Nate
Aidan
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Sledding
We got hit pretty hard this week with snow and the kids have been loving it! We have a big pile of dirt behind our house that is fill dirt waiting to be hauled away...someday. Well, it makes for great sledding! My neighbor took these pictures of the boys. For those who know my Nate, you can actually see him being cautious :) Aidan on the other hand, doesn't usually hold back much!
Nate
Aidan
Nate
Aidan
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Being Real
So many blogs I read are all so warm and fuzzy with only wonderful things to say about their precious children. I am guilty of that as well. However, I need to be real for a little bit and hope to get some advice, or at least not feel like I'm alone.
First of all, Grace IS precious to us. We enjoy having her so much. There are moments when I'm just so happy and content. She cracks us up and is such a happy little girl!
However, she isn't an easy child. She is so stubborn and strong willed. Everything needs to be on her terms. I find it so difficult to decipher if her behaviors are adoption related, sensory related, age related or just her personality. Here are just a few things that I am concerned about... the list is longer than this :)
Grace's eye contact has improved greatly. From a couple feet away and more, she looks right at you and for a decent amount of time. But up close, it is not very good. It is a second or two, but usually the eyes get shut and head turned away. She WILL NOT sit on my lap with a sippy cup of milk. I have tried!!!! The few times I got her to actually sit still facing towards me, she directs her eyeballs anywhere but my face. She will gladly sit next to me and or on but doesn't want the intimacy of looking at me. I keep playing games with her, but as soon as she knows what I am trying to do, she will literally walk away. She will turn down the cookie if I tell her she has to look in my eyes first. She is much better at the spontaneous eye contact during play. I do believe this issue is adoption and/or sensory related.
Grace is a control freak! I can say that because I am one too!!! One example: Today while sitting in the high chair after finishing her lunch, she started to squirm and whine. I calmly asked her if she wanted to get up (Grace signs "up" and does it all the time...on her terms). I told her she needed to tell mama she wanted to get up and then we could watch Dora before her nap (she is obsessed with Dora). I am trying to encourage communication with her so everything isn't always one sided. She basically ignored me, sucked her thumb (which was hiding a grin) and turned away. I repeated the same thing every time she started to whine. Every time, she refused to give in. So after about 10 minutes of a power struggle, I went over took her hands and made her sign "up" (as she was laughing) and got her up. The girl understands EVERYTHING! Today I was playing blocks with her and when she wanted to move on, I said she needed to help mama clean up the blocks. (That is a recommendation from the OT) You would think she had no clue what I was saying as she kept pulling the blocks out of the bucket that I had put in. I was very firm and told her she needed to clean up. She laughed. Then I said that after she helped me clean up we could play on the pillows. Well, wouldn't you know it, the girl turned around and put every block in the bucket! I know this sounds like an age issue, but I'm concerned it is adoption related. I have read about controlling and demanding behavior being a coping behavior. How do I fix this???? I feel like I have to discipline all the time. When she is getting into something she is not suppose to (a large portion of our day), she will ignore "no" (even at a very loud tone) until I start to count to 3. She 90% of the time stops at 2. Smart cookie!!! We have been using time out in the hallway for the times she doesn't stop. By the end of the day, I'm frankly tired of being around her. Please don't take this the wrong way. I love her, but there are days that I feel beat up. Please don't think I engage in power struggles all day either. I pick and choose moments that I feel will best teach her. She needs to learn to communicate and not just label things when she feels like it. While reading a book with her, if I ask her to point or label something, she won't. But if I just let her go, she will point and name things throughout the whole book. Everything is on her terms! I don't know how to make things improve or have her trust me more. I worry about her attachment hitting a wall and not growing deeper.
Another issue is that she ignores us when we call her name. She knows her name and about 10% of the time will turn on the first call. If I am sitting next to her, and say her name. She will not look at me. I'm sure she is afraid of the intimacy of turning and being so close. But there isn't even an acknowledgement of hearing me. I have brought this up with her OT and my concerns about these behaviors being on the autism spectrum. She feels that Grace is not and that she is making choices. I will put those concerns in the back of my mind for now, but will not put them out of my mind. Luckily her OT is someone who has autism experience. I have also read that poor eye contact and not responding to her name is on a list of sensory processing disorder traits. But I worry....
