Why is it?

Why is it that whenever your baby has a really good night and actually stays asleep you wake up thinking something bad must have happened? I remember the first time Briana slept through the night I woke up so panicked. When William did it I was less panicked but still checked on him. Alyssa brought back that panicky feeling . . .

Sunday night Alyssa wakes up at her usual 3:30am feeding time but does not want to eat. Instead she is covered with throw-up. So, I change her and put her in the car seat in our room so I can monitor her breathing. Not even 10 minutes later she is throwing up mucus and can barely breathe. So I was pretty much up until 6am after all the clothing changes and breathing difficulties. Then I slept with one eye open listening for any more signs of struggle. It was a really tough night.

So, Monday night I am anticipating more of the same. I go to sleep and wake up at 7:15am and instantly think that Alyssa must have choked during the night and I failed to help her. So, I immediately walk into her room to check on her. There she was sound asleep and stayed that way until 9am. I am thrilled that she slept over 11 hours in a row at night. She really could have chosen a better night to reach this accomplishment.

So, far I'm not holding out too much hope that she has officially dropped her 4am feeding. If she can skip it for at least a week then I know I'm in the clear. :-)

Hey! I didn't see 25 entries for the 25 days of Christmas

It's true I did not complete the project as planned. I do have two more days to upload and haven't been feeling well so they will have to wait.

When the project idea first came to me the days just seemed to fill in themselves. There were definitely a few bumps in the road. I didn't visit the Christmas Tree Farm as planned because Alyssa had shots the day before and slept in. I felt she needed the rest. I planned to attend another Santa/Craft/Snow day put on by my HOA but when I found out that they were charging $5 per child just to play in the snow, I boycotted the event. I was so excited to have the kids donate to Toys for Tots but by the time I was ready to make the donation it was too late. Of course a few crafts along the way were left undone. I still love the concept and will definitely do it again next year. I may just do the 20 days of Christmas or not focus on a number at all just the fun activities!

What I absolutely loved about this project is that it made me do things with the kids that I had not attempted until this year. The Gingerbread house for instance was a favorite of my kids and so we will definitely do another one next year. I let the kids use cookie cutters and sprinkles in order to make cookies for Santa, another favorite. They did far better with the Santa letters than I had even anticipated and will be that much more ready to do a letter for Santa next year. I did get a fairly good picture of the kids with Santa. Our picture at the Christmas party made me think that I should get more pictures of me with the kids at more of the play dates we do throughout the year with the group.

Now on to the new year and more great times with my kids. They are truly growing so fast!

Christmas Morning -Day 25!!

Christmas morning at grandma and papa's house. Briana loved the singing Pinkie Pie pony and William loved his Home Depot tool box. Alyssa didn't quite know what to make of everything but she was excited. We stayed for an early Christmas dinner then headed home to watch the kids play with all of their new toys.

Cristmas Eve - Day 24

Christmas Eve with the in-laws. When Alan and I first started this tradition the celebration went well beyond midnight. Now with small kids we usually wrap things up by 8:30-9pm. :-)

1st Day of Gift Opening! - Day 23 (25 Days of Christmas)

Christmas starts at our house. Alan fixed a huge dinner for family and then we opened gifts. This keeps us from lugging a bunch of gifts from house to house during the busy holiday season. :-)

Writing a Letter to Santa - Day 22 (25 Days of Christmas)

The kids have been so excited about Christmas this year and so I decided to start a new tradition by writing letters to Santa. I searched online for some free templates for the kids to use and then I told them to write down or draw a picture of what they wanted Santa to bring them.
William's request never changed. It was always Woody and Buzz. I wrote it along the top for him while he "colored".
Briana's request changed every single day and every time she saw a comercial or walked into a toy store. I don't even remember what she asked for while we were writing the letter because her copying got a little off-kilter.
Overall, I loved the finished product and the kids had a great time!







William's final list.

Briana's final list.

Snow! Day 21 (25 Days of Christmas)

My parents have a second home near Lake Arrowhead and so we decided to head up and have our own play day in the snow. There was so much on the ground and the kids had a ton of fun! Although it did take me a while to convince William to go out and play. When he finally did go outside he had a blast!



My nephew, Joey. I thought I also uploaded a pic of my other nephew but he wasn't as cooperative when it came to taking a picture.

They are too cute!

