Unfortunately it proved to be difficult.
Hmmm, guess that doesn't surprise me at all. I did get this nice one after everyone calmed down.
And then of course, once I wasn't trying so hard Quinn decided to ham it up.
It was time for the Easter egg hunt, finally! Well that is how most 4 1/2 year olds would react to an egg hunt. Paige , well, not so much. She has always reacted a little different in these situations. You might have thought it was her turn to get a tooth pulled. Oh and forget her even thinking about a smile if she has to wear bunny ears! I do have to admit though, I LOVE these pictures and the more irritated she is the more pictures I will take.
Note that at this point she took the ears off and threw them. I gave them back to her and told her she had to wear them or we were going home. She put them on backwards and put on an even bigger scowl.
Once the kids were all given their bucket and instructions they were sent outside to start the hunt. Each child had a designated color egg and had to find all 12 of that color throughout the yard. It was alot of fun and Paige finally snapped out of her funk....well for a little while.Then the Easter Bunny showed up.
I thought it was a great opportunity to get a finally picture with the Easter Bunny! After all it has been awhile since we have had one, a nice family picture that is. I should have expected nothing less that what was about to happen. The following events all started when Quinn realized he was scared to death of the Easter bunny and since we wouldn't let him get away, he took it out on Paige by pinching and hitting her.
Happy Easter!
Jeff tried to show Quinn that the bunny was nice but he still wasn't buying it. If he is this scared of my Mom in a bunny suit imagine how he would react to one of those bobble head mall Easter Bunnies?
Finally things calmed down a bit once the big white rabbit was out of sight...
Once the excitement was over the kids got to settle down a bit and look through their treasures. They found a bunny straw that they really liked since they thought it was a whistle.
Thanks Shyan and Mike for a really fun Egg Hunt!!!!
Every six months or so Paige goes through a new sports craze and trust me, there have been a few. They started just about the time of her 3rd birthday. First it was Gophers hockey, she had the stick, the puck and a plethora of clothes all donning the Minnesota mascot, Goldy Gopher. This was one of the longer phases and for a brief few months it morphed into Gopher basketball. I am pretty sure though that was just because she wanted the ball and "Gopher's shirt with no sleeves", also known as a basketball jersey. For her 4th birthday we gave her a full size Gopher's basketball and jersey. She still wears it all the time to school as it is quite appropriate for playing in her much loved "basketball gym".
Over the past 9 months or so her ultimate favorite has been baseball which stemmed from the movie "The Sandlot". Totally fantastic since it is a throwback to our childhood as well. Who would have ever thought she would love an old movie so much. Well she has just about worn the movie out and just last weekend she was able to go out back in the park and hit a few balls with Dad for real. For the better part of the winter she has had to play in the basement with foam balls and a plastic bat. Now that spring is here she can use her aluminum bat!
Paige has always had not only a big interest in sports but also a very natural athletic ability. She is pretty good at everything she tries, I hope one day she really takes on a long term interest in a sport because she will really excel once she gains confidence. Oh, did I mention she is crazy fast too?
Well most recently she has had in interest in skateboarding. I am not sure where that came from but she will.not.let.the.idea.go. We have continuously told her each time she asked us if she could get a skateboard that she was too little and would have to wait until she was at least 8 years old. Well last weekend we were shopping for some new jeans for her and somehow she spotted a mini skateboard in a cart of stuff, under a rack. She quickly grabbed it and held it up to be with joy in her eyes. "Look Mom! A little skateboard just my size! oh my gosh! Can I buy it? Puh-leeeze!!!!". I told her no, maybe another time. Saddened she put it back but as we were shopping we just kept circling the darn thing and each time she would stare longingly at it and give me "the eyes". Finally I picked it up and took a closer which made Paige squeal with delight. I told her I would ask the cashier how much it was but that did not mean we were getting it. She was okay with that. Well when we finally finished shopping and made our way to the register I asked about it and it's lack of tags. Was it for sale? I was informed that it cam free with a t-shirt. How odd, buy this t-shirt and get a free skateboard! Well bottom line is that Paige ended up going home with a new skater t-shirt and skateboard for $8. Not too bad!
