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Category Archives: Sleeping & Napping

Owen’s going to preschool!

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Well, Owen is officially signed up for morning preschool three days a week! I wanted two, but she said better to start with more and cut a day (if necessary) than start with two and want to add a day and have there not be room.

Best part? One of his friends is in the same class! 🙂
Worst parts? Class starts at 8 and ends right in the middle of Katie’s nap. 🙁

So this means we’re all getting up by alarm (YUCK). This was a VERY rude surprise since we thought it was 8:30 (that’s what the paperwork I have said) and that was VERY doable with our regular schedule (Owen is up at 7, I’m usually up and showered by 7:30, but Katie can sleep until 8 or 8:30 sometimes—though it’s usually 7:30). But 8? Good god, that’s a BIG change in our schedule to be up and out the door by 7:35.

And on the other end, I either keep Katie up and deal with her being a hot mess and she falls asleep on the way to pick him up OR I let her nap but have to wake her up after 30-45m. Neither are appealing. Poor second kid gets the shaft nap-wise. The only thing I’m hoping is that maybe by getting her up earlier she will be tired earlier and will nap earlier… FINGERS CROSSED!

That said, one bonus to having a friend in the same class? I already know his mom well (she’s part of our mom’s group) and he’s an only child so she doesn’t have to deal with other kids napping…so she has GRACIOUSLY offered to pick up Owen on occasion and bring him home! So they’ll just come out for lunch and a play date! I swear, this mom’s group just keeps on giving and giving!

The only other thing I was planning on but didn’t pan out is dropping Katie off at the same place for once a week morning preschool…but they only do full-time care for one-year-olds (you have to be potty trained for pre-school classes). They do have drop-off first-come-first-serve daycare, though, so I may still be able to have a morning to myself now and again!

We got to meet his teacher, Miss Jennifer, and see his classroom. He had been SUPER excited about going to school and wanted to GO (not just visit) today but he didn’t seem too thrilled once we got in the classroom. I think (am hoping) it was because they just cleaned it (while the kids were outside) and it smelled like disinfectant. He also could see the playground and wanted to go play but that wasn’t an option.

After a few minutes he seemed a bit more at home and was walking around exploring. He had to go potty when he was there, so he got to check out the bathroom and wash his hands in the kid-sized sink (and learn how to use a different soap bottle and towel dispenser).

The teacher and I talked about his issues (mainly pooping and autism diagnoses) and she said she had another kid with GI issues and that she hadn’t noticed anything autism-related with him. She said they eat breakfast there, there’s no rest/nap time, water is available all day (they just have to ask for it), they have outdoor play time, and there’s no real regimented activity time (like “Okay, you HAVE TO sit here and practice writing for 15 minutes.”).

I still can’t believe this is happening. My baby is leaving the nest… I just wish he was taking a school bus so I didn’t have to spend an hour of my day trekking back and forth. 🙂

Great Wolf Lodge, Day 2

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Both kids slept well (no random nighttime Katie screaming is always good) and our day started off with donuts from the Dunkin Donuts inside the resort.

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The park didn’t open until 9, so we just lazed around and hung out.

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Owen tried climbing the ladder again…but only got this far again. 🙂

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Being at the park when it first opens is AMAZING. There’s no hunting for a table and chairs, there are no lines, there are no throngs of people…and it’s calm and almost quiet. Tom and I took advantage of the no-lines and tested the River Canyon Run family ride in the hopes that Owen might go down that one (it’s a huge inner tube that didn’t look that precarious). HOWEVER. The ride down was quite wild and we knew instantly Owen would NOT do well on it. As it was, it actually made Tom a little dizzy (though he blames the sinus stuff he had going on!).

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So we let him enjoy his slides…

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In the adults-only hot tub…we only spent about 15 minutes there. It was nice…but we were missing watching Owen have fun!

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In the wave pool waiting for the waves. Owen didn’t want anything to do with this pool yesterday but today he was all about the waves!

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Underwater Owen!

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Pruney baby feet!

