KCWC Day 8

Yesterday was day 8 of the Kid's Clothing Week Challenge...and I still wasn't able to finish anything I started.

I did get two jumper dresses sewn together. They are waiting on buttons and ruffles. I also started sewing the hoods to Anna Claire's and Mallory's Halloween costumes, but I got stuck trying to turn a pattern for a cat into a horse...how do I attach the mane? I finally got it figured out, then I went in to check on the girls sleeping and saw Mallory...

I don't need to sew a mane on her costume...we'll just work with what we've got!

The Big Squeeze

A few weeks ago we managed to squeeze two twin beds into Anna Claire and Mallory's bedroom {you might remember reading about our dilemma here}. Their room is so tiny I couldn't even get the full length of the beds in the picture below.

We are currently without headboards, but I am devising a plan for that.

We made the transition to twin beds a little unexpectedly when I happened upon an amazing deal on two mattress/box springs sets and bed frames from a furniture store here in town that's going out of business. Of course, that meant we were going to need new bedding as well, which I was able to find from Home Goods in Mt. P for next to nothing which was wonderful after spending a small fortune on their crib bedding from Pottery Barn. I love these quilts and pillow shams!

We did, indeed, have to remove the closet door, so I made a simple "curtain" from white and pink polka~dot fabric I found at wal~mart of all places. They really surprised me with their selection of cute cotton prints. 

I think the door looks better than we expected it would, but I still need to remove the hinges from the door frame.

I also made a matching valance which was so easy I think I'll make new kitchen curtains later this summer.

We really didn't change anything else in their room. I still have their two~year~old silhouettes that I scanned, enlarged, and recolored to pink hanging above the dresser, but we added the ribbon topiaries from their party.

The jury's still out on these fairy tale prints I got for free from oohmoon ages ago. They match the new quilts better than the old, but I think the frames might just be too small and the prints need to be repositioned on the wall with the new beds. Thoughts??

So, how are we keeping the girls contained {because you know I was scared to death someone would fall out}?

I really didn't want to put rails on the new beds, so I borrowed the pool~noodle concept from Pinterest. Truth be told, I think the girls would be fine with nothing, but the pool noodle gives us all a little peace of mind, I think.

So, there you have it. Anna Claire and Mallory {and mommy and daddy} have survived yet another transition. The best part is that the girls are in love with their new beds. Now, if we can only get them to stay in those beds later than 6 am. It is summertime, after all!

Twins for Twins {help wanted}

Time for another transition that oh~so~painfully reminds me my babies are growing up right before my eyes. It's about time to move the girls into twin beds.

It looks like they're going to be tall like their Daddy, and they're just about to outgrow their toddler beds. We've actually been contemplating this move for about a year...remember when Mallory stopped sleeping through the night last spring? I was willing to do anything to bribe her into staying in bed ~ including buying new beds.

Recently, I found the beds of my dreams at a sale price I could live with ~ precious while sleigh beds reminiscent of their cribs. I've always been worried about fitting two twin beds in the girls' room across the back wall {where their beds are now ~ see below}. I knew we'd probably have to swap the dresser and armoire since the armoire is narrower. I was thrilled to find out two beds and the armoire would fit with inches to spare. Then it hit me that I'd never considered the length of a twin bed ~ a whopping 75 inches!

I'll spare you the hysterics I experienced last Saturday and simply tell you between deep breaths that two twin beds will NOT fit in their room {perfectly, which of course, is the way I want it}.

Look around the room, if you will; we have measured off every possible configuration, and they just won't fit...perfectly.

