Friday, January 23, 2009

Living with a two year old!

We all agree that we can't imagine life without Sophie. She is such a bubbly, happy, smart, beautiful, loving little girl... but we are dealing with the terrible twos at our house and boy is it draining. All of a sudden, bedtime has become a dreaded event at our house... We had the perfect routine.. We would give Sophie ample warning that bedtime was approaching she would take it in stride, in fact usually she would be so excited to read books that it didn't matter that it was bedtime. Then after brushing teeth and reading books, we would turn on her music and she would go to sleep, rarely waking up until about 6 AM... Life was good. Then all of a sudden last week.. things took a turn for the worst! At bedtime she still brushes her teeth and acts like she is going to be an angel but as soon as we finish her second book, all hell breaks loose! She starts crying like someone cut her hand off and demanding a "story" (which by the way isn't the same as a book.. it is when either Jay or I tell her a story about whatever she wants... dirt, cinderella, the subject changes constantly) if we tell her a story... she says "one more" about 45 times. We thought it was a phase and accommodated her the first night.. then it became custom to tell several stories.. We finally caught on to our brilliant two year old and started telling her there would be no stories at night.. only two books and then bedtime. Now she refuses to listen to her music because it's "scary" and she screams every time you shut her door. Even if she is snoring and has been for hours... as soon as you shut her door.. no matter how quietly you shut it (trust me we are quiet) she wakes up and screams while jumping out of her bed and pouding on her door until you open it back up and tuck her back in promising that you won't shut it until she falls asleep!

This is our routine every night and Jay and I are really hoping it is a phase and not the norm!

Life with a two year old is definitely not boring! We wouldn't trade it for anything in the world but we are excited to move on from two if it means we will be able to get a good night sleep!

I found the "Toddler's Rules of Possession" online and will post it below. It is exactly what we deal with every day. I have to give Isaac and Jake credit because they deal with it non-stop and are so patient and loving with our little terror!

"Toddler's Rules of Possession"
1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must NEVER appear to be yours in anyway.
6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it is mine.
8. If I saw it first, it's mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down, itautomatically becomes mine.
10. If it's broken, it's yours.

We love you so much Sophie but could you just turn 3 already???


XOXOX M

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

It's 2009!

I love starting a new year.. It's like I get to start fresh every January! I have so many things I want to accomplish this year and things I want to do better! I hate calling them resolutions because then I'm just destined to fail, but some things I would like to improve on...

I would like to be a more attentive wife, mom, sister, daughter and friend...

I would like to take more risks.. I'm always tend to stick in my comfort zone and I tend to shy away from new things and I am such a planner and it drives Jay crazy! I like to have everything in my life sort of mapped out and I don't like to go off course.. (don't know when that started.. I haven't always been that way.) I guess I would just like to try "flying by the seat of my pants"..

I would like to get more serious about photography!!

I would like to spend more one on one time with my kids.

I would like to get more active and start actually using my treadmill instead of just staring at it while feeling extremely guilty!

Those are all pretty realistic.. It's not like I'm saying I want to lose 20 lbs in a week right? Although how nice would that be?


M

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Shabby Apple "Picture Princess" Contest







Sophie is our "Picture Princess"... She is 2 and 1/2 and the younger sister to two older brothers but still loves EVERYTHING girly!! She doesn't usually notice that the camera is around because we have it out so much and when she does see it she is ready and willing to stop and pose for a shot.. in fact if we are taking pictures of something else she is quick to jump in the shot and smile or make a silly face. She loves to sing and dance and quote movies. She is definitely our "Picture Princess".. The dress I think she would look SO cute in is the Botanical Floral dress.. It is adorable and she looks so great in bright colors! Here is a link to little girls and girls dresses from Shabby baby. http://www.shabbyapple.com/pc-92-16-botanical.aspx Also... check out their dresses for women! Beautiful!



Friday, January 2, 2009

Happy Birthday Ike!!

I just wanted to take a minute to say Happy Birthday to my not so little boy!! It's crazy how time flies! I honestly can't believe you are already twelve years old!! Thank you for being such a good kid. You have such a sensitive personality.. you are so concerned about hurting other people's feelings and you are such a great brother! I am honored to be your Mom and I am so proud of who you are becoming!! I love you SO much!!!
XOXOXOX
Mom

Sledding....














Jay's Aunt, Uncle and cousins were in town after Christmas so we all went sledding. The kids had a ball!! Isaac and Jake would have gone all day but Sophie was done sledding after two times with Jay. She was content to just play in the snow! It was a great day!