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He wouldn’t even go under the water with Tom…

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Watching and waiting for the dump bucket…he always appeared VERY concerned.

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We kept trying to get him to come under and he never would.

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I even tried to get him to come with me under the bucket…NO GO.

Owen doing the crazy robot:

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Tom took Owen to the outdoor pool and frog slide one more time while us girls went up to the room to start getting ready to leave. Of course I had to get a picture!

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Owen had seen all the kids running around with wands (you can buy an expensive wand and they can play games) but he was too young for that…so when we saw this light-up sword in the gift shop, we had to get it for him. It was his treat for being such an awesome kid on the trip. He LOVED it!

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I highly recommend late check out—even with the additional fee—because it was great being able to go back to your room to check out instead of having to check out then haul everything to the car and take a bag to the park.

I think Katie was out by the time we left the parking lot and Owen lasted about 20 minutes…

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Busy Brother

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Katie was up—and screaming—so I asked Owen to go in and keep her company for a few minutes while I took a quick shower. This is what I walked in to see (though in the pic I’d already grabbed her from the crib):

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He had dragged his big bear AND his turtle into her room…and was reading from her books (well, reading in so much as it’s a picture book that has “one star, two cats, three balls, etc.” in pictures on each page).

Then when I got her out of the crib…I saw his two other bears in there!

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What a busy brother he’d been during my five-minute-or-less shower!

The urge to throttle a child.

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Ugh.

We had a birthday party at a gymnastics club today for one of the kids in the mom’s group. It was scheduled for 1–2:30—perfect timing since Owen no longer naps. I was excited because Tom was going to stay home with Katie so it would just be me and Owen.

So what happens?

Owen falls asleep at 11:30. I gently start waking him up at 12:30 and it’s not happening. I get ready…keep checking on him…and finally he’s up, but he’s a HOT MESS. Whining, pouting, being grumpy and obstinate. After many rounds of “Do you want to go play with kids [his FAVORITE thing] or go to your room to take a nap [well, finish it]” he wouldn’t stop crying so I just sent him to his room.

Yes, technically it’s my fault since I woke him up but still. He RARELY naps. What the hell?!?

So I was pissed because I was REALLY looking forward to getting out without Katie AND seeing how Owen liked the gymnastics stuff to determine if we should get him in a class. And of course Katie was waking up from her nap and screaming during the middle of all this. And Tom was outside working…and didn’t really seem to care that she was up and I should have been leaving.

Tom tried to talk to Owen to get him to come downstairs but that didn’t happen, either. So there I sat. Pissed. And dealing with the screaming baby that I had hoped to get away from for two hours. Isn’t parenting fun?!

Fast forward an hour…

Owen wakes up and wants to put his shoes on to go to the party.

“Sorry, buddy, the party’s over. You missed it because you were whining and wouldn’t put your shoes on.” (Technically it wasn’t over yet, but by the time we would have gotten in the car and driven there, there would have been about 15 minutes left.)

More whining. More asking to put his shoes on. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Fast forward again…

Owen: I missed the party because I wouldn’t put my shoes on.
Me: That’s right.
Owen: Why?

So we had a discussion about how parties are scheduled for certain times so you have to be there AT that time—you can’t just decide when you want to go and think the party will still be there.

Owen: I’m sad.
Me: Why?
Owen: I missed the party.
Me: Yes, I’m sad we missed the party, too.
Owen: I’ll put my shoes on the next time.

We’ll see if he remembers.

The baby monitor is going back up today.

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As I walk into the living room this morning:

Tom: Look who just got up!
Me: Katie?
Tom: Yes, she slept in!
Me: Oh, you mean after crying for 20 minutes at 6:30?
Tom: I didn’t hear her over the fan.
Me: I did. I’ve been up since 6:30. FAIL.

The baby monitor goes back up today (it was down from vacation). I only have four more weekends of not having to get up with the early-rising kids…and I need every last one of them to be successful.

Owen really spoiled me.

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Most of the time when Owen woke up in the morning or after a nap, he’d just play happily in his crib. For a long time if you let him. And when you finally went in to get him, he was all smiles and giggles.