We have options, though, which I present to you here:

• option 1 ~ new bunk beds in their current room {I don't even want to go there}
• option 2 ~ buy new sleigh beds and move their bedroom upstairs into the playroom; move the playroom back down stairs to their current room {more than enough room upstairs, but the girls would be too far away from us, in my mommy opinion}
• option 3 ~ buy new sleigh beds and split up the girls {one would go into the spare room/former playroom right next door which is where we now keep my sewing machines, the girls' art easel, the wireless printer, etc. ~ I'm not thrilled with the idea of splitting them up, sniff, sniff}
• option 4 ~ could this be the perfectly imperfect option I've been looking for? I've been wrestling with this all week and yesterday I had a brainstorm! Could we take off the closet door, replace it with a cute curtain instead, buy bed frames and mattresses only {no new sleigh beds whose length is 86 inches!!!!} and just let the foot of the bed stick out a little in front of the closet doorway...

{add 11 inches to that and imagine how far out the sleigh bed would come ~ not a possibility}

None of these options is perfect, but we've got to decide which one we can all live with as long as we're in this house {which won't be forever, but I'm not sure new beds for the girls is an good enough excuse to put the house on the market}.

So, what would you do? What do you think we should do? Any and all opinions and advice are welcome!

Lights Out

Does anyone else sneak into their children's rooms and take pictures of them sleeping ~ or is that just me? Luckily, Anna Claire and Mallory are heavy sleepers; I'm never worried about waking them.

I like to try to remember the little things ~ like how Anna Claire usually falls asleep curled up in a little ball on her side and Mallory falls asleep flat on her back.

Lately, the girls have wanted to "read" in bed which we're fine with as long as they stay in bed. Sometimes we hear them chatting with each other, but usually they are fast asleep in under ten minutes {wow, have we come a long way!}.

We leave the hall light on until they fall asleep so there is a little light for them to see the illustrations. Once they're done "reading," they toss the books onto the floor...

Loving my lightscoop, by the way. These pics were taken in the pitch~black dark!

September 1st...

...has been a very random day. It started out when I awoke around five am and realized Mallory had slept ALL. NIGHT. LONG.

A little later I walked onto the back porch to let out the dogs and it was cool outside. At this point I am thinking September is going to bring good things.

The girls had their first "show and share" at school today. I wanted them to take in something thoughtful and creative, but I was "schooled" in how show and share actually goes down in play school by Aunt Michelle so...they took toys. Needless to say, Anna Claire and Mallory were thrilled. Anna Claire took her Ariel lovie and Mallory took her Disney princess figurines. I quizzed them on what the other kids brought and, yep, they all brought toys. Oh, well.

I called to check on the girls after lunch to find out Anna Claire had a temp of 101.6. Talk about random. She kept the fever most of the day, but has seemed just fine otherwise...no symptoms other than being a little tired. Let's hope she isn't coming down with something.

Tonight was parents' night at play school. From talking with their teachers, it sounds like the girls are doing great. We haven't had much art work sent home yet, but there were multiple pieces displayed in the classroom, including the girls' look~alike dolls, so I snapped a quick pic with my phone because I never got an "after" picture at home. I was completely amazed by the number of "dolls" that had been done by parents. Shocking! While I did help the girls a bit, I don't think there was any doubt Anna Claire and Mallory were the artists here, and they had so much fun doing it!

Sleep, Anyone?

Sunday night marked one week since implementing our new "get mommy out of the girls' room at bedtime without a temper tantrum" plan, so I thought it was safe to share a little update {no fat lady singing here}.

Since there was no possible way I was locking Mallory in her bedroom which is what everyone was telling me we should do {sorry, guys}, I locked myself in our bedroom instead {sometimes is was hard to tell whose temper tantrums were worse anyway ~ Mallory's or mine}.

I won't go into the night~by~night details but will tell you we went from night one of Mallory screaming for an entire hour and a half until virtually passing out from exhaustion {please don't judge, we tried everything to avoid this} to last night with both girls falling asleep peacefully in their beds alone with our bedroom door wide open ~ and last night wasn't the first night. Things improved dramatically from night one to night two and just kept getting better from there.

The last four nights, actually, have been smooth sailing at bedtime...and thank goodness, for poor Walter's sake, because when it became evident that I didn't have what it took to break away from Mallory at bedtime, Walter stepped in, took over, and toughed it out with Mallory {and Anna Claire}.