So there it is... real life. I really don't want to mess her up :)
And this is for my sister who insists on every post having a picture! Our little princess and her slaves (I think she may have made them do this :)
First of all, Grace IS precious to us. We enjoy having her so much. There are moments when I'm just so happy and content. She cracks us up and is such a happy little girl!
However, she isn't an easy child. She is so stubborn and strong willed. Everything needs to be on her terms. I find it so difficult to decipher if her behaviors are adoption related, sensory related, age related or just her personality. Here are just a few things that I am concerned about... the list is longer than this :)
Grace's eye contact has improved greatly. From a couple feet away and more, she looks right at you and for a decent amount of time. But up close, it is not very good. It is a second or two, but usually the eyes get shut and head turned away. She WILL NOT sit on my lap with a sippy cup of milk. I have tried!!!! The few times I got her to actually sit still facing towards me, she directs her eyeballs anywhere but my face. She will gladly sit next to me and or on but doesn't want the intimacy of looking at me. I keep playing games with her, but as soon as she knows what I am trying to do, she will literally walk away. She will turn down the cookie if I tell her she has to look in my eyes first. She is much better at the spontaneous eye contact during play. I do believe this issue is adoption and/or sensory related.
Grace is a control freak! I can say that because I am one too!!! One example: Today while sitting in the high chair after finishing her lunch, she started to squirm and whine. I calmly asked her if she wanted to get up (Grace signs "up" and does it all the time...on her terms). I told her she needed to tell mama she wanted to get up and then we could watch Dora before her nap (she is obsessed with Dora). I am trying to encourage communication with her so everything isn't always one sided. She basically ignored me, sucked her thumb (which was hiding a grin) and turned away. I repeated the same thing every time she started to whine. Every time, she refused to give in. So after about 10 minutes of a power struggle, I went over took her hands and made her sign "up" (as she was laughing) and got her up. The girl understands EVERYTHING! Today I was playing blocks with her and when she wanted to move on, I said she needed to help mama clean up the blocks. (That is a recommendation from the OT) You would think she had no clue what I was saying as she kept pulling the blocks out of the bucket that I had put in. I was very firm and told her she needed to clean up. She laughed. Then I said that after she helped me clean up we could play on the pillows. Well, wouldn't you know it, the girl turned around and put every block in the bucket! I know this sounds like an age issue, but I'm concerned it is adoption related. I have read about controlling and demanding behavior being a coping behavior. How do I fix this???? I feel like I have to discipline all the time. When she is getting into something she is not suppose to (a large portion of our day), she will ignore "no" (even at a very loud tone) until I start to count to 3. She 90% of the time stops at 2. Smart cookie!!! We have been using time out in the hallway for the times she doesn't stop. By the end of the day, I'm frankly tired of being around her. Please don't take this the wrong way. I love her, but there are days that I feel beat up. Please don't think I engage in power struggles all day either. I pick and choose moments that I feel will best teach her. She needs to learn to communicate and not just label things when she feels like it. While reading a book with her, if I ask her to point or label something, she won't. But if I just let her go, she will point and name things throughout the whole book. Everything is on her terms! I don't know how to make things improve or have her trust me more. I worry about her attachment hitting a wall and not growing deeper.
Another issue is that she ignores us when we call her name. She knows her name and about 10% of the time will turn on the first call. If I am sitting next to her, and say her name. She will not look at me. I'm sure she is afraid of the intimacy of turning and being so close. But there isn't even an acknowledgement of hearing me. I have brought this up with her OT and my concerns about these behaviors being on the autism spectrum. She feels that Grace is not and that she is making choices. I will put those concerns in the back of my mind for now, but will not put them out of my mind. Luckily her OT is someone who has autism experience. I have also read that poor eye contact and not responding to her name is on a list of sensory processing disorder traits. But I worry....
So there it is... real life. I really don't want to mess her up :)
And this is for my sister who insists on every post having a picture! Our little princess and her slaves (I think she may have made them do this :)
Monday, January 24, 2011
Speech Evaluation
Grace had her speech evaluation last week and didn't qualify for services. I originally wanted her to qualify, but after hearing two professionals say she was doing well, I was happy that things turned out the way they did. Grace scored smack dab in the middle of "average" but considering her being internationally adopted, they said she really would be closer to "above average".
