Cry it out girl…

I took away Lola’s naps a couple weeks back and at first it had major success. 

It was heaven.

She was a bit tired by 4 p.m. but hung in there until 7:30 which is an amazing bedtime.  Clay and I obviously enjoyed having the evening to ourselves.  Lola likes to be entertained so we always felt like one of us was entertaining her instead of each other. 

Lately, for some reason, it seems like she is adapting to no nap and now trying to go back to her old ways of taking forever to fall asleep and demands me lay with her and wants to play with my hair and stay awake forever.  When we first took away naps, she would lay down at 7:30 and be out in 2 minutes.  No hair playing, no crying, no tossing and turning.  It was great.  I get some nights will just be harder, but I feel like we are going back to the old ways.  She is waking up every few nights in the middle of the night and staying up for hours, so maybe she is just overtired.

Without the naps, she was actually getting as much sleep as she was with naps. I hope we can correct this again. 

The last two nights I just finally had to let her cry some.  The first night after she cried for awhile I went in and set next to her… It was an hour and a half ordeal.  And tonight I let her cry with the door closed, then went in and tucked her in again and told her no more crying and I would leave the door open.  So she battled trying not to cry so the door could be open and I stood in the doorway peaking in just enough she could tell I was there.  She didn’t cry and stared right at me until she finally fell asleep.  Took 30 minutes tonight.  Let’s see how tomorrow goes.  I need her to learn to fall asleep on her own without me in the room, because then I feel like she will have a better chance of staying asleep through the night without feeling like she needs me.  I read (ya, ya, ya) that if your toddler isn’t sleeping good be sure when you put them to bed that the room is the same way it’s going to be all night- so no momma.  If it isn’t, then when they wake up at 2 a.m. they notice what’s missing, and in our case, that’s me.  I feel like the sleeping just needs to be fixed by now.  Clay and I now know what it feels like to have a baby asleep by 8 p.m. and we can never go back!  Hahahaha…  

On a side note, but important:

Her ears stopped draining finally and we went a few days without her mentioning them, but in the last 36 hours she has been telling me they hurt.  So I hope the ear infection isn’t still present.  We got back to the doctor on Wednesday. PRAYERS!  It will be over 6 weeks if there is still an infection.  Surely not!!!!

4th of July Floats

Happiness in a cute glass I would say! Thought I would share- I was navigating through my favorite website: Prudent Baby and came across these!  Definitely have this planned to do for the fam next weekend!   So easy and I bet so delicious.  I am a sucker for coke floats.  And cute straws.  And those glasses.  :)  They would be cute in the mason jars as well too.

“Try Again”

Lola is cracking me up.  Her sentences are becoming longer and she talks in different voices.  Her new thing that is one of my favs- it is her saying “Try again.”  I like it so much because she doesn’t always use it in the right context but it still gets the point across. 

The other day she went potty and I wiped her and put her down but then she immediately told me “try again.”  I told her she already went but she insisted she try again.  So I put her back on the potty and she went #2.  Made me laugh out loud.

If you are doing something fun with her and stop, she will tell you try again, meaning to keep going or more. 

I had some really funny examples and didn’t write them down, dang it. 

The ENT said it wouldn’t help her ear to go swimming but it wouldn’t probably hurt either if she wore plugs and the band-it.  So we may sneak some pool time in here and there, especially since the pool we go to has a big pool that is only 1.5 feet deep. 

Doctor appointment is next week and we will possibly be getting tubes.  We will hopefully know on Wednesday if Friday she is getting tubes.

She looked so cute in her band.  I would recommend it. This is her with her “Maw-Maw face.”  We try to tell her not to have a Maw-Maw face! Hahaha- she was concerned over something. 

Still concerned but warming up…

    

She decided to give the playground a whirl…

The playground was a little hot for liking.

Back to pool! Yea!

Despite being glued to the edge of the pool, she enjoyed finally getting to “swim.”  She walked around the edge like it was a step thinking she would fall off.  It was quite comical. 

Her stud of a dad helping her get her shoes on since the ground as hot.

I was so glad to let her enjoy the water some!  Muah Lola!

Check out our first class…

Head over to Sew Creative and check out our first sewing class today!  We had loads of fun and got through the nitty gritty of learning our machines! We are looking forward to making tons of beautiful things!

Sew Creative is official.

Check out my new blog specifically for my new little dream adventure reality that is actually in the works!

www.sewcreativegirl.blogspot.com

Prudent Baby Contest!!!

Well I made the #10 spot and am quite thrilled about that!  Check out the top entries on Prudent Baby.  What a fun contest!

How to teach your child?