We still have some work to do with Mallory waking up in the middle of the night, but the good news is lately she has been waking up once, going to the potty, then going right back to sleep...and yesterday she didn't wake up until 5:15 and still went back to sleep until 6:45. Last night she woke up at 12:20, and now it's 6am...and she's still asleep. yay!

We'll keep our fingers crossed for continued improvement!

What's Missing from This Picture?

Last night we moved the glider out of the girls' room...just one more step in trying to help Mallory end her night~waking habit.

The great news is that since dropping scheduled naps a couple weeks ago, falling asleep has become much better for Mallory. The girls are in bed at 7:30 and Mallory is asleep just a few minutes later. It takes Anna Claire a little longer to fall asleep but that's always been OK because she doesn't cry for us to stay until she falls asleep and she stays put in her bed.

We'd hoped by now Mallory's waking up in the middle of the night would have gotten even a little better, but it hasn't, so we went to have a chat with Dr. Tillman Monday because, truthfully, I am exhausted and at my wits end getting up at all hours of the night and struggling to get her to stay in her bed without waking up her sister. It was good to know Dr. Tillman thinks we're doing everything right but that Mallory is just extremely strong~willed {tell me something I didn't know} and it's just going to take longer to break this habit and reset her "clock."

We came up with a few new ideas and made some adjustments to old ideas and the first is taking the chair out the room because when Mallory wakes up at night she wants to be rocked. The thinking is that when she realizes she isn't going to get what she wants {rocking}, she'll stop coming to get me.

So, last night she only woke up once with no fussing about not being rocked, though I ended up sitting on the floor for about ten minutes before I was able to negotiate with her to allow me to get back into my bed {I know, negotiating with a three year old in the middle of the night. It's insane}. She did fall asleep by herself and stayed in bed the rest of the night. 

A small victory? I'll take it.

My Sweeties

...sleeping soundly as I get ready to hop a 7 am flight back to Arizona for work.

Miss you already and I'm not even out the door yet.

Rocakbye Baby

Tonight in the middle of the season finale of The Amazing Race, the fan in the girls' room began making an awful noise. I ran in there during a commercial break to unplug it and was quite surprised to find...

...Mallory fast asleep in the rocker.

So, I ran to get the camera because I had to have a picture of this. The girls have done so well falling asleep alone in their rooms and this is the first time we've gone in there to check on them to find either of them not asleep in their beds. They are doing so great...finally!

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

...most of the time.
Anna Claire seems to prefer sleeping at the foot of the bed.

Oh, to sleep like a baby again. Doesn't she look comfortable?

What a difference five weeks makes. Bedtime and nap time in big girl beds has gotten much better, but it certainly has taken a lot of hard work. We now sit in the room with the girls until they fall asleep. I know; I know, but this was necessary for the survival of us all, and summer break is right around the corner, so we can work on that in just a couple weeks when I don't have to be up before the sun to get ready for work.

The great thing is that {most of the time, really} if we're sitting in their room, Anna Claire and Mallory stay in bed and fall asleep in under 30 minutes which is a huge improvement from all four of us running up and down the hallway for 1 1/2 hours plus!

We've continued to follow our normal bedtime routine...
Bath: splishin' & splashin' & sudsin' & brushin'

Pajama time: we turn on the sound machine, turn off the lights, and get the girls dressed for bed. This is usually when we like to get a little silly with the girls with tickles, bear hugs, a little dancing, etc., but we've tried to tone that down a bit.

Books: we read two books before bedtime; current bedtime favorites are Goodnight, Gorilla; Let's Go to the Farm; and Llama, Llama, Red Pajama {we were reading Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed then decided it just didn't make sense to read a book about monkeys jumping on the bed right now}. We're trying to read books where everyone stays put in their beds and is sleeping at the end.