She has added over 20 words the past month after first making the appointment. But she rarely says anything when prompted. It has to be on her terms. Well, during the evaluation she would label objects when asked. It was a small room with a few toys. Things were tight, but Grace did very well. She usually doesn't like being so close to people she doesn't know. She even sat on the lap of the girl doing the testing without any struggling....AMAZING! Then the head therapist (for lack of a better word) hugged her real tight and squished Grace's head into her belly. Grace put her head back for more! I couldn't believe it! A couple times during the evaluation, Grace had had enough and went to the door, turned waved good bye and said "bye". Too funny!
So for now we are only doing OT once a week. Saves me $25 copay and a 30 minute drive each way! We will go back in about 6 months to make sure she is still on track.
Just to follow up..... Grace is still putting herself to sleep with no crying and staying in her own crib all night!!!!!!
She has added over 20 words the past month after first making the appointment. But she rarely says anything when prompted. It has to be on her terms. Well, during the evaluation she would label objects when asked. It was a small room with a few toys. Things were tight, but Grace did very well. She usually doesn't like being so close to people she doesn't know. She even sat on the lap of the girl doing the testing without any struggling....AMAZING! Then the head therapist (for lack of a better word) hugged her real tight and squished Grace's head into her belly. Grace put her head back for more! I couldn't believe it! A couple times during the evaluation, Grace had had enough and went to the door, turned waved good bye and said "bye". Too funny!
So for now we are only doing OT once a week. Saves me $25 copay and a 30 minute drive each way! We will go back in about 6 months to make sure she is still on track.
Just to follow up..... Grace is still putting herself to sleep with no crying and staying in her own crib all night!!!!!!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Girl Makes Us Laugh
I have been trying for days to get a beautiful picture of my beautiful girl since she just turned 21 months! Still working on it....
But in the meantime, I caught some priceless moments.....
Grace loves to put on everyone else's shoes, even guests! Here she is wearing Nate's snow boots....backwards :) (please ignore my messy house)
She was quite content to "sled" indoors :)
Not sure if this is what Aunt Michelle had in mind when she bought her a shopping cart. But at least she is using her imagination.
Once again, the giggles were the result of a funny brother :)
It was even throw-your-head-back funny!
A girl can not have too many hats apparently! Grace put two hats on by herself when I found her in the hall closet! The mittens were the next to go on. I think she was trying to tell me something...
But in the meantime, I caught some priceless moments.....
Grace loves to put on everyone else's shoes, even guests! Here she is wearing Nate's snow boots....backwards :) (please ignore my messy house)
She was quite content to "sled" indoors :)
Not sure if this is what Aunt Michelle had in mind when she bought her a shopping cart. But at least she is using her imagination.
Once again, the giggles were the result of a funny brother :)
It was even throw-your-head-back funny!
A girl can not have too many hats apparently! Grace put two hats on by herself when I found her in the hall closet! The mittens were the next to go on. I think she was trying to tell me something...
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Grace Update
Sunday was 8 months that we arrived home with Grace and officially became a family of 5! We have come a long way! I thought I would give a run down of what Grace has been up to:
Speech - She will be evaluated by a speech therapist next week, but has been adding words daily the past month. Today she added "bubbles". She still only says the first consonant sound for many words, but is definitely improving.
Some of her everyday words are: no, Nate, hi, bye, cold, cow, dog, shoe, juice, ball, yes.
Other words that come and go: duck, candy, hot, hat, banana, cookie, shovel, book, and some more I can't think of.
Occupational Therapy - Grace started OT back in December for sensory processing issues. The first two sessions were more for Grace to get comfortable with the therapist (who I think is great). Today was our 3rd session and Grace is definitely warming a bit. We have been doing a lot at home to help with the issues; ball pit, hard play (pushing laundry baskets full of clothes, carrying heavy things, playing with a small medicine ball) We joke that she is our pack mule :) She loves to pull out new bottles of juice that are unopened and carry them around. I used to stop her and now I don't since this type of activity is actually good for her. She also loves to drag around the laundry detergent bottle. We pick her up under the arms and have her jump. We make sure her landing is hard since the impact on the ground is good for her. We also do firm massage and deep pressure hugs.