How do you teach a child to love life and to have a happy heart?  Is this something that is already programmed into their little souls?  Some 5 year olds worry so much and others just run with the wind with no worries. 

From thinking back to ages I can remember, it seems I was always ready for the “next” phase.  I remember my dad genuinely begging me to just enjoy where I was in life.  The next stage was going to be good, but life gets more complicated.  How do you let a child just be free-spirited? 

So funny, because having siblings it’s interesting to see how each child is different and alike all being raised from the same parents. How much is the child?  How much is the parent?  And how much is the Maker?

I prayed that Lola would have a happy heart.  It was my authentic desire for her in life.  I want her to have a happy heart, have faith in Jesus, in the goodness of people, and love me back. ;)  I want her to find her own truth and be comfortable in her own skin.  I want her to live without fear, without excessive worry, without holding back.  I want her to find humor in the small things and in the big things.  I hope she finds her passions and holds on to them, explores them, and lives with them being a big part of her life. 

I now know- that at the good ol’ age of 26, you really have just had the chance to really find yourself.  Sure, some do earlier, and some do much, much later.  My sister feels the weight of the world on her at times to hurry and figure out college, degrees, and life.  It’s ridiculous we expect this of teenagers.  How did Mary have Jesus at such a young age?

I have learned in life I am very passionate about sewing, creative thinking, textiles, my family and my babies.  That would have been really helpful at the age of 18 to know that would be my interest.    

I love that things that were once so uncool for kids to participate in are now being looked at as hip.  I certainly plan to offer Lola a variety of outlets so she can help herself more easily discover what she is good at and what she enjoys.  I want her to think outside of the box.

I wish sewing lessons were more easily assessable when I was younger.  Think how more I could do now?  I am starting my own sewing lessons for girls next week in my home and really look forward to it.  I love when people take what they are passionate about and turn it into a career.  The famous quote from my dad from someone else- “Do what you love, and you’ll never work again.”  I love that.  And I love “When there is a will, there is a way.”  I think both of those quotes will carry larger meaning later in life. 

I am about to go get Lola and she is at Nonna’s.  She is only 2, but has quickly learned the art, the fun, and the memories baking creates.  She pulls up her chair to Nonna’s counter and sweetly demands “pies.”  She loves that Nonna lets her make a mess, have her hands in the homemade pie crust, pinch it pretty, and add the toppings.  What if my child has discovered early on she wants to bake for a living by something as simple and sweet as Nonna making pies with her. 

It’s little things like this that really help create a child.  She loves the piano, she loves baking, she likes painting and coloring, she is good with her baby dolls, she loves basketball, she sings with such happiness…  I just love watching her decide what she wants to do next.  I always want to be able to afford her the opportunity to figure out what she loves. 

As I start sewing lessons, I always want to think of what Lola would like to start.  For Christmas, Clay and I want to find a nice, but used piano for the dining room and start working with her so we can let her do lessons at an early age.  I want her to feel the sky is the limit in life… does that start with piano lessons at an early age.  No.  But I do think it starts with a lot of love, letting her feel the freedom to be her, and an intent to help her discover new things she enjoys. 

Mom-daughter story. 

You know, my mother made me try out for cheerleading in 7th grade.  Of course, I was partly mad at her, yet I partly enjoyed working with the girl a little older than me because I thought she was pretty cool.  I didn’t make it.  And never tried out again.  I am sure I was terrible.  I don’t even like an aerobic step class because I can’t learn all those weird foot movements.  Did I think at age 12 my mom was crazy for making me do that dumb try-out?  You bet.  But now I know sometimes we moms may fail at guessing what our kids are going to love- but we gotta’ press to help them find their own passions.   We want passionate kids. We want passionate friends, spouses, communities. I could have wondered for years if I wish I would have given cheer a try and now I don’t.  I did, it wasn’t my thing, and I am grateful for that. 

I just love this age of 2.  I now wish I could freeze time and make her 2 forever for a while longer than a year.  It’s so fun to see their personalities develop.  Turns out as crazy and cute as Lola is at home and around the comfort of those she deeply loves, she is actually quite shy every where else.  It’s shocking every time I go out in public or around friends she doesn’t see on a regular basis- but it’s just her.  She’s shy.