Bed: we place both girls in their beds, help them say their prayers {got to get this on video!}, and shower the girls with lots of hugs, kisses, and words of encouragement along the lines of: you did great last night and I know you'll do even better tonight; mommy loves you and I know you can stay in your bed all night long; I really want you to get a good night's sleep so we'll see you in the morning; and if you want to go swimming tomorrow, you better stay in bed and go to sleep!!! ;-)

Then we wait.

Bedtime really has improved, and I couldn't be more proud of the girls. Now if we could just figure out how to get the girls to stay in bed a little longer after they wake up in the morning.

Hanging In There

I will not dare say the sleep situation has gotten better for fear of early-calling it again, but we're not ready to throw in the towel...yet.

The napping situation this weekend was a fiasco, as expected, with this girls not falling asleep until between 2:30-3:00. This is typically the time they are waking up from their naps. As a result, I had to wake them up for fear if they slept too late in the afternoon then we really would have our hands full at bedtime.

I do think we've made some gains at bedtime, though. Mallory was asleep tonight in under thirty minutes after only leaving the bed maybe twice which is a vast improvement. Anna Claire was asleep in under an hour; however, I think she may have left the room somewhere around 20 times. I am not joking. And, while Anna Claire has slept all night long since night one and has been the last one up in the morning, Mallory has been waking up around 3 am since night two {taking about an hour to get back to sleep} and has been the first one up each morning ~ around 6:30 am.

As exhausting as it is to do this Super Nanny-style, the girls are making it easy on us in one way ~ by not crying!!! I think this has made it a little easier for us to stick to our guns because I think it is so important they learn to fall asleep on their own in their new beds ~ just like they've always done in their cribs. Nevertheless, any and all advice is welcome!

A Good Night's Sleep...Finally

We made a plan, stuck to it, and it worked!

The girls went to bed at 7 pm. This time both Anna Claire and Mallory were up and out their beds. Both girls would take their turns opening the door, though only Mallory would come out the room. I think I walked her back to her bed no less that 157 times last night over about an hour and a half. No crying, NO temper tantrums, just some fussing, whining, and moaning. Never anything but giggles from Anna Claire. Both girls always got back in their beds willingly, even if they didn't stay there long.

The door stopped opening around 8:30ish, and by 8:45 all was quiet. We went in to check on them at 9pm ~ Anna Claire was asleep in her bed and Mallory was asleep in the rocker. Sweet girl, all she kept asking me to do last night was rock her.

It's 6:30 am and they are still asleep. That's right, we slept all night long. Yay, Anna Claire and Mallory! Mommy is so proud of you!

I've always believed in the three day rule when it comes to establishing new routines with the girls, and I'm counting last night as night #1. Thankfully the weekend is here, though it does Bring with it the challenge of nap time in their new beds.

We're not home free yet, but I hope we're on our way. Last night was so encouraging {and so much easier that I thought it would be}, and I am so proud of the girls! I think we can do this!

Oh, What a Night, Part 3

Welcome to the world little Finley Lennox! Anna Claire and Mallory's first girl cousin arrived last night {or early this morning, depending on how you want to look at it}. I think Mallory and I may have actually been awake around the time she was born. Interesting how the last few nights have been reminiscent of the girls' sleeping patterns as newborns.

Oh, What a Night, Part 2

Another long night...taking the day off to shop for toddler beds!

Oh, What a Night

Last night Mallory figured out how to get herself out her crib. Oh, goodness, I'm afraid it's all over but the shoutin' ~ literally!

The evening got off to a bumpy start when it took us an hour to get home from my parents' house because of a car accident and a totally ridiculous detour {should have seen this as a sign}. As a result, dinner, bath, and bedtime were a little rushed because I needed to get to a budget meeting. I got home around 9pm to find out Mallory had just woken up screaming {not at all typical, but it happens} and Walter was rocking her back to sleep.

Thirty minutes later she was still awake, so I offered to take over...

