Three!

As normal it has been much too long since I have last updated this blog. It is now December over 3 months since I've last updated this blog. Where time goes I'm just not sure. Things have been pretty busy the last few months with a few trips both planned and unplanned but we have made our way through. That being said the main thing in this post is that Maddie is now 3 years old. Sometimes it shocks me how fast the time is going and how much of a little girl she has become. We have been pretty lucky in that we didn't go through the normal "terrible twos" and kept her pretty tantrum free. That's not to say she didn't have any tantrums but I think we've managed to keep them to a minimum because she's so verbal. Now I've heard that 3 can actually be worse than 2 because they are asserting their independence but we shall see.

We still struggle a bit with sleep. Going to bed is fine most nights but we still struggle with waking in the middle of the night. We have had more nights where she does sleep through the night but right now she's got a cold/cough which wakes her up. But I have to say if that is the only thing that we really struggle with I think we are pretty lucky.

About a week and a half before Maddie's birthday we got some photos taken by a friend of ours who is a photographer. Like always she did a great job. Here are a few of my favorite Maddie ones. I can't believe how much she's grown. And as you can see she really is out of the toddler stage and into little girl mode. I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us.

Sleep

It is currently 8:30 and Maddie has been asleep for about 20 minutes. Normally we are just finishing up stories and starting the struggle of going to bed. There would be crying and whining and tantrums till somewhere around 9/9:15 (and honestly sometimes 9:30) she would finally fall asleep. This would then be followed by 1-3 wakeups during the night where we would go in and snuggle with her till she fell asleep or bring her into our bed so we could get some sleep. Obviously none of us were really getting good sleep. A blogger that I follow posted this week about sleep training her 9 month old. She also has a 3/almost 4 year old who they had done some sleep training with earlier this year. 

I went back and read some of the posts and realized that it was beyond time to do some sort of sleep training. obviously the plan the blogger put in place would not work point for point for Maddie but I figured if I could try a few things perhaps we'd get there in time.  One of the biggest things I took from that was putting her girls to bed earlier. In her current plan they go down about 6:30. Now that timing doesn't work for us as we don't typically get home till about 5:45 and dinner is typically being finished at about 6:15/6:30 but the concept was there. Normally we bring Maddie up around 7:45 for a bath. I wondered what would happen if we went up at 7:15 for a bath.

Well the answer to that is a lot less drama. Being done our full routine by 8pm seems to work out well. Going to bed after that tends to have more issues and tantrums and I realized that perhaps the reason for that is because at that point Maddie is over tired. The hardest part of doing the routine earlier is that there is less time to spend with Maddie. I think its one of those things that most working parents struggle with as they get home in the evening and when you put your kids to bed only a few hours after you get home (or within an hour) you are missing out on time with them. I think that was the main reason I left Maddie stay up late before now. But I will tell you we tend to get a little more time in the morning now as getting her out of bed is not as hard and I'm already up. So I will gladly trade 30 extra minutes in the evening for some extra time in the morning and a child that goes to bed a little easier.

As for the waking up in the middle of the night... we're working through it. Hopefully in a few weeks she'll sleep through the night but if not hopefully she'll at least figure out how to put herself back to sleep. She's gotten better over the last few nights and hopefully that improvement will continue. I know there will be set backs but I'm hopeful that this time we'll get there. 

Really it's almost fall?

It's hard to believe but August is already more than half way over. Things are moving much too quickly but it has been a good summer so far. Maddie is growing like a weed in both size and mental capacity. The things she learns and tells you is amazing. She still manages to surprise me with what she remembers. It's all those little details that you don't think they are paying attention to but they are.

Bedtime is still a challenge for us most days but it is getting better. I think the trick is to go to bed a little earlier. I find that when we put Maddie to bed a little earlier she doesn't fight us as much. She's been in that stage the last week or so that after we put her to bed she calls us or actually comes out of her room. I think at that point when she's doing that she is just over tired. Tonight she went down relatively easy although we will see how the night progresses.

In other news we have a new member of our family. Daphne came to us by way of a friend's mother who just had a bit too much going on and 6 other dogs in the house to manage a great dane. She's a sweet girl although a bit on the skinny side. She has been stuck to me like glue since we got her. If I forgot something at the top of the stairs I'm up 3 steps and she's right behind me. Half the time I can't even go into the kitchen to get a drink without some company.  She's very sweet although I fear I'm going to break a leg by tripping over her one of these days. She's been great with Maddie as well. She typically comes upstairs and lays on the floor next to us for book time. It has been a bit of an adjustment but one that will be good for all involved in the long run.

Here's a few pictures of the sweet girl.  As she doesn't go very far from me it's hard to get a good picture of her but I'm sure I will manage at some point. Plus she needs to gain about 10-15 pounds as well. Till the next time!

