I know I am a Terrible Blogger

I hardly ever blog anymore, which makes me sad because I really do want to record what is going on in our lives. In an attempt to revamp my blog, I will once again do a "catch up" post for all of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014..

Let's see, since the last time I blogged (Axl's first birthday) a LOT has happened.

Logan turned 5 in April. We celebrated at Hoots (a local indoor jumper play place).

In May 2013 we took a family vacation to Florida.  We spent 7 days at the Disney World Resort and 3 days at St. Pete's beach.  We had a ton of fun in Disney World, the kids really enjoyed the rides this time and had a blast meeting all of their favorite Disney Characters.  We stayed in the Disney Animation Suites which were a lot of fun and had plenty of room for our family of five. We also went to Lego Land on our way to St. Pete's beach and visited Sea World for a day.  Lego Land was fun but we got caught in a torrential downpour and every one got soaked.  It was a good thing we had all of our luggage in the car so we were able to change into dry clothes. It was a little hard traveling with Axl, mostly due to his age.  He was a little too young too fully enjoy or understand why we were standing in such long lines, he didn't necessarily want to be held but couldn't really be put down either.  I imagine our next Disney trip (maybe Disney Land in 2015) will be much easier on him.   Here are some pictures of our adventures.

As soon as we got back from Florida, Olive had her first dance recital.  She was a little nervous to go back stage without me, but once she was there she was happy.  She loved dancing on "the big stage" and had a huge grin on her face the whole time.  She keeps asking me when she will get to do it again. Her dance studio is great because we didn't have to buy her a costume and she was able to come back into the audience as soon as her piece was over. It was very laid back and enjoyable.

The following week Logan started his first week of Kinder Camp.  Because all of the schools in NM have switched to full day kindergarten now, our elementary school offers a four week Kinder Camp.  This is a time when Kindergartners get to know their teacher, learn their way around the school, get used to eating lunch in a big cafeteria etc. without all the commotion of having a bunch of other (and older) kids around.  Logan was pretty nervous the first day and cried when I left him, but each day got a little easier.  He even wanted to ride the bus.  What a big boy!

Getting Off the Bus (I followed the bus on the first day)

Our next big milestone was Logan's last day at MDO.  The Mother's Day Out program at the Placitas Presbyterian church has been a wonderful program for Logan (all of my kids really). Logan has been going since he was 20 months old, year round.  Ms. Debbie has been a great nurturer to Logan and really helped him grow.  He made a lot of friends there and enjoyed going.  His last day was bitter-sweet but I did get to stay with him that day and we had a lot of fun together with Olive and Axl.

And then came Logan's first day of Kindergarten.  This day was really hard on me. I felt so nervous leaving him all day in the care of basically strangers. Logan cried when I left him and it was sad. I told him he would be safe with his teacher and then later in the week found out that he was crying at lunch because his teacher wouldn't stay in the cafeteria and he didn't feel safe.  Poor guy, he really internalizes everything I tell him.  He is getting so big and so brave though, it is amazing how much they grow when given the opportunity.  Logan is the most popular guy in his class.  All of the other kids adore him and his teacher even has to draw names before lunch to see who will sit next to him in the cafeteria (apparently the other kids get into shoving matches trying to get a seat next to Logan). Logan is so sweet and kind to everyone. He is excelling in Kindergarten and is above all the benchmarks academically.  His teacher is now working on teaching him some basic multiplication.

Since Logan's first day of Kindergarten (back in 2013) he has lost 4 teeth (1 in October, 1 in December, 1 in January and 1 in March). Olive turned 4 and Axl turned 2. I started a business as a Doula and have had the pleasure of welcoming many babies into the world. I am in the process of starting a Doula Cooperative where I will be on call two or three days a week and along with 2 other Doulas have up to 8 clients per month.  I am training for half marathon number three in Nashville on April 26th.  Olive had her tonsils out on the 4 of March.  She did fantastic.  She woke up from her anesthesia very happy and calm. The doctor said he has never seen a child wake up without screaming.  She hardly complained about any pain and we controlled her pain with tylenol.  She was ready to eat right away and loved all the Popsicle and ice cream.  Since her surgery she has quit snoring and is sleeping so much better.  It really is amazing.

