Mommy's boy

Sleeping or lack thereof has not been a huge problem for us since the twins have been born. Don't get me wrong, we get less sleep than we used to (Jim can probably tell you exactly how much less). But in the grand scheme of what we feared when we found out we were having twins... we've had more sleep filled nights than sleepless nights. Until recently that is...

Cole has always been a mommy's boy, but recently he's been even more clingy than usual. 

Then he started having trouble sleeping. 

We put him to bed and then after Summer falls asleep he starts wandering around.  Sometimes you can just hear him walking around upstairs.  Sometimes he's at the top of the steps calling for me.  Sometimes he comes down to find me to see if he'll be allowed more snuggle time.  And I'm talking 10:30 many nights... one night it was even midnight! 

We've been pretty strict with bedtime since the kids were born.  They were in their crib from day 1 home from the hospital.  They slept a 6 hour stretch from midnight to 6am by the time I went back to work at just 8 weeks old (3 weeks adjusted).  We did sleep training, have a pretty solid bedtime routine and other than a very rare occasion they do not sleep in our bed.  (This is not to criticize anyone that does not take this approach, but it is what needs to happen for our schedules) 

I called school one day to see if maybe he was finally ready to give up his nap.  I discussed with the teacher the issue we were having at home and that even though he was falling right asleep at nap time and usually sleeping the entire allotted time... that I needed her to attempt to keep him up for at least a week to see if that helped.  The first week went beautifully and we were all back to our usual nighttime schedule.  However, the next week did not go so well.  Again he was up.... and if he was up, I would quiz him on whether or not he had fallen asleep at naptime that day.  When I found out he hadn't .... I was at a loss for what the issue was. 

This past Sunday night.... he again waited for Summer to fall asleep (which doesn't take long) and then began wandering down for me to put him back to bed.  As I tucked him back in, he began to cry about how he missed me.  He wanted me to lay with him... so I asked him if he wanted to sleep with the blanket from my bed and he said yes.  So we gave it a try and I told him that he could use it until I went to bed..... AND IT WORKED!!!!!  Not only that, but it worked every night last week!  One night I didn't go up for the bedtime ritual and he came down a bit after bedtime and I thought.... oh no it stopped working..... but he just came down to tell me that Daddy forgot to give him my blanket. 

Hopefully this continues to do the trick and for now seems to be a just a case of the mommy's boy clingy Cole! 

Snuggled up with my blanket

A cooking lesson from Mickey Mouse

It took me awhile to upload the pictures... so this story actually took place last Saturday :)

We have been working on taking away Cole's nap because he is staying up way too late at night so we've been sending in other quiet time activities for him to work on during nap time at daycare.  This week one of the things he took was a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book.  Last night he showed me one of the pictures and asked if we could make fruit kabobs like Mickey. 

Today while Cole & Jim were getting haircuts, Summer and I went to produce junction to get some supplies.  Here is our bounty:

 

They wanted to help me chop, so I assigned them tasks that steered clear of the knives.  Summer was the wipe up girl if we had a spill and Cole was the trash man.  They thoroughly enjoyed their jobs and reminded me if I did one of them by accident.  We talked about each fruit as I chopped.  What color it was, if it had seeds, etc.  Once the items were chopped and in bowls, we got the skewers.  They had lots of fun selecting from the different bowls and making patterns with the chopped fruit. 

 

Once their creations were completed... they enjoyed their yummy lunch and have already requested more for breakfast!

Creating a new play space...

I've seriously been in a rut at home lately...  believe me I am NOT a neat freak and I'm ok with that, but it has gotten way out of hand even for me.  The basement is just about the only room that I would say is pretty good right now.  We have spent a great deal of time getting it in shape and making it the playroom, except that now that we've added the TV that I got Jim for Christmas, a bluray player and fixed the gas fireplace... we kind of decided that we like the space for more than just a playroom and Jim and I have been hanging out down there in the evenings after the kids are in bed.  We don't want it to get overwhelmed with all of the toys.... plus it would be unrealistic to not have any toys on the main floor.  Even though I am more comfortable letting them play downstairs without me there every minute, I don't want them down there too long without supervision. 

The PLAN...  to create a space that contains the toys that the kids use on the main floor. 

We are now into toys with lots of tiny pieces and they are driving me crazy all over my living room floor and constantly getting kicked under the couch.  (Note to self: next time I am furniture shopping, I will select only things that toys can't scoot under!)  We have a nice sized area to the side of our living room that has been the toy area, but they tend not to stay there and have taken over the entire living room.  The main floor conists of an entry way, powder room, kitchen (that lacks room for a table), dining room and living room that are separated by a step and a railing.  My thought is to move our dining table into the side of the living room and to move all of the toys into the dining room which would serve as somewhat of a toy corral. 

I'm also hoping to create an art center possibly in the corner of the living room.  The kids are super into creating and we have accumulated quite a bit of art supplies, so I'd like to organize everything so that they can cut and glue and color to their hearts content!

Wish me luck... it is a work in progress already so no before pictures.... when it is the way I want it... I'll post after pictures.