Fingers Crossed

So, after 7 months of getting little sleep with two babies, Dave and I have decided to try to let them "cry it out."  We got to this point after Tuesday night when right after putting them down for the night, Addison woke up and cried for about an hour.  We took turns going up and down the stairs putting in her binky, but that only worked for a few minutes and then she would start crying again.  So, I decided that maybe she needed some more formula.  After feeding her more, she still wouldn't go to sleep.  So, then Dave decided to put her in the other room in the pack-n-play to "cry it out."  Now by this time she had woken up Ethan and he decided that it was time to play and wanted nothing to do with going back to sleep.  It is now around 9:30 pm and Dave and I are getting REALLY tired and frustrated.  We are starting to snap at each other and losing patience quickly with the kids.  We have tried everything we know to do, so we just get ready for bed and try to ignore them.  They thankfully finally went to sleep around 10 or so.  

The next day we sat down and tried to decide what to do.  We feel like they are old enough and big enough to finally get the hang of sleeping through to night without a feeding.  So yesterday Dave and I moved Addie's crib into the guest room to try this out.  We bathed and fed them around 7:00 and then off to bed.  I am happy to say that Addison slept through the night without waking once!  Ethan woke at 3:00am and started to cry, like usual, for us to come and feed him, but we left him alone and after 30 minutes of off and on crying, he fell back to sleep and didn't wake up till 7:30 this morning!  

Let's hope that this means we have turned over a new leaf!  It is really hard for me to hear them cry and not go to them, but we are all a lot happier when we have gotten a full nights rest. 

Hiking at Round Lake

Monday Dave and I took the kids for a hike around Round Lake Park. I just got a hiking backpack from a garage sale last week and we wanted to try it out. It ended up being really fun. I wore Addie in the Bjorn and Dave wore Ethan in the new backpack. Before venturing out though, I had to put some sunscreen on the kids. Do you think I put too much on?

Addie didn't seem to mind though.

After about 40 minutes, both kids fell asleep. It was so cute, but I was nervous that it wasn't that comfortable for them.

Pool Time

So last week we had some really hot weather, around 95-100 degrees. The kids and I were getting a little bored of hanging in the air conditioned house, so Trey and Eryn were nice enough to invite us over to hang out in their backyard and enjoy their new pool. Unfortunately, after Trey spent some time filling up the pool with warm water, Cade wasn't a fan of it. So after putting him down for a nap, the two of them got in and held my little ones in it for awhile. The kids seemed to really like it. It was pretty cute to see their little naked butts and huge sun hats, just hanging out in the sun. Dave and I have decided that we need to get a pool for us now.

Getting ready to take off the diapers!

Cade enjoying some rays!

Mothers Day

My first Mothers Day was really great. Dave and I got a chance to go out to dinner on Saturday night while my Mom watched the babies (Thanks Mom!). Then on Sunday we headed over to Mom and Dad's house for dinner. The guys did everything! Dad had some chips and homemade salsa as an appetizer, Michael made his famous ribs for dinner with Dad's potato salad, and Dave made some homemade ice cream for dessert. They did an amazing job!

It was really nice to get a chance to celebrate my Mom. I am so grateful for all that she does for me and my family. We are so blessed to have such great Moms/Grandmas and Sisters/Aunts who make my life and the life of my family so much easier.

Mom with all of her local grandbabies.

Grandma and Addie.

Aunt Tiff with Ethan.

Aunt Heather with Ethan.

Ethan and Addie enjoying their exersaucers.

Professional Pics

Here is some of the pictures that we had taken last Friday before the "accident." They all turned out really cute. Shawn (the photographer) is amazingly talented. Especially since we only really took pictures for about 35 minutes before Ethan fell, and from that I got 40 great pictures. Thanks Shawn!

Neighborly love

Our neighbors/friends Trey and Eryn have a one year old named Cade. He is at a really cute stage where he loves to give hugs and kisses to any other babies. He came over the other day to play with the twins and did just that to Addie. I tried as best I could to get some video and pictures of it.

Our first trip to the ER

Last Friday was our first trip to the ER. I had taken the kids to get some pictures taken and Ethan fell off a table onto a cement floor, hitting his forehead and nose. I had turned to look at Addie, who was on the floor fussing, and that's all it took. He rolled right off and I turned just in time to see him hit the floor. It was by far, the most painful thing I have ever seen (and I'm sure that he has ever felt). His nose started to bleed immediately, and I couldn't get him to settle down so I packed them both up and took him to the ER. The photographer, Shawn, was nice enough to come with me and give me a hand with Addie while I took Ethan in. Fortunately, they don't think that he broke it, but he still has trouble breathing out of it and it's still pretty swollen. I feel terrible! Talk about guilt. I turn around for one second and my baby bashes his face on the floor. I think I cried just as hard as he did! I just can't stand the sight of him in pain, and I feel so bad for not watching him more closely. He looks much better now and has been acting normal and happy all week. Dave keeps telling me that if Ethan is anything like him, I should get used to the idea of taking him in frequently to the ER for bumps and bruises. And all I have to say is, if I never see him in that much pain again, it will be too soon.

I read a quote on a friends blog that said "Making the decision to have a child is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body." When they are happy, I am happy. When they are sad or hurt, my heart breaks. I am so thankful that he is o.k, but I still can't look at these pictures without tearing up. Welcome to motherhood I guess.

My poor baby's swollen face!