When I had Lila life was about consistency. I believed in Baby Wise and the power of a schedule. I still do. But kid number two gets the shaft in life right? You would never have heard me say that until I had baby number two. Don't tell my sister that I am now aware of how much better I must have had it. Except for the whole getting away with things. That doesn't come until later though.
Anyway, I am trying. Now that Evie's on the path to happy instead of miserable I want to really aim for consistency. I believe children need it. They thrive on it. Even babies. Some disagree, and I understand.
The problem is, Lila has given up sleeping. Rather, she has given up going to sleep. Once she goes to sleep she does alright. It's just the getting there that's become a struggle to say the least. But we're working on it. She is consistently taking up residence up against the gate we put at her door when she "goes to bed". She piles up her blanket Kim's mom made and falls asleep on it rather purposefully.
She has also decided that between 2:30 and 3:30 am she needs to do a walkabout. She comes to our room all foggy and sleepy. When Seth was out of town I may or may not have let her get in the bed with me at this time. Last night I decided I would get in bed with her just until she fell asleep. What do you think happened? If you said I passed out immediately you would be correct.
We will see what route I take tonight. Seth and I went on a date tonight while Seth's mom was brave enough to babysit. Lila was up until 10 pm talking at the gate. Tomorrow's swim lesson should be awesome.
On another note I want to say bravo to Seth. He took both girls to the Botanical Gardens this morning while I went to my glamorous second job. This was his first real outing with both ladies and of course it went incredibly well. I'm all warning him about bringing extra outfits for both girls in case of blowouts. I'm all "you'll never know until you do it". I'm all "good luck!" as I grab my coffee and relish in my impending alone time. Not only did he not have blowouts, meltdowns, or any other such disaster...he made friends at the gardens. Well done Sethy poo.
FYI, my desperately seeking decor second blog is desperately in need of an update. It's coming. We finally accomplished a few things in Lila's room. While I could post about it piece by piece my life just does not allow for that. So stay tuned for a massive Lila's room update...and maybe even an Evie's room update too. Until then check out my new favorites in the Song of the Week (or year) tab and the favorite things tab.
The new header is gigantic. But, I'm very tired and don't feel like fixing it. So for the next month you will just have to see my beautiful babies up close and personal.
This week has been the biggest roller coaster of a week I have ever had. Monday was probably the worst day I've had since having kids. And today feels a little like I fought the mommyhood and the mommy (I) won. What made Monday so bad? I will tell you.
Do you ever have those days where really and truly everything goes wrong? I'm not talking life shattering things. I'm talking little things that eat away at your day until so many of them have happened that you want to scream at the universe because it must be out to get you? Here's the short list:
* Evie screamed. All day. When I say all day I mean every single second. Except for when we were at Lila's swim lesson. But Lila screamed through that.
* Lila decided the swim lessons are not for her. I usually change her into her swim attire when we get there. It only consists of reusable swim diapers and tennis shoes (to help her kick more). She had the most massive of meltdowns. This was more due to the lack of sleep she had been getting than the lessons because she suddenly also decided the big girl bed wasn't for her. Her meltdown got to the point where she plopped down completely naked onto the nasty floor surrounding the pool (which is indoor at a hotel no less).
* I gave up dairy only to realize Seth had been randomly giving Evie a bottle of frozen, pumped milk from before giving up dairy. When am I going to get this right?
* I fell off of a chair. I have a really pretty bruise on my knee, a somewhat twisted ankle, some random other bruises, and the intense feeling that Lila may drop the F bomb any day now.
* Seth had just left to go out of town. For a week. And it was only Monday.
Again, Monday could have been much more horrendous I'm sure. But you know the kind of day I'm talking about. The things mentioned above are the majors. The minors are too numerous to name and are now long forgotten anyway.
Today, however, made Monday seem like a distant memory. The not eating dairy (consistently without screwing up) seems to be making a difference. Evie has been a completely different kid the past 48 hours. She loves to smile, but now I see it almost all day instead of just in between sheer terror and pain. She is sleeping all night and attempting to nap longer.
Lila is coming to terms with her room having a gate up at nap and bed time. She did fall asleep (twice) laying on the floor next to the gate. I am convinced that was only because Sara was babysitting. She hasn't done that with me. Sara is WAY cooler than me. Sara and two of my cousins were here last night and she actually said "I want to come out too" like she was missing out on a big party. Seriously broke my heart. But then tonight she didn't seem too bothered. Mommy is just old news I suppose. I'll take what I can get though. Both girls were asleep by 8:30....and are still sleeping. Glorious.
Anyway, here are what I see as blooper pictures to go along with my blooper of a week.
It seems the dress wasn't good enough as is. She thought it needed a belt. Belts are meant to hold things up right?
This picture cracks me up. All I can think of to say is my daughter rocks the disheveled look.
During our photo shoot Lila decided her "Baby Evie" needed to be in the picture too. And this is how she thought the baby should be posed.
Seth
Daddy. Of. The. Year.
He heads to camp on Saturday for what he claims will be his last year at camp. I have always loved that he volunteers for MDA camp. But, I have to admit that a full week without his help will be interesting. I am lucky enough to have a husband that knows what it means to really parent. He's not just a daddy to our kids, but a parenting partner for me.