Of course when we got home Paige was thrilled to show her Dad the skateboard. I had told her that she could only practice on the carpet until she got knee and elbow pads and she HAD to wear her bike helmet at all times! Well how fun was that, a skateboard with no pads is like a toy with no batteries. In no time at all Jeff fashioned both knee and elbow pads out of his old tube socks and she was ready to rock as she would say. I was able to take a couple of priceless videos of her first attempts to ride the board on the desk. She was a bit discouraged that it wasn't as easy as it looked. I am so glad I caught this on video! Enjoy!
It has been awhile. Far too long since I have taken the time to put our story into words. I guess I have been waiting for the perfect time to have enough time...and well, that is never going to happen, who am I kidding! And, while I wait, impatiently, life continues to happen. So today I figured I can't wait anymore, before I know it I will have so many stories, moments and pictures to share that I won't even know where to start and I will end up leaving something out.
We are co-sleepers. There, I said it. Yep, we sleep with our children from time to time...in the same bed! And yes, we also did it when they were babies. I know there are dangers, really I do, but now we are past that point and frankly there is no going back. We are blessed with two very healthy and happy children that quite honestly, I think they hung the moon.
When Paige was born I could not get her to sleep anywhere other than my arms, or on my chest. The second I would set her down she would wake and cry, I would pick her back up again to snuggle with her and she would quickly drift back to sleep. And so it began, for weeks I tried. I could never bear to let her cry it out in her crib, I refused. I simply am not built that way. I just am not. It sounds crazy I know to tie your self down, pinned to the couch or rocking chair just to let your baby sleep when there is so much to be done. But really, at the end of the day I didn't care. For her first 6 weeks of life I slept on the couch, with my sweet baby girl on my chest. Her "awake" time was usually between 2 & 5 in the morning anyway, and since I was home on leave we would watched movies while Daddy slept. Unfortunately our couch started to resemble a nest, we had our comfy little spot carved out amid a swirl of blankets and pillows not to be tampered with. Eventually it was time to move as the couch had also taken on a permanent nest-like form.
After those first six weeks we started to get on more of a schedule and Paige was sleeping through the night much better, I tried moving her to her crib. Nope, you guessed it. Not going to happen, we tried...not that hard, but we did try. Remember, I am not built that way. So what was the next best option? The swing! Perfect! Almost as good a Mommy but we each get our OWN space. The swing worked great until Paige was about four months, it was then that by the time she had been sleeping awhile she would sort of begin to lean to the side so much that I would worry she could slip out. Really there was no way, but first time Mom's worry. Oh, and then at her 4 month check up I was informed that the swing was making her perfect little head, well not so perfect. It was time for a change!
Again, we tried the crib. It was a no go. What a bunch of wussies right? So into our bed she came, I put up a nice bed rail and there she slept until she was nearly three years old. Yep, three. Every time I would tell someone that Paige would sleep with us I would get a look, but I got used to it and was comfortable with our choice so what did it matter what other people thought. Looking back it sounds so crazy, but I don't regret it for a minute. When I was pregnant with Quinn, having Paige nuzzle up to me each night wasn't quite as comfortable as it used to be so we decided it was time to transition Paige to a big girl bed. We had tried over the years not only the crib of course, but also the toddler bed that the crib converted into. The only thing Paige did in the toddler bed was jump up and down as if it were a trampoline with a handle, or play with her toys there. That was where her stuffed animals and babies slept, no way , not her.
After looking at quite a few places we settled on a captain's bed that sat over a set of 6 drawers and thankfully matched the existing crib and dresser. You see, our kids share a room, the room is pretty big but they do share. Paige was hesitant at first of her big girl bed but very quickly became excited about it and eager to sleep it. Oh, did I forget...she still had to sleep with Mommy. It was "our" new bed..yippee! Just what I had hoped for! So for the next few weeks I slept with Paige, once she was accustomed the new bed it was great and it was all hers....thank goodness, that only took 4 years!