We see an amazing improvement with hitting, biting and hair pulling. All behaviors we were told were a result of her being overstimulated. Her toys are still limited to about 3 in the family room. But she "plays" with a lot of things that aren't "toys", coasters, magazines, picture frames, etc. I can't very well clear out my whole house, but we try to keep things under control.
Sleep -I'm almost afraid to type this for fear of jinxing myself, but Grace has slept through the night in her crib since the first night we let her cry it out!!!! She puts herself to sleep for nap and bedtime, but always gives it one good try at getting us to come back in to get her. We lay her down, she stands, cries for about 20 seconds to 2 minutes top, then lays down and goes to sleep. I wish this was the beginning of some good sleep for me, but I'm still waking all night waiting for her to wake. After a month of being woken up, my body is having trouble breaking the cycle. But I have faith I will get there and sleep through the night in my own bed too :)
Overall Grace is doing great! She makes us laugh all the time with her dance moves! She is still a little stinker, though! Into EVERYTHING!!! She is strong willed, smart as heck, amazing eater, lovable, energetic, funny, sweet and gives the best hugs!!!! We love you, Gracie!!!!!!
You know those foam puzzle pieces for the floor? The ones with numbers for hopscotch or learning colors or numbers? Well, this is what my daughter does with them.
This is the first picture when she was upset because she put too many on. I guess I probably shouldn't have taken a picture of that, but it was the second time she did it! I rescued her once while yelling at the boys for doing that to her, only to find out she did it to herself. I don't know about you, but I see the Gifted Program in our future :)
I wanted to pass along an idea I got from our IA clinic's adoption playgroup. They had a sensory station that Grace loved! It was a big tub filled with rice. The kids played with shovels, cups, little plastic animals, etc. I decided to make one for Grace at home (smaller version) since she was diagnosed with sensory issues. She loves it! I keep it in the sunroom where I can shut the door when I don't want her into it. I put a towel down and repeat about 100 times to keep the rice in the bucket, but it still gets everywhere. But that's ok. She runs her hands in it, searches for hidden animals, digs, dumps, and even tries to feed her teddy bear sitting on my good chair by pouring rice at his face :) She makes a mess, but some days she will play for 20-30 minutes several times. If you have a place where you don't mind the mess, it is easy enough to make and it's like an indoor sandbox. I used about 10 bags of cheap $.88 bags of rice, found sand toys, spoons, medicine cups and little animals from around our house.
Look who's not so afraid anymore! I had trouble getting her off :)
Peek-a-Boo - Aidan is one of the two best brothers ever! If you watch closely, towards the end you will see our "little lady" go to the bathroom!
Speech - She will be evaluated by a speech therapist next week, but has been adding words daily the past month. Today she added "bubbles". She still only says the first consonant sound for many words, but is definitely improving.
Some of her everyday words are: no, Nate, hi, bye, cold, cow, dog, shoe, juice, ball, yes.
Other words that come and go: duck, candy, hot, hat, banana, cookie, shovel, book, and some more I can't think of.
Occupational Therapy - Grace started OT back in December for sensory processing issues. The first two sessions were more for Grace to get comfortable with the therapist (who I think is great). Today was our 3rd session and Grace is definitely warming a bit. We have been doing a lot at home to help with the issues; ball pit, hard play (pushing laundry baskets full of clothes, carrying heavy things, playing with a small medicine ball) We joke that she is our pack mule :) She loves to pull out new bottles of juice that are unopened and carry them around. I used to stop her and now I don't since this type of activity is actually good for her. She also loves to drag around the laundry detergent bottle. We pick her up under the arms and have her jump. We make sure her landing is hard since the impact on the ground is good for her. We also do firm massage and deep pressure hugs.
We see an amazing improvement with hitting, biting and hair pulling. All behaviors we were told were a result of her being overstimulated. Her toys are still limited to about 3 in the family room. But she "plays" with a lot of things that aren't "toys", coasters, magazines, picture frames, etc. I can't very well clear out my whole house, but we try to keep things under control.