That being said, here's what he's been up to aside from the whole working thing. He beautifully tiled our laundry room (pictures coming soon). He spends most nights with the girls so that I can either go do my glamorous second job or go out to dinner with friends. He took Lila to a Braves game...when she didn't take a nap...after I told him it was too risky...and she had the very best time. She is finally past the "I only like mommy phase". Yes, that kind of phase is quite normal and equally as unnerving. Overall, Seth is probably the most stable out of the four of us :-)
Jana
I'm pretty sure I should be way skinnier than I am. I never sit down except to nurse, eat, and drive. Not to mention, it's not uncommon for me to nurse and eat at the same time. Or eat and drive at the same time. Wait, maybe I am eating more than I think. Anyway, I also do my glamorous second job like a bat out of you know where these days. This is partly because I'm no longer trying to do it pregnant. It's also because it has become the only time that I spend completely alone. I may or may not have been singing along with the Indigo Girls at the top of my lungs tonight too. That has to burn some calories right? I am giving up dairy as well. Not to get skinnier but to keep Evie from feeling like I am feeding her poison. The problem is I'm a moron. The dinner I made tonight included an entire stick of butter and I didn't make the connection that butter is indeed dairy until I had eaten a generous helping. Yes, I willingly made a meal that contains that much butter (in fact, I decreased what it called for). It doesn't happen often, but sometimes a pasta cream sauce just has to be done. Regardless, I haven't really built a case here for why I should be skinnier have I?
Lila
I can't remember what I've shared exactly about Lila because things happen so unbelievably fast. She is a full on conversationalist now. And not the kind that is only understood by her. It was like one day she woke up and said three complete sentences in a row and there was no going back. Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining. There is something magical about lessening the guessing game I like to call "I don't know what you want because I can't understand you!". At the same time this is just one more thing that makes her older, faster and I am in desperate need of a pause button.
A few other random updates include her complete escape from the pack and play, her beautiful infatuation with her sister, and her ever growing musical talents.
As I'm sure I've mentioned, Lila graduated to a pack and play before Evie was born. She (I) wasn't ready for the big bed and yet it would have been silly to buy a second crib. Then, not too long ago she graduated to the big bed but still took naps in the pack and play. This was because she refused to nap in the big bed but went to bed great in it at night. Over the weekend she escaped the pack and play. Needless to say napping AND going to bed at night have been interesting. I pretty much bribe her to take a nap. I come up with something that will happen when she wakes up and that typically works like a charm. Going to bed at night is getting more challenging, but we are working on it. I think she knows that Evie is still up (not by our choice) and she feels left out. This breaks my heart because she is SO VERY GOOD with Evie. If she only knew I would typically give anything for Evie to be asleep too.
Speaking of Evie, Lila is pretty much the best big sister on the planet. She talks to Evie like Evie understands everything she is saying. She reads books to her while I dry my hair. She dances around the kitchen, stops to tell Evie to dance, pauses like she's waiting for Evie to actually start dancing, and then emphatically says "good job baby Evie!!!". She puts Evie's pacifier back in her mouth if it falls out. She brings her a blanket if I say her feet are cold. Her absolute favorite job is to get a new bib when Evie spits up all over the one she has on. I'm telling you, she's a dream. I'm pretty sure Evie entering our family has changed Lila more than anyone else. I'm not sure why, but last night was the first time we had Lila sit on the couch and hold Evie. For some reason things like that get lost in the shuffle. Anyway, you can imagine the look on Lila's face. Pictures just don't do it justice.
Lastly, Lila's love for music is pretty much oozing out of her these days. All she ever wants to do is dance. She actually had a massive meltdown today because the song that was playing in the car was no longer playing when I turned the radio on in the house. And because I have no brain I couldn't remember what song it was. She acted like I had ruined her life. I'm sure that won't be the last time she feels that way. She has also fallen in love with the two guitars she got for her birthday. She is partial to the "electric" guitar, but she will take out the other one and sing a ballad or two about hairbows and flip flops. This video is long, but worth it. Seth had a hard time taking it because she would stop or walk away if she knew he was trying to video her. She will go on like this for quite a while. I was cleaning one night and Seth texted me asking who gave the guitar to her so he could adequately thank them (she had apparently been playing it for an hour and a half).
Evie
Our sweet little girl had her two month appointment yesterday!!! She is still around the 100th percentile for height and weight. While the reflux is a daily struggle, she is such a smiley baby.
I honestly don't remember Lila smiling this much or this early. In fact, Evie has laughed a few times as well. Once for me and once for Seth. She sleeps really well at night, but her napping is kind of erratic. She will sleep ten minutes here or twenty minutes there. She prefers sleeping like this:
I feel bad not having more updates for Evie! But, she's two months old. She eats, sleeps, poops, smiles, and cries. She may be the center of Lila's world most days, but she has stolen my heart just as much. I am trying so hard to soak up this baby time and steal moments with just her. I know the second child has it rough. So here are my goals for Evie:
1) To take more pictures of her and not with the camera on my phone.
2) To let Lila hold her whenever she wants because they both love it.
3) To have her sleep on me whenever I can make it work.
4) To slow down, for her sake, and make sure she feels just how much I love her.
Alright, that's about it for now. Sorry for the lengthy post but you may not see much from me when Seth isn't here!