That being said, when Quinn was born I had learned my lesson. I did not sleep on the couch. Quinn did not sleep in the swing overnight (unless absolutely necessary for the sleep deprived mommy), but he did not sleep in his crib either. Quinn and I would bounce back and forth between our bed and Paige's bed. Quinn was up often and I wanted to sleep. So, more often than not for the first five months Paige would sleep with Jeff and Quinn and I took her bed so everyone could get the best sleep possible. Talk about musical beds!
Well, Quinn took to napping and sleeping in his crib quite well and without any heartache on my part thankfully. He cried a bit at first but nothing too dramatic...and then he slept. And he slept in a crib, a real crib. At my house! Who would have thought. We all began to sleep in our intended place every single night!!!
So this is all leading us up to the story behind this post. I don't know why I thought I had to rewind four and a have years to set this story up but I did. And now it is written down so Paige knows why she needs a therapist one day. Thanks to Mommy and her "co-sleeping". Actually, I know without a shadow of a doubt. Paige will be perfect, and may a bit more confident and secure because of it.
Now back to the other one, the little one. My sweet, determined accident waiting to happen Quinn. For some time now we have been really enjoying everyone sleeping through the night in their own beds, it really has been wonderful and took a long time for us to get there. Well that all came to a screeching halt Saturday night which also happened to be the day Quinn turned 18 months exactly.
It was 2:30 in the morning early Sunday and we were awakened by a babbling baby. You would have thought there were a few babies in the room for how much chatter was going on. We laid in bed listening for a bit and then decided since he wasn't crying, he would eventually fall back asleep. We were wrong, for the next 2 1/2 hours the babbling and chattering continued oblivious to my daughter who slept merely a few inches away. My husband and I would drift in and out of sleep making note of the chatter, and the fact that he wasn't upset in any way. We thought if we went in, it would encourage the middle of the night behavior and clearly...he wouldn't be interested in going back to sleep from what I could tell. He was safe, in his crib, and we could sleep. It was about 5:00 in the morning the last time either of us recall hearing him and when we got up in the morning, he slept a while longer...as he should. I asked Paige if she hear her brother talking all night and she frankly said to me " No Mom, I didn't hear Quinny. When I go to sleep I put my listening ears away." Well there you have it. I guess one advantage of having two kids in one room is that they learn to sleep through just about anything!
Sunday evening rolled around and I hoped that Quinn would sleep through the night. There is nothing like not getting a good nights sleep that will ignite a nasty case of the Mondays! Well, my hopes were smashed, smashed by a steamroller that decided to destroy our new found sleeping arrangements as we knew it. I was woken up by Jeff at about 1:30 in the morning whispering something that sounded much like "Holy Schmidt! Quinn is standing in the hall!"
Did I just hear that right? Quinn in standing in the hall? What?!!!
Aside from the fact that it is nearly pitch dark, I am also blind as a bat without my glasses so my first instinct was just to call out his name. My heart was racing as if we had heard the front door open. It must have just been a middle of the night thing. Once I called his name it was immediately returned by a "Da!" filled with excitement and a quick scamper of little feet running towards the bed. Once he reached me I scooped him up pulling him safely into bed with us, my mind racing with thought of what just happened. How did he get out? Did he fall? Did he get hurt? How did we not hear him? How long was he awake? Was he wandering around the house? Gasp! What could he have gotten into! My mind swirled with all of the "What ifs". Thankfully he was safe and sound and incredibly pleased with his escape. He was so wound up it took nearly an hour to get him back to sleep, in our bed, where he slept the rest of the night.
Monday night we decided that if this was going to be a new thing..we needed to know how he was doing it. And make sure he was safe. The only way he could safely get out without falling would have been to climb from the crib to Paige's bed which is maybe a little too close in hindsight. I was sure though that his escape was due to the fact that I still had the bumpers in the crib along with a myriad of blankets and stuffed animals which could easily be piled up to give him a lift. The only way to know was to do it again. I removed all of the "stuff" from the crib leaving only a mattress on the lowest setting and lowered Quinn in. Then Jeff, Paige and I sat anxiously on the bed to see what happened next. It didn't take long.