Sleep -I'm almost afraid to type this for fear of jinxing myself, but Grace has slept through the night in her crib since the first night we let her cry it out!!!! She puts herself to sleep for nap and bedtime, but always gives it one good try at getting us to come back in to get her. We lay her down, she stands, cries for about 20 seconds to 2 minutes top, then lays down and goes to sleep. I wish this was the beginning of some good sleep for me, but I'm still waking all night waiting for her to wake. After a month of being woken up, my body is having trouble breaking the cycle. But I have faith I will get there and sleep through the night in my own bed too :)
Overall Grace is doing great! She makes us laugh all the time with her dance moves! She is still a little stinker, though! Into EVERYTHING!!! She is strong willed, smart as heck, amazing eater, lovable, energetic, funny, sweet and gives the best hugs!!!! We love you, Gracie!!!!!!
You know those foam puzzle pieces for the floor? The ones with numbers for hopscotch or learning colors or numbers? Well, this is what my daughter does with them.
This is the first picture when she was upset because she put too many on. I guess I probably shouldn't have taken a picture of that, but it was the second time she did it! I rescued her once while yelling at the boys for doing that to her, only to find out she did it to herself. I don't know about you, but I see the Gifted Program in our future :)
I wanted to pass along an idea I got from our IA clinic's adoption playgroup. They had a sensory station that Grace loved! It was a big tub filled with rice. The kids played with shovels, cups, little plastic animals, etc. I decided to make one for Grace at home (smaller version) since she was diagnosed with sensory issues. She loves it! I keep it in the sunroom where I can shut the door when I don't want her into it. I put a towel down and repeat about 100 times to keep the rice in the bucket, but it still gets everywhere. But that's ok. She runs her hands in it, searches for hidden animals, digs, dumps, and even tries to feed her teddy bear sitting on my good chair by pouring rice at his face :) She makes a mess, but some days she will play for 20-30 minutes several times. If you have a place where you don't mind the mess, it is easy enough to make and it's like an indoor sandbox. I used about 10 bags of cheap $.88 bags of rice, found sand toys, spoons, medicine cups and little animals from around our house.
Look who's not so afraid anymore! I had trouble getting her off :)
Peek-a-Boo - Aidan is one of the two best brothers ever! If you watch closely, towards the end you will see our "little lady" go to the bathroom!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Biting the Bullet
We did it! After reading your comments, I felt more comfortable letting Grace "cry it out". I never let the boys in bed with us, unless they had a nightmare and even then, it was only until they fell back to sleep. But I kept hearing the IA doctor say she must "feel vulnerable at nighttime". But this needed to be done in the interest of mommy not being so darn tired all the time.
Here is an update.....
Friday nap: Decided to let her cry it out at nap time first. She fussed, whined, cried on and off for about 45 minutes then laid down and went to sleep. Woo hoo! (at the 30 min. mark, I went to her door and said she needed to go sleep and I would be back when she woke up. Crying got a little loud then, but then stopped.)
Friday night: Rocked her, laid her down awake, music on, left room. She stood immediately, faked cried for 2 minutes then laid down and went to sleep. Major Woo hoo!!!!! Slept until 5 am. We didn't know what to do at that time since we were worried she would cry for hours since she had a good amount of sleep already, so we brought her in bed with us. I know, I know.
Saturday nap: Same routine and she only fussed for about 1 minute.
Saturday night: Same routine and she stood, yelled, laid down and went to sleep. But....
Woke up at 3:50! Brad went in, laid her down and told her to go back to sleep. We would be back in the morning. She cried on and off for over 2 hours!!!!! She would cry, lay down for 5-10 minutes, get back up, cry, repeat. One time she was quiet for a while, so I went in to cover her up. I was afraid she would wake from being cold since her room is the coldest in the house. I opened her door, started to walk in and her head flipped up. I ducked out of the room but went the wrong way. Now I was trapped with her door opened and on the wrong side. If I walked by she would see me. I crouched down while my body made the noises of an 80 year old woman (creaks and cracks) and S L O W L Y pulled her door just enough so I could get by. She of course was screaming now, but it only lasted a couple minutes. She eventually fell asleep at 6 am and slept until 8:30.
