Weekend in Review

Whew, what a weekend! Benoit and I have decided to try a few new ideas to help Sophie sleep better at night (and hence, the rest of us too). We started last week with a 30 min quiet time before movie time, during which she falls asleep. I wake her after quiet time and she can watch a movie until Audrey wakes up from her nap. Friday night was particularly bad and she woke up countless times and never seemed to be able to settle down. I never really slept after 3:30am.

So on Saturday night, we decided to try a 'wait and see' approach to night time wakings. We put Audrey to bed in a playard in our room to keep her from waking up when Sophie goes nuts later that night. Around 10:30pm, Sophie woke up and started crying. I did not go in but we just waited for 5 minutes to see if she could calm herself down. She did not, so Benoit went in. She then went totally nuts because she only wants me to come in at night. We are also working on getting her more used to Benoit coming in at night so he'll be able to help more. Then after 5 more minutes, I went in. Initially, it took a while for her to sleep but I only had to go in 1 more time that night. She woke again, but was able to calm herself. Then Sunday night, I only had to go in at 4:30 am. Not too bad! Maybe we're on the right track finally!

As for Audrey, she had a rough morning yesterday. She woke us up gagging at 5am (remember, she is in the playard in our room). But she did not get sick and went back to sleep. At 6am, she and I got up and snuggled on the couch while she drank her milk. Twenty minutes later, she projected it all over me and the couch. Twice. Gross. And smelly. She didn't get sick anymore that day but did have two gross diapers that morning, so must have been a little bug. We canceled our brunch plans at the Gaylord (we'll go next weekend) since she was not feeling well. She was quite grumpy, but who could blame her.

Otherwise, a good weekend. We went to the dog park, stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a small treat, went to the pool with the kids, hung out at the mall a bit. It was a nice family weekend. I even got 2 pairs of running shorts (though I don't run) for the start of my birthday week! That means I'll look cool at the gym today while I hit the elliptical Thanks hubby!

Today begins Sophie's last full week home before she starts back to school so I planned a fun activity for FUN WEEK! Today we went to the Pump It Up and bounced around on some cool inflatables. Sophie had a blast but Audrey was a little unsure of it all after 15 min. Very unlike her, so maybe a little tired from yesterday's craziness. And here is my fave moment of the day....hand holding in the car. Sigh.

Go in the kitchen

"Go in the kitchen, mommy!" directs Sophie. Not because she's hungry, thirsty, or thinks that's where I belong. But rather because she wants to do something she's not allowed to do and wants me to leave so she can get away with it. She wants to jump on the couch. She loves to pull all the pillows off the couch and jump from the armrest (from a standing position) to her tummy on the couch. Often with Audrey in the way. I just think it's funny, but the responsible mommy part of me has to step in and make sure she doesn't get hurt. Hense, no jumping on the couch.

Bonus, here is a pic of Audrey climbing into her old carseat while I'm typing today's entry. Cute!

Ok, so it’s been a while. But I’m back on the wagon and ready to go. So let’s catch up….

Sophie is 2 ½ years old now and has developed quite an imagination. She often talks to her ‘friends’ and names them. There are a variety of them – crocodiles, Swiper (the fox from Dora), Sara (???), and on and on. She likes to have them follow her around the house and eat cookies or cook with her. She has also been waking frequently at night for about 5 months and we wonder if this is all related. I get up (yep, she doesn’t want Benoit) every night 1-4+ times. Usually she wakes at 1am/3am or 3am/5am. But some nights it’s every couple of hours. This week, I have slept 1 night with only 1 waking. So I’m a little zombie-ish, but making it. We are trying a new nap routine starting today and hoping it will help. She has not been taking a nap for the last 2 months b/c we have so much trouble getting her to sleep at night. Now she zonks right out, which is amazing b/c we have our evenings back starting at 8pm but then wakes several times at night. So we wonder if she’s overtired. Today, she had a 30 min quiet time (she fell asleep after 15 and I let her sleep for 30) and then a movie while Audrey finished her nap. So crossing my fingers for a new/better routine with better night sleep.

Audrey is 14 months and is more verbal every day! She is signing a ton of words, mostly animal related and usually accompanied by noise. She can sign dog (see below), more, light, milk, bye, blow a kiss, bird, gorilla, elephant, giraffe, monkey, pig, hot, and please. Her first verbal word besides mama/dada was two weeks ago and she said ‘peees’ when she signed please. New verbal words include bye, yuck (when we change her diaper), ball, bath, and uh-oh. She is so pleased with herself when she communicates with me and I’m so proud of her for saying so many words. She has not said any French words yet, but last week, Benoit asked her to bring him his bike helmet in French and she did. She is super smart and just a joy to be around.

As for me and Benoit, we are doing great. Just getting the family back from Vermont to visit Brad and Emily (Mom got to come too!). Benoit is feeling much better but having setbacks occasionally. He has gained back 15 pounds and actually wants to lose 5 again. I think he looks great but he wants to get down to his goal weight and stay there. I can totally understand! I’m focused on getting Sophie ready for school in a couple of weeks and deciding how Audrey and I will spend our time, other than running errands. I’m considering a gym class for her or pool time. But I want to maintain a good schedule that will be fun and challenging for her while giving us some good mommy/daughter time.

For visual interest, I’ve added a few of my fave photos from our vacation below. I’m still waiting to see if my photos I accidentally deleted can be recovered, so I’ll add more another time.

Audrey making her dog sign while sitting on a dog.

The view from our back patio at 'The Swallow's Nest'.
Nana and her girls!

Brad and me in giant chair, awesome.