Summer Update

Well we've made it through June and most of July and August is creeping up very quickly.  I've said this to numerous people but I can't believe how quickly the year has gone. I want to know how it is already almost August when I just started my new job last May and have I been there a year already?

This summer has been a full one so far. In June Jym went up to Philly for the Homebrewers convention and Maddie and I had a few days by ourselves. Then we picked him up and headed up for our week in Maine/NH for the 4th of July. Maddie stayed in NH for a few days (4 days/3 nights) while Jym and I made our way back to Virginia and work. I have to say it was a quick few days considering we spent all of the first day driving and we had to work the whole week (even though Maddie was there Thursday/Friday with everyone at the house). We did manage to have some nice one on one time and even see a movie together! (Regardless of what anyone says I enjoyed White House Down)

It was the longest that I had ever been away from Maddie. It basically took all the times I'd been away from her before and combined them into one trip. I know compared to some people it's not a lot but to me it was different. I know she had a blast but I felt better once she was home.  We then took a long weekend in the outerbanks. I do have to say after all the traveling we were definitely off schedule.

It took about a week to get back to normal and I think we are all appreciating that. Thankfully there's not a whole lot of travel we'll be doing for the next few months. Our next long trip will be our weekend in Tennessee. It should be a good time and it's just the three of us as of right now. After that the next time we have a long travel trip will be christmas time.

And because it's been a while here are some pictures of Maddie over the last few months. The first  two are from this past weekend at the zoo and the last is from our tea party with some friends of ours.

2 1/2

I can't believe it's already been two and a half years since Maddie has come along. I have to say that she still is a really good kid. Personality wise she's so sweet and if I say so myself, she's pretty smart too! :) We have managed to make our way through potty training with success. It took a while but at 2 1/2 where a lot of kids are just starting Maddie is done. Knowing what I know now I'd probably do a few things different but we made it through relatively unscathed.

Maddie has also really gotten to the point of saying lots of fun/cute phrases. She calls lawn mowers - mow lawns. The other night we were sitting at the table having dinner and she said, "Mommy I hear the mow lawns."

Some of her funny phrases include:

"Mommy, Cooper is so happy that I'm cute."  - This is probably going to bite me in the butt in about 14 years but soo cute now!

"Mommy I popped out of your belly and then I was boring (how she says born)." The things they learn/observe.

I'm sure there are many more but those are just the ones I can think of right now.  As the weather is nice we are trying to spend as much time outside as possible. Maddie is working on her tricycle skills (or as she says she needs work on her pedaling). My guess is by the end of the summer she should be able to get to the mailbox and back on her own. Right now she's just starting to get the pedaling but her steering skills still need some work.

Gymnastics is still a big hit and we go each saturday as long as they haven't been cancelled due to the holiday or we aren't in town. They are helping her to become more aware of her body and she's doing more and more things that she wouldn't have even touched 2 months ago. I love to see the confident little girl that she is becoming.

Coming up in the next few months is our annual trip to NH/Maine.  Should be a good but quick trip and then Maddie will have her first extended trip away from us while she stays with my parents for 4 nights. I'm still working through how i feel about the trip but know that she will have a good time. And in the grand scheme of things she would be at daycare during that time so it's not that I'm missing out on a ton of time with her but I really relish the few hours each night that i get with her and in the morning. I think the trip will be harder on me than it is on her but it's only 4 nights so I think I can manage. Stay tuned as I'm sure the next post will cover that trip.  In the mean time here's some recent pictures of Maddie. The first was at the Zoo outside the newly renovated Elephant House. The second was our first trip of the season at Great Falls to go hiking.

Almost There

Based on my last post I did not jinx myself and we've continued with pretty good success. Maddie has been great with using the potty over the last month. We've transitioned into underwear at home 100% of the time and she is only using pullups at naptime at school. Now that is not to say that we haven't had any accidents because we do but she's getting better at recognizing when she has to pee and staying dry till we get to the potty. I'm so proud of her because she was 3 months shy of 2 1/2 when we switched her into underwear and she has done great.

In other news we have been doing quite a bit of traveling on weekends and that will continue through the end of the month. I'm hoping at that point that it will quiet down and we can get into a normal spring time routine while the weather is nice. 

Last weekend we spent the weekend in Philly which was great. The weather was nice and the wedding we went to was a fantastic time. Maddie got lots of quality time with Grammy Sue that she doesn't typically get to have as everyone is competing for her attention while we are up in NH/ME.

This weekend we are heading up to Rehoboth Beach and then we have one weekend free before we head up to NH for easter weekend. Should be a good time and it's the first easter in probably 5 or 6 years that we've been there. Jym's family is coming down for the weekend so we'll get the chance to see almost everyone which is great. 