An hour and a half more of rocking including a quick switch off with Walter and she was still awake ~ totally content to lay in my arms and be rocked and completely unwilling to be placed back in her crib. But two hours of this??? It was time for her to get back in her crib and go to sleep. My fear was that I could be sitting there rocking her all night, but that maybe if we put her in her crib, she would just cry for five minutes or so and put herself to sleep. While I really do not like to let the girls cry-it-out, at this point, I thought that might actually mean more sleep for us all in the long run.

So I put her back in her crib, and to say she totally freaked out and screamed her head off until she gagged and heaved would be an understatement {but that would not have been the first time that night ~ and it would not be the last}.
After putting her down, I walked out to the kitchen to talk to Walter and find out what he thought we should try next if she didn't fall asleep quickly since it really didn't seem like anything was wrong with her. I think I was out there less than a minute when we realized the screaming we were hearing was no longer coming from the monitor on the counter but was coming down the hallway instead. To say I totally freaked out would also be an understatement because upon realizing she actually got out the crib by herself, I was sure she had either a broken bone {or two, or three} or a concussion.
Now, those of you who know Mallory well also know she is one tough little girl. After a very close inspection of all body parts with not a single bump, bruise, or sore spot in sight, Mallory was all smiles asking to be rocked and even wanting to get down from my arms so she could let Cody out. Seriously!
Back to the nursery for more rocking and a hour later {three hours total} she was finally asleep at midnight...until 5:15am when she was up screaming again and out her crib and down the hallway before Walter and I even realized what was happening.
So, where is this all coming from? Tummy ache? Bad dream? Separation anxiety now that spring break is over? As far as I know, she has never tried to get out the crib until last night and she's really been keeping that little temper of hers in check lately. But to be so upset over something that she had to propel herself out her crib to get to us...?
I don't know if this was a good idea or not because I certainly do not want to encourage her to climb out the crib, but I had her show me how she was getting out because, for my peace of mind, I needed to know if she was clumsily falling out or if she was somehow carefully climbing out. Let me just say the method this girl has for getting herself up, over, and out is purely acrobatic. I think we have a future gymnast on our hands; imagine Shawn Johnson hoisting herself up onto the uneven bars, and gracefully hopping down again...terrifying when it's your almost-two-year-old.

What now?

A Day in the Life...

6:37 AM
I wake up to a magnitude 3.2 earthquake. Everyone else in the house sleeps right on through. At first, I thought it was Cody and Tanner banging around out in the hallway, but then I realized that I just didn't hear something - I felt it, too. The last earthquake we actually felt was this past Christmas. Still waiting on the big one!

9:30 AM
We're off to the mall with Granny to buy new shoes for fall. Sadly, they only had one pair in the girls' size, so the second pair is being shipped to us. That's okay since the girls won't be wearing them for a while.

11:00AM
The nice sales lady in Dillard's is convinced that one of the girls is a boy - even though I told her more than once they were both girls. They were both wearing white sandals, smocked bishop dresses, Mallory had a bow in her hair, and I tried girl's sandals on both Anna Claire and Mallory. I never knew whether she thought Anna Claire or Mallory was the boy. As we walked away, I heard her tell the other sales lady, "one is a boy and one is a girl." gaaahhhh!

12:30 PM
The girls make their first trip to my new favorite fabric shop, Sew 'n Sew. I needed some fabric for a new project and didn't know when I would get back out there. Let's just say a fabric shop is not the place to take little ones. They weren't bad, but there was just way too much for them to get into. While we were there though, amidst the rows and rows, shelves and shelves of hundreds of bolts of fabric, do you know it was Anna Claire who spotted the "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" fabric. That was like finding a needle in a haystack! They had two prints. One is the children in the back of the book and the other is a white background with all the animals printed all over it. Both girls loved it, but I'm not sure it would make a cute dress.

1:30 PM
Mallory takes a one hour nap and Anna Claire sleeps for two hours. That's right, Anna Claire.

5:30 PM
The girls eat, among other things, roasted sweet potatoes topped with bleu cheese for supper. They love bleu cheese! Can babies eat bleu cheese?

