Friday, July 1, 2011

Is Your Green Light On?

This is a frequently asked question in our household these days, & it all stems from possibly the best thirty dollars I've ever spent.

A couple of months ago, Jake & Mallory suddenly began waking up much earlier than they had been previously. They also shrunk their afternoon nap down from a solid 2-3 hours to an hour, tops. I know that I've been blessed with awesome sleepers & that not everyone is so fortunate, but their extreme crankiness led me to believe that they did, in fact, need those hours they were missing. When they showed up in our bedroom at 5:55 one Saturday morning, we'd had enough.

Enter the Onaroo OK to Wake alarm clock, aka "my little lifesaver!"It glows green whenever it's okay for the kids to get out of bed, either in the morning or after nap time. We have it set to 7:00 for mornings & use a two-hour timer on it for naps. Our explanation to the twins was that it was okay for them to be awake early, as long as they stayed quietly in their beds until the green light came on.

We've had our rough days, but this has drastically improved the amount of sleep they're getting & cut down on all of those early ventures out of bed. I think it just helps for them to have some tangible reason for staying in bed, other than just the fact that Mommy said so. Luckily, they're three-year-old brains haven't yet grappled with the idea that the green light's authority is ultimately determined by the time Mommy sets for it to light up!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

A Weekend of Firsts

Last weekend, Justin & I traveled to Atlanta, & Beau got to tag along for his first plane ride. Thanks to some upgrade points that Daddy had, he even got to sit in first class on the way there. What a classy boy!
Beau was a wonderful traveler & slept most of the flight there. Here he is waiting for our luggage. So helpful, isn't he?
The main reason for our trip was to attend the wedding of one of J's friends, which was Saturday night in Highlands, NC. Uncle Mark, Aunt Rachel & Belle took care of the little man while we went to the wedding with J's parents. Thank you!

We also got in some great family time while we were there, & Beau got to meet his great grandparents for the first time. Here he is with Pa:
And getting cuddles from Gigi:
As all of the kids do, he thought Pa was pretty funny!
On Sunday afternoon, we were able to attend our nephew Jackson's first birthday party. Thank you, Amy, for scheduling it so you could include us! Here's the birthday boy enjoying his cake.Jake & Mal were having a blast at home with Nana & Papa. Thanks so much for taking care of them!

It was a fast but fun weekend!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Sweet Giggles

Oh, how I love this open-mouthed grin & sweet little chuckle!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Beach Trip Alphabet

In an effort to limit the length of my post about our trip, here it is from A to Z!

At the pool (for Beau's first time)
Big boysCutenessDon't make me go in there!
Ecstatic!Fun in the splash zoneGirls' Night!

House to hold us allIgloo tent for the babiesJumping inKickin' back & relaxing
Loving on babiesMonster cookies - yum!Non-stop sand playOutrageous giggles!
Pretty dolphinsQuiet beachesReading with PopsSnack time
Toes in the sandUnderdressedVery big turtleWaves!
X-tra babysitters (yes, I cheated on that one)Yummy foodZzzzz..............

Saturday, June 18, 2011

To Infinity...And Beyond!

I'm still working on beach pictures, but first I had to share the latest accomplishment in our household. Jake is out of diapers! We decided that a cold turkey approach would be best for Jake, since he might never actually be ready on his own. In the weeks leading up to our vacation, we talked about the fact that he would learn to use the potty "after the beach."

Monday was D-day, so to speak, & he's really done surprisingly well. We haven't had a completely accident-free day yet, but he has improved greatly. We're so proud of our big boy & are enjoying only having one kid in diapers!

Jake is into quoting Buzz Lightyear's catch phrase lately because he's obsessed with Toy Story, & it captures how I feel about this transition. Once we master this, I really will feel that I've been to infinity & beyond!