I am sure there are a ton of things that have happened that I am forgetting, maybe someday I will come back and fill in the blanks.  For now, my goal is to update this blog at least monthly...maybe weekly. And I am not making any promises about the length of the posts, heck they may even be just pictures. It was recently brought to my attention however that it is important to document everyday life so that is what I am going to try to do.

Axl turns One!

Axl celebrated his first birthday on Friday, January 4th.  It is hard to believe that he is already a year old.   I look back at the past year and feel like it literally flew by.   I tried really hard, being that he is my last baby, to enjoy and savor every moment, but I feel like my memory has failed me and I barely remember a thing.    I do remember the day he was born like it was yesterday.

Axl has grown into such a happy and independent (as much as one year old can be anyway) little toddler.   He is still my baby though and I often feel like maybe I baby him too much.  Oh well, I am not beating myself up over that one.  I enjoy him being little too much.   For his one year check up he weighed in at 20.2 lbs and 31.75 inches.  Long and skinny just like his brother and sister.   He can't walk yet and doesn't talk very much at all.  He likes to give big, open mouthed, wet, slobbery kisses and LOVES to scream.  I have never had or heard a baby who screams and squeals as much as this boy.  His grandpa calls him a "noise maker" and he couldn't be more right.   Axl is sleeping through the night on most nights, takes one 30 minute nap in the morning and a one hour nap in the afternoon (only if someone is laying next to him, otherwise his naps are about 15 minutes each...as I was saying, he is slightly babied). He has six teeth but still only eats baby food.  Oh, and Axl is the only one year old I know who throws tantrums....not sure what to do about that.

Happy Birthday Olive

My sweet Olive turned three on Monday!  I cannot believe three years have gone by since the day she graced us with her presence!   And while she just now turned three, it seems like she has been three forever. She is so busy keeping up with her big brother, I think she skipped the two's altogether.   Olive was a wonderful two year old, I don't think she ever threw a "two year old tantrum" (come to think of it, neither did Logan), so we will see what the three's have in store for us.  

We moved Olive out of her crib on Sunday night and moved her into a big girl bed.  She loves her bed and her new found freedom.  She comes out of her room several times before falling asleep for random things such as "more guys" (stuffed animals) to blow her nose or go potty.  She even came out in the middle of the night once to go potty even though she is still in pull-ups during the night.  I love having her in her big girl bed because instead of not being able to reach her due to the crib bars, I can actually smother her with kisses when I go in the room to check on her.   She looks so small in her big girl bed too.

Olive really is a sweet girl.  She loves to take care of her baby dolls, her baby brother and loves to be held and cuddled (for a minute or two anyway).   She LOVES to talk, but what girl doesn't right?  She also loves to sing and loves it when Mommy and Daddy dance with her.   She is overall just a great, fun girl and I am so blessed to have her as my daughter!

Happy birthday Olive!

Mobility

With each one of my babies I have looked forward to the day they learned how to crawl.   I always thought that with new found mobility I would find myself with a little more freedom.   In my naive mind I thought that if I could put my baby down on the floor (and trust that they wouldn't fall over backwards) then I could get a lot more done with my free hands.   In my mind, I could also walk away to do something and if my baby needed me, then they could just follow me.   Simple, right?   Not so, in fact my experience has been just the opposite, as I am sure it is for most parents.   When my babies need me they don't crawl after me, instead they sit in one place immobilized and crying.  When my babies don't need me, rather than peacefully playing with the safe, age appropriate toy I have provided for them they instead go exploring.   And, in the case of Axl, he goes exploring all of the places that are beyond dangerous.   This boy is persistent, more so than Logan and Olive were.  He LOVES to play with nightlights, the DVD player, the TV and the TOILET.  I have never had a baby who liked the toilet before.

I remember the day that each of my babies started crawling because it was such a big milestone for me.   Logan started crawling on January 14, 2009.   Olive started crawling on August 3, 2010 and Axl started crawling on October 7, 2012.  I have no pictures for this blog because Scott has stolen my computer and I am forced to work on his Mac, perhaps someday I will come back and update with pictures.