I'm sure I've said it before but the hardest part of living in Virginia is that we don't get to see family as often as we would like. It would be nice to be able to just jump in the car and see them for the day or for dinner but unfortunately any of our visits will be at least 3 days due to traveling. Flights make it easier to make those quick weekends but it does become expensive rather quickly especially considering now we have to buy 3 tickets as opposed to 2. It is what it is and we make it through ok. Lots of phone calls, skype and as many visits as we can manage make it easier. 

And because it's been a while here's a picture of Maddie from a photo shoot we did back in December. One of these days I'll put a picture of her that's more recent. :) 

Jinxing Myself

Once I type this I'm probably going to be jinxing myself but I figure I might as well put it out there. We'll see how this week goes but I think we are about 75% of the way potty trained. Last week I told Maddie when her pull-ups were gone that we weren't going to buy any more and that she was going to start wearing underwear.  We had a 3 day weekend coming up and so what better time to work on it.  Well Saturday started out ok. I have to say i chickened out letting her go to gymnastics in just the underwear but we put a pullup over the underwear and off we went.  She did great and actually came home dry so off came the pullup.

She stayed dry through nap-time and for the hour long car ride to her friend Norah's. She did ok for a little bit once we got there but then just got so distracted that she had an accident. Thankfully I had brought new clothes. Although then we had the struggle of not wanting to sit on the potty so I ended up putting her in a pull-up for the rest of the time at Norah's. I figured it wasn't worth the fight. Once we got home it was back into the underwear although there was a pullup over it for bedtime.

Maddie made it through the night dry! Then started our Sunday. Maddie did pretty good only having 2 accidents both times when I had left the room for a minute to go throw something away. But not a bad day all in all and she stayed dry through both nap time and at night.

Monday was our great day. Maddie stayed dry all day with no accidents including a car ride to Vienna and back plus another night of being dry.

Yesterday was the big test though. I brought Maddie to daycare in underwear. I was nervous to see how she did when I went to pick her up.  I got there and she was in the same outfit she'd been wearing so i figured that was a good sign. She did have two accidents - one where she pooped (not overly surprising) and one where she peed but all in all not bad.  I'll give it the week to see where we are then but I'm very pleased by her progress.

I have a feeling that I will occassionally be changing the sheets on her bed but for the most part I think we are much closer than we were. I think the biggest thing was telling her we were done with the pullups and moving her into underwear. Even if she has to wear pullups at school (she'll wear them there at nap time for a bit anyways) no more pullups at home - just underwear.

I'm hoping by my birthday that she is 90% (because she's little and accidents happen). But overall I'm pleased with the progress she's made. Only thing left is getting her to ask to go to the potty but that will come in time.

Hello 2013

Well 2012 is now over and I'm sure I've said this before but I can't believe how quickly it all went. I'm hoping that 2013 doesn't go by so quickly but I have a feeling it will. 2012 had some ups and downs. Kait finished her Pharmacy degree and graduated in May and Kelly got married in October. We were happy to have Nate finally join the family (Maddie has been crushing on him since the beginning). In November we lost Jym's grandpa. He lived a good life but his passing was a sad occasion. I am thankful for all the memories I have of him as well as the memories of him and Maddie.  We also lost Marco this year and I'm hoping that Marco and Grampa are keeping each other company and keeping an eye out for us.

2013 should have some good stuff in store for us though.  Maddie will take her first trip to Disney next week and we will be joined by Geeps, Papa, Uncle Zack, Uncle Trav and Gramma. We're looking forward to having a good time and enjoying a little bit of nice weather after the cold we've been in over the last month or so.

Maddie will also start taking a parent child gymnastics class starting this month although she'll have to miss a class due to going to Disney. I figure it will give her the opportunity to meet new kids as well as run around and get some energy out while it's still pretty cold out. I'm hoping to take her swimming once a week as well to keep her comfortable in the water before summer gets here.

As I mentioned in my last post one of my resolutions was to do a project a week with Maddie. We did one the week before Christmas and she seemed to really enjoy it. Plus we bought a plastic drawer set today that holds all her art materials and she seemed very excited to see everything that went in there. Plus she loves to use her easel and once we get paint for it I'm sure there will be lots of painting.

Other than our trip to Disney we have a trip to NH for Easter, our normal trip to New England for 4th of July week (preceded by quick trip to Philly for Jym and Maddie's first trip on Amtrak), and then hopefully a fall trip to Providence with the Ferrier clan and then our end of the year trip to New England for Christmas.

I am hoping to blog a bit more about our experiences and actually post pictures here once in a while. We'll see what happens over the next few weeks.  Till the next time!