Here is Lola at home a few days after her daddy’s birthday.  I just love this video.  She is so darn sweet natured.  It makes me want to buy her a real piano and little music book.  Play away Lola!  :) 

A new strategy… (Updated)

Clay and I took Lola to the doctor today and I am glad he decided to come along because Lola knew where we were headed before we even entered the parking lot.  She was so beside her self that she had to go see the doctor and I thought it would be an easy visit with a quick look in her ear, but there was still too much drainage for the pediatrician to get a good look so we had to suction some out.  Lola was so upset, sweating, beat red and then threw up- which she always throws up when she gets real upset like that and I kept warning the doctor is was coming- trying to give him the hint to move his computer out of the sink!  So instead of making it to the sink- she just threw up all over me.  And the outcome of the whole trip: wasted money, a new antibiotic I had firmly asked for over two weeks ago, and a not-so-good pediatrician, oh and a little girl who will never-ever-ever want to see another doctor in her lifetime.  She may just be like her daddy and be anti-doctors… Does this mean with Lola gives birth one day she will refuse the hospital setting and have her baby at home in a tub?  ;)  I for one like the idea of “natural medicine” but I certainly don’t mind popping a pill or two and certainly loved my epidural. 

So our morning wasn’t ideal- but we made it up to her by having a family lunch date to Chick-fill-A, then snow-cones, and last but not least a trip to the pond to feed the ducks and search for turtles.  She officially recovered.  By this time it’s now two p.m. and this is where the new strategy comes in… despite her seeming so tired, I was a mean mom and forced her to stay up.  Her great grandparents came over to play with her while Clay and I enjoyed some time out and when we got home she looked even more tired and they told me she really needed a nap!  Haaa!  No way sweet kiddo of mine… I made dinner and then gave Lola a bath and now I am about to put her down and see if she will finally fall asleep within a few minutes at bedtime.  Basically during the day- she will go down for a nap and in just a few minutes be sound asleep and at night it takes hours!!!  Literally.  No exaggeration.  So I finally decided to see if we could just skip naps and solve the bedtime problem.  I hope she will go down earlier, like 8 p.m. and fall asleep much faster!   Yesterday was our first try and I put her down at 9 p.m. (which I wanted to earlier but we didn’t get home in time) and she went right down. She NEVER does that at night- so let’s see how tonight goes since I am putting her down even earlier!  I hope this is our cure all!  It’s going to be great!

Everyone enjoy the weekend- I have been de-cluttering the house and it feels great!  I am also doing the Couch to 5K training and have so enjoyed it, much to my surprise! I think I like to workout. :) It’s me time and a stress reliever.  Cheers to that!

Update: It worked beautifully.  She was asleep by 8 p.m.  This is the first time since she was a itty bitty baby!  Haha! Greatness!  Does this mean we are officially done with naps?  That is a little bit very sad.  But I’ll keep doing it if it helps.  :) 

It’s a miracle!

So my favorite place on the internet is Prudent Baby. I am in love.  They make me want to create more, unfortunately spend more, and just embrace my crafty side. 

And guess what?? 

They had a contest that I decided to toughen up and enter!  I was really pumped and then… as you all know… Lola’s been so sick.  Days kept passing by and secretly I wondered would I ever get to make something with words and embroidery and enter it in for a chance to win a Brother Embroidery Machine!!!

Friday was the turning point that Lola seemed to play well enough and require minimum rocking so I got to work!  Poor Clay has had zero attention with Lola being so sick and it didn’t stop through the weekend!  He knew I was determined to get my little idea done!

I decided to embroider a kitchen cabinet door.  :) Original?  These doors already had chalkboard inserts I had done a few years back so it really wasn’t too tricky!

I didn’t want it to have a kitchen theme.  My kitchen is tiny and the kitchen, breakfast nook, and den are all one common area… so after much thought while rocking for two weeks, I decided upon:

“Once a job has once begun, never leave it till it’s done.  Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.”

Famously said my mother and grandmother.  In fact they have worn this saying out, but after swearing as a child I would never ever tell my own children this- I actually can’t wait till I tell Lola this and she has already heard it been said to her daddy.  ;) 

Then I choose the sweet Russian dolls because they have a little bit of a kitchen feel, but still look cute and fun!  This is really the first time I have embroidered to this extent.  The couple things I have fooled around wit you, you guys have seen.  So this was good practicing.  Looking forward to really getting better at this. 

After really finding my home style in life- the decorator part of me would love the charm of an old house and I think that would be my dream, but the germ freak really would like a new home- maybe one day we will build a new home to look old! :)

The look goes well with my breakfast nook feel.

 

The sweet Russian dolls gave me a good excuse to try out different types of stitches.  I can’t wait to do more!

 

  

This was really fun and really gave me a great reason to get out all my fun stitching books and learn first-hand how to do this!  I think I am addicted!  Hmmm… can everyone guess what their homemade Christmas good will be this year?  Haha…

My two favorite books out of the several I have:

Doodle Stitching, The Motif Collection

Colorful Stitchery 

And the next project I would like to do is the “Stitches I Know”

Here’s an example I found