6:00 PM
While I am running the girls' bathwater, Walter is taking off the girls' diapers. He sends Anna Claire down the hall to find me in the bathroom, and she poops on the floor - a first.

7:30 PM
The girls have been sleeping soundly for an hour...

Head Bangers Having a Ball

In the early mornings, my routine involves giving the dogs water and a treat, letting them out, sitting down to drink my coffee, and listen to the girls coo and sing until I go in to get them at 7am.

At this moment, I can hear someone banging her head into the wall/crib - not out of frustration, mind you, not too hard and not for too long. They do this for fun, giggling the whole time. Is that normal?? (I'm not sure I should have even blogged about that!) Nevertheless, when I hear the head banging beginning, that's generally when I know I'll need to guzzle those last sips and head in to get the girlios.

Which is where I'm off to now!

Hard Habit to Break

We're here, and we're tired.

What a long week it has been. Mallory has chosen 3 AM as her new wake-up time, and she's decided to let the whole world know with loud sobbing. Three of the last four nights, Mallory has been crying -- real crying with huge tears -- in her crib anywhere between 3 and 3:30 AM.

I know she is teething, but I think we've also got a little separation anxiety going on as well. Dr. Tillman warned us this sometimes happens around the girls' age, but we've been super lucky when it comes to sleep issues up until now.

I've tried letting her cry for five minutes before going in, hoping she would fall back to sleep. No chance. Five minutes seems like forever, and I'm so afraid she'll wake up Anna Claire, that I end up rushing in to get her. As soon as I crack the door open the crying stops. This is how I think I know nothing is really wrong. I've tried laying her back down, but she pops right back up crying again. I just end up picking her up and rocking her back to sleep (no complaints whatsoever from her).

So, after three nights of this, I figure I've now allowed her to start a habit.

Last night I pulled out my baby sleep books and began re-reading (I have already pre-ordered Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins, by the way). Everything I was reading seemed to make perfect sense for Mallory, so I created what I thought was a pretty good plan to address her middle-of-the-night crying. Guess what? She slept all night long without a peep. Hooray! You'll get no complaints from me that I didn't have to let her "cry-it-out" -- not that I would have anyway.

Nevertheless, I'm afraid we may have just gotten lucky last night. Both girls have been amazing sleepers since day one, but I know all babies go through phases. I just hope this one is over with soon. I will continue my reading tonight - I just can't let her cry - and hope that this habit isn't too hard to break -- for either of us!

Early Bird

On a typical morning Walter and I get up at 6 AM. I get ready for school/work while he makes the formula and pours bottles. The girls usually start stirring around ten 'til seven at which time we get them up, change them, feed them, and head to Granny and Papa's house. Walter gets himself ready for work once we leave. Our routine runs like clockwork.

But lately...

The girls have been waking up a little earlier than usual. Well, to be truthful Anna Claire has been waking up earlier than usual - between 6:00 and 6:30 AM. In the darkness of the nursery, Anna Claire is happy to coo and "talk" and shriek - not crying, mind you, but playing - until we come and get them at 7 AM. Anna Claire screams at the top of her lungs with a smile on her face. It is so funny - and loud! It's amazing what Mallory can sleep through, but eventually Anna Claire does end up waking her sister. Mallory, too, is happy playing in her crib, waiting for us to come into the nursery at 7:00.

This morning, though, Anna Claire got her foot stuck between the bars of her crib even with her sleep sack on, so her playful screams turned to real screaming. Needless to say, the girls were up - and ready to eat - even though it was only 6:30. While I finished getting ready, Walter had to "simulfeed"...
Someone told me we would only get maybe three months use out of our bouncy seats until the girls grew out of them. At almost eight months old, we still use them EVERY day!

So, not much has been going on this long, cold, wet, holiday weekend. It was nice to have the day off today, but we didn't do anything special this weekend except make a trip to BRU for new sippy cups. I didn't like the first ones I bought, so I think we'll try Avent. Mallory was so tired after our day (really about an hour) of shopping, she sacked out before she could finish her bottle.