So of course I expected Katie to do the same.

Ha.

HA HA.

She starts screaming within two minutes of waking up.

Every.
Single.
Time.
😐

And sometimes doesn’t even stop after you pick her up. Or stops, but starts again when you lay her down to change her diaper.

It gets old…fast. It’s a good thing she’s cute.

The long road home…

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Owen summed up the day nicely about 10 hours in: I am not happy. No more road trips.

Best case scenario it’s a long day but it was made even longer since we decided to push the mileage to get to our favorite hotel…and then it was full so we had to go an hour farther. 🙁

And I tried to make Katie a bottle of formula…with apple juice. Because I just wasn’t thinking and thought I had filled one of Owen’s cups with water. WRONG! So Katie was REALLY not happy the last hour, though I tried to keep the snacks coming her way.

Then I tried to check in to the wrong hotel. I just saw the Q and assumed it was La Quinta. Nope, Quality Inn. It’s a good thing Tom didn’t get anything unloaded…

Then we had horrible take-out Chinese food (Mongolian Beef and General Tso’s Chicken are hard to screw up, but they did) which just added to the day.

Owen perked up once he got to play in the pool.

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But since we arrived late, dinner was late and Owen getting to and back from the pool was late…which meant a super tired Katie—who should have gone to bed early at 8—couldn’t go to bed until they were back in the room and ready for bed…about 9:15. At least she only screamed for 10 minutes before falling asleep!

Road Trip, Day 1

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Amazingly we started off on schedule—and if you want to be technical about it, we were actually seven minutes early. And we didn’t think of anything we forgot…

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The barrette lasted a whole hour—which doesn’t seem like much but her previous record was about three seconds.

Things went pretty well until Katie got a little screechy. But Owen was SO awesome—he’d start talking to her, singing the ABCs, playing peek-a-boo (which usually resulted in giggles), and clapping (at which point she’d clap in return). But then it turned into hunger screeches meaning she wanted her bottle—which sounds easy…but isn’t. She can physically hold the bottle—but can’t understand she has to tip it (she wants it to work like a straw cup). We tried putting her formula in the straw cup…and then she doesn’t really want it. And even though it’s attached to a strap so it can’t end up on the floor…it ends up hanging or upside down…dripping milk. Sigh. At this age, Owen was definitely holding his own bottle—great for road trips.

So I tried giving her a no-spill snack cup…which lasted all of five minutes until she a) figured out how to hold one flap open and tip most of it out and then b) got the entire lid off! Joy.

No-spill snack cup: 0
Katie: 1

So we figured our good little eater would snarf down some mac and cheese for lunch. Nah. Not interested today. REALLY?! Also not really interested in any of our foods, including one of her favorite baby foods. GRRR.

The good thing about lunch is that the owner—after chatting with Tom—comped our meal as a thank you for his service. So a nice shout out to Prissy Polly’s BBQ in Kernersville, NC.

Neither kid napped well. Katie got maybe an hour each before and after lunch and Owen got maybe an hour total with his catnaps.

Then there was a sibling sharing game, played with the lid to the snack container. Owen would hand it to Katie, she’d hand it back, lather rinse repeat. Owen kept saying “We’re sharing! We’re talking turns!” 🙂 He’s such an awesome big brother.

When we finally got to the hotel, Owen helped daddy with the cart (it was too bright for a good picture!).

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And Maggie’s bag…which was about half his size.

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Katie was having a blast crawling/zooming across the bed. Of course as soon as I tried to record her, she stopped.

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Then she learned how to get off the bed. Just like that. (Just like she learned how to slide off the couch.) She’s a smart cookie.

Then it was off to dinner. We ate at the hotel just to make life easy. Katie ate seasoned curly fries, regular fries, and beef brisket (in addition to her cheese slices, green beans, and yogurt). Yes, BBQ beef brisket. Owen? The triple-decker PB&J and yogurt we packed from home.

Then it was FINALLY time for the pool—Owen had been asking most of the day but had really started asking when we got to the hotel. He was VERY excited!