Sleep Training

I hate sleep training.  It is so hard on me and my babies.  I never had to "sleep train" Logan, he just seemed to start sleeping through the night on his own around four and a half months.  Olive and Axl seemed to start creating bad sleeping habits around four months.  The "experts" call this the "four month sleep regression."  According to the experts, the sleep cycles of babies begin to change and mimic those of an adult around four months.  This is when babies often begin to create bad sleep habits or associations.  In Olive and Axl's case the association has been the need to be nursed, rocked or walked back to sleep.  So Axl has been waking every one or two hours needing my help to get back to sleep.   At first it wasn't so bad, I would nurse him, or rock him and he would fall asleep and I would put him back in his bed. Then I would nurse or rock him, he would fall asleep but as soon as I tried to lay him down he would wake up crying again.   Then I became lazy and just put him in bed with me to nurse while I slept. That worked for a few weeks, and then he began to get really restless around four or five am and not be able to go back to sleep at all, even though he was trying to.   This just doesn't work for me.  I have had to teach him how to soothe himself back to sleep, and even though it has been hard, it is working.

So how do I sleep train? Basically I start a bedtime routine and then put Axl down to bed awake.  If he cries, I go in his room after five minutes and give him his binky and remind him that he is okay.  Then I leave.  If he cries again, I go in after ten minutes and do the same thing and then fifteen minutes.  I continue to do this every fifteen minutes until he falls asleep.  I also determine when he usually wakes to eat and feed him about 30 minutes before that time so I know he isn't hungry.  So our plan has been that i put him down at 7:30 with feedings at 12 and 4.

The first night he cried for 30 minutes before falling asleep,  Then I woke him at 12 to feed him and when I laid him down at 12:30 he started crying.  He cried for two and a half hours then whined for 30 minutes before falling asleep.  Then I woke him at four to feed him and when i laid him down he slept until 7:45 and woke up very happy "talking" in his crib.  The next night he cried for 20 minutes and then not at all during the night.  The third night he cried for 15 minutes and now he doesn't cry at all.  The last two nights I have gotten lazy and instead of waking him to feed him I have waited for him to wake up...bad mistake, he now needs me to nurse him again every time he wakes.  Sigh.  I guess I will have to start setting my alarm for 12 and four again.

Once we get this down the next steps are...add a feeding at 9:00 pm, eliminate the midnight feeding and push back the four am feeding to five.  That way I will be able to sleep from 9:30 to 5:00 in FOUR shorts weeks when I go back to work.  This plan is somewhat comical to me, because honestly I am horrible at timed/scheduled feedings.   I would rather just feed my baby when he is hungry.  Hopefully soon he will decide he isn't hungry in the middle of the night.

On another note, I really wish my house wouldn't make funny noises at night.  Really freaks me out.  I don't like nursing Axl in his room in the middle of the night because I feel so isolated from everyone.  And with all the white noise machines we have in our house, I feel like Scott wouldn't hear me if I needed him.  In fact, I know he wouldn't hear me.  He can sleep through anything.   I usually get up and feed Axl in front of the computer while I blog surf...I would use the time to update my blog, but I have a hard time typing with one hand.  However, this also freaks me out because the screen is so bright I can't see anything except the computer screen.   I think I am sleep deprived, I am not usually so afraid of the dark.  Last night I was having nightmares and yelling in my sleep. Scott had to wake me up.  It was one of those dreams you have where you know you are dreaming, but you can't seem to wake up or move.

One of these days I will sneak in and take a picture of my baby sleeping so I can post it here.  He never naps unless I am laying with him so sleeping picture ops are few and far between.

Blog Tag

Alright, I was tagged in a blog tag, and I have never done this before so I thought it would be fun.

The Rules:

1.  Post these rules
2.  Post 11 random things about yourself
3.  Answer the questions provided by the one who tagged you
4.  Create 11 new questions for the people you tag
5.  Tag 11 people

11 Random Things about me:

1.  I haven't had a pedicure in four years (since Logan was 5 weeks old).  I enjoy pedicures but don't think the fumes are safe for small children/babies to inhale and if I ever have free time without my kids, I can think of many other things I want to do with my time and money.

2.  I don't like meat.  I can't stand the texture, I hate to "chew and chew and chew."   The last time I had a cheeseburger was when I was in the 10th grade.  I had a Super Sonic Cheeseburger from Sonic.