Hopefully tonight she won't bother waking. It wasn't fun, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm making sure she gets lots of extra hugs and kisses today :)
Here is an update.....
Friday nap: Decided to let her cry it out at nap time first. She fussed, whined, cried on and off for about 45 minutes then laid down and went to sleep. Woo hoo! (at the 30 min. mark, I went to her door and said she needed to go sleep and I would be back when she woke up. Crying got a little loud then, but then stopped.)
Friday night: Rocked her, laid her down awake, music on, left room. She stood immediately, faked cried for 2 minutes then laid down and went to sleep. Major Woo hoo!!!!! Slept until 5 am. We didn't know what to do at that time since we were worried she would cry for hours since she had a good amount of sleep already, so we brought her in bed with us. I know, I know.
Saturday nap: Same routine and she only fussed for about 1 minute.
Saturday night: Same routine and she stood, yelled, laid down and went to sleep. But....
Woke up at 3:50! Brad went in, laid her down and told her to go back to sleep. We would be back in the morning. She cried on and off for over 2 hours!!!!! She would cry, lay down for 5-10 minutes, get back up, cry, repeat. One time she was quiet for a while, so I went in to cover her up. I was afraid she would wake from being cold since her room is the coldest in the house. I opened her door, started to walk in and her head flipped up. I ducked out of the room but went the wrong way. Now I was trapped with her door opened and on the wrong side. If I walked by she would see me. I crouched down while my body made the noises of an 80 year old woman (creaks and cracks) and S L O W L Y pulled her door just enough so I could get by. She of course was screaming now, but it only lasted a couple minutes. She eventually fell asleep at 6 am and slept until 8:30.
Hopefully tonight she won't bother waking. It wasn't fun, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm making sure she gets lots of extra hugs and kisses today :)
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Happy 8 months, Now Get Out of My Bed!
I have such bags under my eyes! For over a month now, Grace blesses us with her presence in our queen size bed sometime during the night.
It started in early December with her waking several times a night. We would go in, lay her down, she would go back to sleep fairly quickly (repeat that about 2-3 times). But by around 3-5am she would fight going back to sleep and we were exhausted, so she would end up in bed with us.
The only good part was she was going to sleep on her own at bedtime. After rocking her to sleep for about 6 plus months, now I would only have to rock her for about 10 minutes, lay her down awake, put on her music aquarium and leave. It's kind of funny how the two changes happened simultaneously.
It then turned into her only waking up around 3-5 and we would just bring her in with us. That was slightly tolerable.
The past week has been getting worse. Waking earlier each night and fighting going to sleep at bedtime. When we lay her down, she keeps checking to see if I am there (notice I said "I". She loves her daddy but does not want him at bedtime). For several nights, I sat on her floor with my back to her. That works, but doesn't solve the middle of the night issue. The past two nights, it took her 45 minutes to finally crash. I don't really enjoy sitting on her floor for that long when I am so exhausted myself.
Well, last night she woke at 11:50pm. She fought going laying down and we knew she only wanted to be in bed with us. I decided to sleep on her floor in hopes of breaking the waking pattern. She did fall asleep by 12:30 and stayed asleep until 6am. She kept trying to stand up and I would say firmly "lay down". She finally did and fell asleep until 7:15. My hopes are that a few nights of one of us in there, that she will feel secure enough and not wake looking for us. Probably not going to work, but we need to stop the shared bed thing, Brad and I don't do well with extra people in the bed. I'm progressively getting more and more tired and cranky.
Just now as I was typing this, I put her in the crib awake. She stood and was playing/jumping. Every now and then I would hear a little groan or whimper. Never real tears. I glance down at the monitor and see this....
Yes, that would be Grace asleep standing up! Too funny! Usually naptime is super easy. I rock her for about 2 minutes and she is out cold. Just today she started being difficult. I'm kind of glad I didn't go in right away, because she put herself to sleep knowing I wasn't in the room. I did go up and lay her down :)
When do I know when I am able to let her cry it out? Today is 8 months since Gotcha Day! I love her to pieces, but want my bed back!!!!!!
It started in early December with her waking several times a night. We would go in, lay her down, she would go back to sleep fairly quickly (repeat that about 2-3 times). But by around 3-5am she would fight going back to sleep and we were exhausted, so she would end up in bed with us.
