Indoor sick week: castle making

My dad was up working on his house here for about 10 days. He had some left over big boxes and offered to bring them over for some entertainment. They had a blast making a princess castle together....and even after Gramps left, the box continued to entertain Reese....MUCH better than my tent did! Way to go Dad!

Indoor sick week: tent making

So after too many days stuck at home inside and sick I came up with this idea to make a tent in Reese's room. After crawling around with Maleah in the front pack the tent was pretty secure. I was excited thinking this would entertain grumpy Reese for an hour or more.....more like 10 minutes, maybe. Took me longer to make it! Oh well, maybe it will work better next time....

Comparison

The first is Reese on her two month birthday and the 2nd is Maleah. I think they look like sisters but Maleah looks a lot like Matt and Reese more like me. Reese was much smaller still at this age so hard to really compare. Reese was 9lbs and 21 inches were as Maleah is 11 lbs 5 oz and 23 inches.

I sure love both my girls!

Sleep like a baby

I have always wondered what people meant when they would lovingly say "sleep like a baby" because my baby and now babies, never slept very well. So Maleah is only napping in the front pack but she "sleeps" through our every day household noise! Dog barking, Reese playing with loud toys, dish washing....she sleeps through most of it, depending what sleep cycle she is in. So I guess that is what is meant by sleep like a baby. Oh yeah...this is Reese playing "Kimber". Pretty funny kid!

Random thoughts about being a mommy....

I was made to be a mommy, team mom was my nick name in high school and college, as I enjoy caring for people....but it is HARD work! I love to plan and nothing usually goes as planned....like right now Reese should be napping but she is fussing! Anyways, I was thinking about what "traps" I fall into as a mommy that make things hard for me and for my family....things I know "mommy hood" is working on in me.

1) Learning to stop, assess the situation, rather than rushing in and reacting to it. I am a reactor, especially to crying babies. But that doesn't always help. I am often thinking...quick! Put out the flames before they get bigger! This creates a lot of stress in me and puts a lot of demands on my husband, ie, do it NOW or disaster will strike! But if I am always reacting to my kids, that is what they will expect, for me to rush in and save them right away before figuring it out on their own. My goal is to work on my nature...less reacting, more waiting and assessing, with the goal of the joy in watching them do it themselves or learn something new.

2) Be willing to guess and check. Kids and babies are always growing and changing. What works today at noon may not work tonight at 6. I don't like the risk involved with guess and check...too risky if it makes everything WORSE than it already is. BUT what if it makes it better...what if my kid or my baby learns to calm themselves. I have to know that I am up for guess and check and have a back up plan if possible. But I need to be more willing for things to go wrong just to see if they might be better, for my kids, for my husband, and for me. Guess and check should come naturally, as there are so many theories about child raising, from books to blogs to any mom you talk to, everyone has a sure fix for your situation. What is the harm in trying it out? The harm in not trying it out is "painting myself into a corner" I can't get out of...." I have to.....or else chaos will happen. Surprisingly I don't have to wear the front pack 8 hours a day.

My dad watched Maleah for me last week while I took Reese to the doctor. I figured she could cry with us at the appointment or maybe nap with my dad in the front pack at home. This was a pretty low risk guess and check for me. Turns out she napped for him and he discovered something helpful for me. Maleah does better with a longer wake time! I had been keeping it to 45 minutes and now know she naps better after an hour plus of wake time!

My goal in being a mommy is for my kids and I to enjoy each other rather than need each other. Hopefully working on these two areas will get us closer to that goal.

New Years Eve and New Years Day

For News Years Eve we spent a nice day at home together. We talked with Reese what a new year was, she was interested to know if it was America's birthday again, if that was the reason there were fire works. Explaining the concept of a new year is tough!

After baths, at 9 pm, we toasted cider and water and each said one goal for the new year:
Matt: get healthy
Kimber: Read the bible consistently
Reese: not say the word stupid any more (thought of this all on her own!)
Maleah: we chose for her: sleep well! :)

It was fun to toast together and think about starting a new year with our new family.



For New Years day we started out doing the 2nd annual run to benefit police officers. Maleah decided not to sleep in her car seat but wanted the front pack so I opted out of the race....as racing with a front pack on did not seem like fun. It was only 23 so it was cold!! Matt pushed Reese in the jogger...last year she got out to run at the end...this year she stayed in cause it was so cold. Afterwards we went to Grammmie and Gramps house for a little play time in the sunshine and so I could try and get Maleah to do a car seat nap. Since it was a holiday, I was wanting a holiday from my normal schedule too! :) Next year I look forward to running this race again as a family!

Cousin "play" time

Wish we lived closer to the Wingers so the cousins could have more time together. But for now, we skype and watch videos of each other....and look forward to the visits we get!