Knott's Merry Farm - Day 20 (25 Days of Christmas)

Alan had received two free tickets to Knott's that expired on the 24th of December. So, we thought we would go and check it out. After all, we just needed to purchase one ticket for Briana and it would be something fun to do. Little did we know that this weekend was also the Toys for Tots drive. Basically, if you brought in one toy worth $10 or more you got one person in the park for free. The place was PACKED. It took us one hour to get from the freeway to the park. Still we went inside. I don't like crowds and usually avoid them at all costs but William was so excited and I thought, how bad could it really be? On top of the impending crowds, Briana had mentioned that she was not feeling well. Unfortunately, she says this at least once a week. Go figure that today she was really sick and threw up a few times on the way there and once on the way back. So, she basically stayed in the stroller for the entire time we were there. Basically, we saw, we didn't like it and so we left. Live and Learn! Never go to Knott's Berry Farm when they have a deal going.

Briana-isms

Briana is also at such a fun age. I am often amazed by the way she thinks about things and can figure stuff out on her own. Not to mention her new love for art. She spends hours drawing and coloring.

1. Can you lay down next to me? Tucking Briana in at night is never complete until I lay down with her for a few minutes. She often asks for a story or I ask about her day. I enjoy our few minutes together at night before she drifts off to sleep.

2. My friend Shelby - Briana started school this year and has a best friend. The first of many. Every time I ask about her day at school the description ALWAYS includes a story about Shelby.

3. Mommy, Can I have dessert? - I'm not sure where this obsession began but she asks for dessert after EVERY meal, even breakfast. I then explain that we don't eat dessert after breakfast. So, now she asks; Mommy, what meal is this? If I say lunch or dinner then she knows I will give her a small treat for dessert.

4. Can I help you? - Briana is at the age where she wants to help with everything from cooking to cleaning to checking the mail. It's nice to have her so involved but there are times where she seems to be constantly underfoot.

5. Can I eat like a puppy? - This is not something I try and encourage. Just like it sounds, she likes to eat sometimes "like a puppy". Most times she asks first so that I'll help tie her hair back. For a while she wanted to "eat like a puppy" on the floor but lately it seems to be done at the table. This is actually something I won't be missing when it finally passes.

William-isms

William is at such a great age. Yes, there are those times where I am pulling my hair out but most times he is simply adorable. Here are a few classic phrases from William:

1. Mad to You - This is what he says when he gets mad. He then raises his eyes and lowers his head at the same time. He also uses this phrase for situations where other people are mad. Example: (Wall-E) Eve is mad to Wall-E

2. Daddy Flying Movie - One of William's latest obsessions. My husband went sky diving 2 years ago and purchased the video. William watches this video anywhere from once to 5 times a day. He now knows, Tom Petty's Free Falling by heart. I catch him singing it all the time. His favorite line is: She's a good girl. Loves her mama. Loves Jason and America too. (We tell him it's Jesus but it always comes out Jason.)

3. William is absolutely crazy about the men in the family and of course his mommy. You know when he really loves you when he says, I love Papa, he's my friend. He told me the other day; I love you mommy, you are my friend. :-) Apparently his form of love makes you his friend.

4. Can I play Candy Corn? William's way of asking to play the game Candy Land. He loves getting a card with a picture of candy. He takes his pawn and pretends to eat the candy off of the board.

5. 5 more minutes . . . This is William's way of keeping you next to him just a little longer. I hear this phrase often while trying to drop him off at the kid's klub at LA Fitness. Bye William, I have to go workout. 5 more minutes mama. 5 more minutes . . . .

6. It's too spicy! This is what William says when he doesn't like something he eats. We also use it to our advantage when there is something we don't want him to eat or drink. It's too spicy William. It's too spicy.

7. Can I follow you? William's way of asking to go where ever you are going.

8. This one is for holding and this one is for wearing. William has an obsession with Cars (the movie) and Toy Story. Of course the pull-ups we buy for him have thses characters on them. So, he likes to carry certain pull-ups around. He gets very upset if you take one he is "holding" and put it on him. So, now I make him tell me. William get a pull-up. "This one is for holding and this one is for wearing."

Day 16 Briana's Performance - (25 Days of Christmas)

Briana's Christmas program had finally arrived and we had grandma, grandpa and cousin Joey join us. We had to get there an hour before the show started just to get decent seats and we were still in the back of the room. We were also told not to take pictures during the performance and that there would be a dvd available sometime in January. So the following were the pictures I was able to take. They also had a super crowded reception afterwards with cookies, punch and Santa.