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Catching a ride and kicking it with daddy…

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Watching daddy and Owen in the pool:

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Then I took Katie outside for a stroll since it was REALLY warm in the pool area.

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It took a minute to get a smile.

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Then it was back to the pool, where daddy nommed some Katie toes.

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I love when I get an unexpected shot. 🙂

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Back at the room, we turned our backs for a minute…and this happened.

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Yes, she opened the drawer AND got in by herself. And she was SO proud! Of course, she got out by herself, too.

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Unfortunately, there were a few tiny snafus.

I thought I did really well by packing overnight bags so we didn’t have to haul everyone’s suitcases in…but I apparently forgot obvious stuff like jammies and Katie didn’t have her burp cloth.

I rolled the stroller through something in the hotel (they had some construction areas) and tracked it all over our carpet. It looked like putty, and thankfully it was still wet enough to easily wipe up.

Owen picked a scab and bled all over the white sheets. I had no band-aids…either on me or in our med bag. Tom had to get one from the front desk.

I haven’t had reflux in a month…so of course tonight was the night. And I forgot to take my nightly meds before putting Katie to bed, and I really didn’t want to get up because it took her 25 minutes of SCREAMING to fall asleep and hell if I was going to be the one to wake her up.

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Also, the room next door has a bird and a yapping dog. Luckily it didn’t wake Katie up…but it woke me up about 10:30, and them continued to bark randomly until the owners SLAMMED back into their room around midnight.

Oh, we also got the last non-smoking room and it’s…not great. The bathroom smells, the bathroom counter is chipping, the toilet runs, and the sliding bathroom door (handicap accessible) is off the track so it can’t close. But we got a military discount!

Awesome napping form

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He was whining about something…then it got too quiet. 🙂 That’s some form he has there!

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A little while later he had moved. Seriously? That’s where you choose to nap? 🙂

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And then waking up…a tad grouchy.

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Maggie and Charlie also got in on the cool napping style.

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And then—of course—when I try to lie down for a minute just to rest my eyes…that’s when Katie wakes up and starts screaming. 😐

Well THAT was unexpected.

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So just now, Tom was watching TV and I was the office on the computer when we hear this…NOISE. I thought it sounded like a door slamming downstairs (impossible) and Tom thought it sounded like Owen jumping around his room…so he went to investigate.

And found Owen had fallen out of bed! 😯

He was in the middle of his floor and the stool was tipped over and he was crying and crying. Tom asked him what happened and he didn’t really answer. Tom helped him get back into bed and he apparently fell right back to sleep.

What the WHAT?! That’s NEVER happened! (Well, I guess, at least not that we’ve heard or been awake for…though I think it would wake me up.) Of course my mind rushes to sleepwalking…so we’re hoping this was a one-time thing.

Where’s the swarm of locusts?

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So Owen was yawning today around noon so I asked if he wanted to go take his nap early…and he could sleep in my bed (since Katie was already napping in their shared room).

And he agreed!!! And I got proof he actually slept!

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Except it only lasted 45 minutes. 😐

When I told Tom about it later, he said “WTF?!?!? I am looking outside for a swarm of locusts.”

Hee.

Attempted nap time

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Tom came home from work early today and surprised us! I’ve recently moved Owen’s nap from 1:00 to 1:30 (as he only sleeps maybe 1.5 hours anymore) so he was still going to be up when Tom got home.

Tom wanted to nap (since he was up at 3:30 this morning) but Owen wanted to be with him, so Owen promised to TRY and nap next to him. I was downstairs with Katie and heard activity so knew it wasn’t going well. Then Tom yelled down that he was getting the Xbox ready for Owen.

Later, Tom told me what happened. He said it was so cute because Owen was really trying hard to be still and stay quiet but he was a ball of energy. Tom was sneakily watching him and saw Owen just grinning and grinning.

Tom: Owen, what are you thinking about?
Owen: Grannie and Papa.
Tom: What about Grannie and Papa?
Owen: They’re at home.

And then he was intrigued by the ceiling (which has an octagonal cut out). So nap time was over. 🙂