monster march

We decided to make an event out of the yearly neighborhood Halloween parade and invite our toddler friends and families to join us. It was such fun and will definitely be a tradition. We had a little food and drinks, and lots of friends and family. I set up a couple of art projects for the kids to do- and they all really got into it. The baby pumkin decorating was especially popular. Another favorite was the pile of Halloween books we have collected this year. Rory loves "There's a monster at the end of this book" which was one of my favs growing up. my favorite moment of the day was watching my dad read that book to the kids in the same style he used to read it to me.

After hanging out we got into costumes and headed to the parade. My dad and Linda definitely take the cake for best adult costume and what's really cool is that linda made them! She also made Quincy's big bird costume and some of owen's batman costume. All the kids were so adorable and it was really fun for them to get to wear their costumes more then once. The parade was fun, we narrowly missed the rain and the kids loved seeing all the fun costumes. Ideas for next year include tailgating on the parade route! Thanks to all who made it and we look forward to next year.

words

we have a tie for first word from lucy. several people have heard her say "hi" and pat and i have heard her say dada. since rory's first word was dada, i am inclined to go with the hi. either way it is pretty darn cute! sorry for my horrible punctuation and lack of capitols recently- lucy removed the shift button from my laptop. that reminds me, she says dada when she sees pat, but also when she sees the computer!!

Lucy update

Lucy went down in her crib tonight awake and with NO tears!! Thanks to all for repeating what I already knew, but needed to hear. The irony is that in order to let Lucy cry, we had to get Rory out of the room, so she slept with us for several nights- now we have to retrain her. Luckily she can be bought! I haven't come accross the problem that a few m&m's can't solve (I know, not my best parenting). We are hopefully closing in on beautiful, peaceful, much needed sleep. Goodnight!

A 2AM letter to Lucy

~warning- this is the ramblings of sleep deprived mom who is using the computer to distract her and to pass the time- probably doesn't make great reading~

Day 2 of "get lucy to go to sleep in her crib and stay in her crib" project. Day one included 20 minutes of crying at bedtime- 5 wakeups between 7-midnight and mom giving in at midnight due to total exhaustion.
Tonight included only 5 minutes of crying at bedtime- but you fell asleep sitting up in your crib- pretty cute actually. And i don't remember the rest of the night- but I woke up in the chair at 1am holding you- so obviously it didn't go as planned. 1:45 Dad took Rory downstairs for a slumber party leaving me and you to battle this out. 2:43am- all is quiet. 2:47 more crying.

Dear Lucy,
I thought that i should write to you tonight because somehow i don't remember having this sleep problem with rory and so maybe, god willing, i will forget this someday too. Here is what i know. I know you want to sleep in my bed. I don't blame you- it is WAY better then your crib, however you can't have a cozy down comforter of your own until you get older, so cozy minky blankets will have to do. I know you want to sleep with me. I don't blame you, i am super cuddly! You are also my daughter which means you will prefer to sleep snuggled with your feet tucked under someone (anyone really) for the rest of your life. I know that i am sorry. I HATE to hear you cry. If it were just you and me, I would let you sleep in my arms until you were 20 if you wanted- but it's not and I can't. I promise i will pay for therapy to correct any deep seeded abandonment issues i am creating tonight. (okay- that was totally my projecting- sorry) . I know that you can do this. everyone learns to sleep eventually, the sooner the better kiddo. I know that I can do this. you are round 2 so you don't get to prey on my vulnerabilities like your sister did. I know that I will survive this, that we will all eventually sleep 6, 8, maybe 10 hours at one time.(that seems like crazy talk at this point- but I am pulling an Oprah and just putting it out there. my vision board would just have a big pillow on it. and maybe a really long shower. but I digress...)I know that I get to win- because I am the mom and I have something you don't- caffiene. Props to you for the short intervals of quiet- that is brilliant. You must know that will wear me down much faster then just constant crying. I know that I love you very much. I have been playing my "instant vs. long term gratification" lecture (yes, mommy used to do things like give lectures!) in my head all night. I would never let you feel any sort of discomfort if i didn't know that it was for your greater good. I know that the persistance, determination, strong will, and dedication you are showing tonight will serve you so well in your life. I just hope next time we get to play on the same team! I love you, goodnight. ~Mom
3:05 all's quiet....for now.

technical difficulties

can't seem to change the dates of 2 old posts that i just finished so if you want to see them they are dated aug. 26th about sunriver and sept. 15 about a mid-year check in. just an FYI