3.  I am terrified of tornadoes.

4.  I never have long finger nails...they always break.

5.  I like to watch sports on TV...Football, basketball (college) and Hockey.

6.  I am a closet soap opera fan.  I have watched "The Young and The Restless" for as long as I can remember.  Now in the age of DVR I just fast forward through the cheesy parts...I can watch a one hour episode in about 20 minutes.

7.  I used to spend forty-five minutes to an hour in a tanning bed EVERY day.  I now regret that and hope Olive never goes near one.

8  My middle name is Ellena...not so random I know, but I used to hate it because I thought it was hard to pronounce and spelled wrong.  Now I love it.

9.  I like to have my sheets and and blankets tucked VERY tightly under the mattress at the foot of the bed and on all sides when I sleep.

10.  Growing up I hated that I had freckles on my face, now that Logan is getting some I think they are soooo cute!

11.  I love High Heels.

11 Questions from Amber:

1.What is the one food that you would never give up?  Avocados...I love them with salt.

2.What is your one achievement that makes you the most proud? Running a 1/2 marathon.

3.What are the 5 most important things in your life?  My children, Scott, my health, my family (extended), my friends.

4.What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you?  I don't know...funny things don't happen to me, although I do some pretty funny and embarrassing things all the time.

5.Are you a night owl or a morning person?  Morning person, I am too tired and can't keep my eyes open much past 10:00 pm.

6.What crazy things do you dream of trying someday? Sky-diving, once my kids are adults.  So I don't have to worry so much about dying and leaving them without a mother.

7.What is the one physical feature that you get complimented on most often? My eyes

8.What is your weirdest quirk?  I have to shower first thing out of bed in the morning...if I don't I just don't feel right.

9. If you were invisible, where would you go? Into Logan and Olive's room at night after I have put them to bed, just to see what they are really up to in there.

10. What traits in others are you attracted to? Honesty and loyalty and being nice above all else and then a good sense of humor about themselves.

11. What is the kindest thing anyone has done for you?  Well I have been the recipient of so many wonderful kind gestures.  The most recent that stands out is when I went out of town on a family vacation, when I came home my wonderful mom had cleaned my house top to bottom!  Love her! 


11 Questions


1.  Where were you born?
2.  What did you want to be when "you grew up?"
3.  What do you like to do on Friday nights?
4.  What is your favorite sport/activity
5.  If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would buy?
6.  Is there anything you wish you could do, but can't?
7.  What was your favorite subject in school?
8.  Where did you meet your significant other?
9.  Is there anything that terrifies you, if so what is it?
10.  What is your favorite movie?
11.  What is your favorite book?


Now to tag 11 people..haha.  I can only think of two people who read my blog and also blog themselves.  Amber (who tagged me, so I doubt you feel like doing this again) and Erika. 

Happy Birthday Logan

My baby boy was four on April 19th!  I can't believe it has been four years already and then at times I can't believe it has only been four years!  It seems like he has been with us forever.

It is amazing how much he has grown and changed these past four years.   Logan is one of the sweetest boys I know.  He is so kind and caring.  He listens very well and loves his sister and brother.  He always comments on how he and Olive are best friends and he takes very good care of her.   Just the other day we were outside walking to Grandma's house and he told Olive, "Don't worry if you see snakes, it isn't a problem, come over here and hold my hand and I will take care of you."  He is really into Toy Story this year, as well as Thomas the Train and Minnie Mouse of course.

I thought in honor of his birthday I would blog about his birth story, but I don't have time right now so that will have to wait for another day.

We celebrated his birthday at "school" on the 19th with Ms. Debbie.  He had so much fun with all of his friends.  We then had a birthday party for him at a really nice park in Albuquerque. Logan had fun playing on the playground and I enjoyed not having to clean up or entertain.

At Logan's 4 year check up he weighed in at 33 lbs (with shoes) and 41 inches.  Still long and skinny.   He had his hearing tested and his vision tested.  He did great on the hearing test but his vision test was "a little outside the normal" range.   The doctor advised we watch him and if he seems to be squinting a lot then have his vision checked, otherwise we will check it again in a year before kindergarten just to be sure.

We love this boy so much!