Update

Just an update on the results of our "tough love" saga. It worked. Now, the minute I say that we will have another night of listening to our youngest "cry it out" for over an hour. He is so much better. Even in the middle of the night it is now no more than 10 minutes of fussing and then he calms himself down. It is kind of sad to think about, though. I know he needs to be able to self soothe, but it is almost like he is thinking, "Okay, I cried...no one came...no one loves me...I guess I'll just go to sleep". I almost had to give him props for his prior perserverance.

Sleep or not...I love that little man! I am amazed at what comes out of his mouth lately. Some of his latest...."Come on" with a hand gesture. When talking about a "choo choo" he says it goes "woun woun" and again, with a hand gesture. And he loves his brother. In the morning, he gets so excited to see him, "Hi Will hi!". He asked me today for a "hug", and I gladly obliged. As trying as it can be, this is such a fun age.

Tough Love

We had to do it. We've let it go far enough. Yes, we are instituting "tough love" on Max. So, I am writing this as I listen to him scream my name from his crib. And why do they always scream for "Mommy"? Never a "daddy" in there. Max has really always been the "easier" baby. Much more laid back. Probably because he's numero dos. But sleep has always been our headache with him. It's not really an issue if you like to spend most of your evening and much of your early morning hours in the rocking chair. As much as I love a good snuggle with my guys, unfortunately there is too much more to be done (like sleep!). So, here we are at 18 months trying to initiate some good sleep habits. And frankly, it sucks. I don't really care to listen to him cry for this long (we are going on 30 minutes....oh, but he's fading. Please God, let him be fading!). Last night it was 45 minutes. The other morning at 3 am, it was well over an hour. My heart breaks a little with each "Mommy", but I'm hanging tough. I have to. I really hope we're getting somewhere.

Next battle....bye bye binky. We may wait until he's 10. I'll keep you updated.

Glorious Evening

Don't you love it when things turn out so much better than you had planned?

Brian tells me a few days ago that he is going to go watch the KU football game with a friend tonight. Ok, no big deal. He's allowed. But just the thought of the ongoing bedtime fiasco all alone puts me in panic mode early. So I say to Will, "Let's have a movie night". He replies (too cute), "That was just what I was thinking!". So we do dinner, baths, lay out our blankets and pillows, and pop our corn. Not 10 minutes into the movie, Will wants to go upstairs. So fine...he has the attention span of a gnat...we go upstairs and look at photo albums. Then he says, "Mom, aren't you going to put Max to bed?". Which I had been contemplating, since only a 1 hour nap for him today and there was some serious hair pulling going on (him pulling mine=sleepy boy). It is only 7:15 but what the hay. I get Max all ready and he starts to fuss, so I rock him for about 5 minutes. I lay him down, half expecting him to jump up and demand more. Nope, he settles in, he's out. I go into Will's room ready for the next "fight" and he is dead asleep in his bed, covers up, teddy in his arms, snoring. HE PUT HIMSELF TO BED! I am in shock at this point because I can't remember the last time I had the night to myself starting at 7:30. So, long story with little substance. But it is such a nice feeling to not have to spend what is left of my evening trying to destress from the bedtime routine. I love it!

Big birthday party tomorrow for Will. First one with friends. We'll see how it goes.

Happy Halloween!

We hope you all had a fun halloween. Our night started off with Max falling out of the wagon and getting a scrape on his forehead. Luckily, it was a few centimeters over from the bruise he got from falling down the stairs a few days prior. He recovered and went happily "running" after the older kids. Will was quite excited about all the candy. And really, so was I! We all know from whom the boys got their sweet tooth!

Help

Ok, to the very few people who read this blog, I need help, encouragement, Zanax, and/or booze. As you saw in my last blog....my children are adorable, angelic-faced wonders....who are driving me crazy! I can't believe that one minute I am marveling at their cuteness, intelligence, etc. and the next I am trying the whole count to 10 thing and praying that God is ok with spanking. Cuz in my head, I know that is what is coming next. I never dreamed that a soon to be 4 year old could figure out how to push every single one of my buttons worse than my older brother ever could. Will has such a temper (no clue where that comes from!) and is still quite prone to horrible fits. And Max is starting to give Will a run for his money on the temper tantrum thing. And poor Max, he just gets bullied around by Will. This is the action that I don't get and don't know how to fix: Every time Will gets mad, he hits Max. And the reason he is mad usually has nothing to do with Max. He is just a convenient punching bag. And Will's big saying now is "Mom, I just want you to be nice". Right back at ya buddy!

And let's just talk about bedtime. Should it be an hour long process? And I know..."you made your own bed...". Blah, blah, blah. I just want a peaceful end to my day. I want to brush teeth, read books, tuck them in, say "good night" and "I love you" and then be done. Oh, I am ok with and even expecting the occasional "Mom, I need a drink" and the like, but I am not ok with the screaming of my name from 2 different rooms. (And no one is screaming "Daddy"!)

Don't get me wrong, I love those two little burping, tooting, weinie-loving, dirty, stinky boys with all my heart. Lately though, they frequently make me want to run away from home. Pack my "I'm going to Grandma's" suitcase and head off down the street. Chances are, I won't.

They'd find me anyway!

Wedding

We all had a great time at Chad (Brian's brother) and Megan this past weekend. They are now off to Mexico, and I am quite jealous. The wedding was beautifully decorated...no detail missed thanks to Megan's talented Mom. The boys did great! They actually left their tuxes on. It was Will's job to pull Max down the aisle in an antique toy fire engine. Rehearsals did not fare so well, so needless to say, I was almost as nervous as the bride and groom as go time neared. Max threw a small hissy fit just as I was supposed to send them on their way, so we did not make it down binky-free as we all had hoped. I am attaching some pics from the big day. Sadly, as it was my job to get them ready to go down the aisle, I did not make it around to my seat in time to see the walk for real! But they did get some applause! All in all, it was a great time and we are very happy for Chad and Megan.

Life has been busy around here. Will has been loving his new preschool. He is always very excited to go. He has a new little friend, Katie, who he talks about a lot. I even caught them holding hands while exiting the building the other day! Ooh la la. Despite his new relationship, he is still quite fond of Ellie, as witnessed at her birthday party last week. Those two were inseparable. Too cute!


We are anxiously awaiting the upcoming nuptuals of Brian's brother, Chad. The boys are excited to be ring bearers and wear fancy clothes. I am praying for cooperation from the two of them. You never know when the little demon children will come out! (Like now...trying to get Will to bed!). I can't wait to post some pictures from the big event!

Brian and I are celebrating our fifth anniversary this Friday. We are planning a nice dinner and the kids will be having a "sleepover" at Mema's house. Maybe we'll even slip in a movie too! Wow...we know how to live it up! Usually our problem is trying to stay out late enough so that we don't get home before the kids go to bed!

We passed up tickets to the K-State v. KU game in Manhattan this weekend in favor of watching the game with some friends. What a win over Texas last weekend. Let's hope the streak continues and we can give the Chicken Hawks a bruising!