The only good part was she was going to sleep on her own at bedtime. After rocking her to sleep for about 6 plus months, now I would only have to rock her for about 10 minutes, lay her down awake, put on her music aquarium and leave. It's kind of funny how the two changes happened simultaneously.
It then turned into her only waking up around 3-5 and we would just bring her in with us. That was slightly tolerable.
The past week has been getting worse. Waking earlier each night and fighting going to sleep at bedtime. When we lay her down, she keeps checking to see if I am there (notice I said "I". She loves her daddy but does not want him at bedtime). For several nights, I sat on her floor with my back to her. That works, but doesn't solve the middle of the night issue. The past two nights, it took her 45 minutes to finally crash. I don't really enjoy sitting on her floor for that long when I am so exhausted myself.
Well, last night she woke at 11:50pm. She fought going laying down and we knew she only wanted to be in bed with us. I decided to sleep on her floor in hopes of breaking the waking pattern. She did fall asleep by 12:30 and stayed asleep until 6am. She kept trying to stand up and I would say firmly "lay down". She finally did and fell asleep until 7:15. My hopes are that a few nights of one of us in there, that she will feel secure enough and not wake looking for us. Probably not going to work, but we need to stop the shared bed thing, Brad and I don't do well with extra people in the bed. I'm progressively getting more and more tired and cranky.
Just now as I was typing this, I put her in the crib awake. She stood and was playing/jumping. Every now and then I would hear a little groan or whimper. Never real tears. I glance down at the monitor and see this....
Yes, that would be Grace asleep standing up! Too funny! Usually naptime is super easy. I rock her for about 2 minutes and she is out cold. Just today she started being difficult. I'm kind of glad I didn't go in right away, because she put herself to sleep knowing I wasn't in the room. I did go up and lay her down :)
When do I know when I am able to let her cry it out? Today is 8 months since Gotcha Day! I love her to pieces, but want my bed back!!!!!!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Meet Grace's New Pet
Our good friends handed down their daughter's horse for Grace. When she first met him, she thought he was pretty cool. The first video is just so you can see the horse and then the other is of Grace seeing him while turned on.....
I asked her what she wanted to name her horse and she said, "No". So "No" it is!!!!!
I asked her what she wanted to name her horse and she said, "No". So "No" it is!!!!!
Wunderly Christmas 2010
On New Years Day we had our second Christmas at Brad's parents' house. It was so nice to see everyone and the kids had a blast being together! Grace was a little hesitant at first, but then warmed up and acted like she owned the place... double dipping at all :) She loved playing with Emma and unfortunately the video I took of them playing didn't work. There was wonderful food, presents, wedding talk (Brad's sister just got engaged!) and just being together. It was also a welcome distraction from a very sad few days...
The day started out with the passing of my aunt (my mom's one and only sister). It was all a huge shock. She wasn't feeling well for several days, admitted to hospital on thursday morning, life support by that evening and then passing saturday morning. We pray she is at peace and that those left behind can find peace as well.
This is the first picture that was taken. All the cameras were set up on a ladder with timers. Rob hit the buttons and as he was trying to get in the picture he kicked the ladder! I love the looks on some people's faces :)
Every year since they were born, Mimi takes a picture of Ryan and Nate together on the same chair. They are only 3 months apart in age. They are slowly growing out of the chair!
Uncle Todd, Aunt Stephanie, Ryan and Emma
Aunt Amy and soon-to-be Uncle Rob!
The day started out with the passing of my aunt (my mom's one and only sister). It was all a huge shock. She wasn't feeling well for several days, admitted to hospital on thursday morning, life support by that evening and then passing saturday morning. We pray she is at peace and that those left behind can find peace as well.
This is the first picture that was taken. All the cameras were set up on a ladder with timers. Rob hit the buttons and as he was trying to get in the picture he kicked the ladder! I love the looks on some people's faces :)
Every year since they were born, Mimi takes a picture of Ryan and Nate together on the same chair. They are only 3 months apart in age. They are slowly growing out of the chair!
Uncle Todd, Aunt Stephanie, Ryan and Emma
Aunt Amy and soon-to-be Uncle Rob!
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