Over the last month there have been more and more days that Charla will talk to herself for 1 hour instead of fall asleep. I always get her up after about 1 hour because I figure if she hasn't fallen asleep yet, she probably won't. Usually, if she skips a nap one day, the next day she'll take a nice 1.5-2hr nap. However, after taking a nice nap, the following morning she's awake earlier than normal. I've always left bedtime at a consistent 8pm. I think she's normally asleep by about 8:15pm.
Yesterday, despite the daylight savings switch, I decided to keep nap time and bedtime at the same times (1pm and 8pm) because I like those times. She finally fell asleep at 2:15pm for nap and slept for 30 minutes. However, at bedtime she didn't fall asleep until about 8:40pm! She just kept talking to her blankies, "Oh, Key! Hi!" like, "Fancy meeting you here in this crib of mine"!
So, this morning she didn't wake up until 8am (LOVED that!) but she has now talked through an entire nap, for the second day in a row (can you really count a 30min snooze as a nap?)! It's almost 2pm and then I'm going to go get her up. This is craziness but I'm actually excited/relieved to be faced with the end of nap. I have always hated planning my life around her nap schedule. I've been religious about it for the last year because I know she needs her sleep but the fact that the days of counting down how much time I have before I need to get her home or hauling a pack n play to grandma's because we're going to be there during nap time are numbered, is so freeing!
I'm going to keep putting her in her crib around the same time every day for her 1 hour chat sessions. If she sleeps she sleeps if not, oh well. She's never crabby because of it and I'm thankful for that!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Spring!
The weather here has been gorgeous lately! I have been taking Charla outside as much as possible. We've been going for walks (sometimes 2-3 per day!), playing ball and she's been riding her bike around. My husband is going to be building her a swing set in the next week or 2. Last summer, swinging was her most favorite outdoor thing to do. I'm also hoping to take her to a park sometime this week.
Walks this year are so much different than they were last summer. This year she can walk all the way around the block without having to go in the stroller. Her favorite things to point out are pine cones and dog poop. She likes to talk about puddles, planes and buses as we walk. Whenever we pass by a puppy she will say, "hi puppy". When we first start out on a walk she will take the lead. Soon though she will get side tracked. She stops to explore the grass, trees, rocks and whatever else catches her eye. Most of the time I'm not in a hurry and will allow her the time she needs to explore. I love watching her take everything in!
Today, Charla turned 22 months old. When I look at her, I can still see the tiny baby I brought home from the hospital almost 2 years ago. However, now I can also see the little girl she is turning into. She is learning and doing something new every day. Her imaginative play has started to shine through and she makes me smile every time I see her giving her baby doll a kiss, putting her dollhouse dolls to bed or making her farm animals eat their hay. I am so excited to watch her grow and meet milestones. A small part of me though wants to rewind time. I want to hold her tiny body again and stroke her silky hair, breathe in her baby smell.
A few months ago I had the opportunity to hold a little baby. My sister-in-law asked me if holding him made me miss holding Charla. This question made me think because as much as I enjoyed holding him, he curled into me different than she did, he smelled different than she did and I honestly felt a bit awkward holding him. So yes, holding him did make me miss Charla because I know I will never again have the opportunity to hold her in that way. Time goes too fast sometimes.
Walks this year are so much different than they were last summer. This year she can walk all the way around the block without having to go in the stroller. Her favorite things to point out are pine cones and dog poop. She likes to talk about puddles, planes and buses as we walk. Whenever we pass by a puppy she will say, "hi puppy". When we first start out on a walk she will take the lead. Soon though she will get side tracked. She stops to explore the grass, trees, rocks and whatever else catches her eye. Most of the time I'm not in a hurry and will allow her the time she needs to explore. I love watching her take everything in!
Today, Charla turned 22 months old. When I look at her, I can still see the tiny baby I brought home from the hospital almost 2 years ago. However, now I can also see the little girl she is turning into. She is learning and doing something new every day. Her imaginative play has started to shine through and she makes me smile every time I see her giving her baby doll a kiss, putting her dollhouse dolls to bed or making her farm animals eat their hay. I am so excited to watch her grow and meet milestones. A small part of me though wants to rewind time. I want to hold her tiny body again and stroke her silky hair, breathe in her baby smell.
A few months ago I had the opportunity to hold a little baby. My sister-in-law asked me if holding him made me miss holding Charla. This question made me think because as much as I enjoyed holding him, he curled into me different than she did, he smelled different than she did and I honestly felt a bit awkward holding him. So yes, holding him did make me miss Charla because I know I will never again have the opportunity to hold her in that way. Time goes too fast sometimes.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
A New Phase!
The last week has been fairly exhausting due to Charla's new phase. I don't know how much of a "phase" this is versus our new way of life. She now narrates everything that she or someone else is doing. The thing is, she doesn't have a strong ability to string more than 2 words together so her narration sounds like this:
"Shoes. Shoes. Mama shoes. On. On. On. Mama. Shoes." This would be an example of when I'm putting her shoes on! Once her shoes are on and we're getting in the car, "Car. Sit. Songs. Songs. On. Walmart?" We don't even go to Walmart that much but it seems to have made her list of favorite stores because every time we get in the car she's either asking to go to Papa's house or Walmart!
Another new not so pleasant part of this phase is the fact that she asks over and over again for something even when the answer is no. Right now she's on a TV kick. This is not something I want to encourage so I limit her screen time to around 1 hour per day. However, she has 2 favorite movies that she wants to watch ALL the TIME. If she asks and the answer is no, this has brought on quite a handful of tantrums in the last couple weeks. Part of me wonders if it's worth the battle. After all, it's winter in Wisconsin, not much else to do around here than watch TV. But I don't want the TV habit to become all consuming and hard to break when the weather gets nice.
"Shoes. Shoes. Mama shoes. On. On. On. Mama. Shoes." This would be an example of when I'm putting her shoes on! Once her shoes are on and we're getting in the car, "Car. Sit. Songs. Songs. On. Walmart?" We don't even go to Walmart that much but it seems to have made her list of favorite stores because every time we get in the car she's either asking to go to Papa's house or Walmart!
Another new not so pleasant part of this phase is the fact that she asks over and over again for something even when the answer is no. Right now she's on a TV kick. This is not something I want to encourage so I limit her screen time to around 1 hour per day. However, she has 2 favorite movies that she wants to watch ALL the TIME. If she asks and the answer is no, this has brought on quite a handful of tantrums in the last couple weeks. Part of me wonders if it's worth the battle. After all, it's winter in Wisconsin, not much else to do around here than watch TV. But I don't want the TV habit to become all consuming and hard to break when the weather gets nice.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Lazy Days
The last two days I have been so lazy!
Friday I woke up with Charla, fed her breakfast and then my husband suggested we take turns napping. So, I went back to bed at about 9am and stayed there until 11:20am! It was bliss. Today hasn't been as blissful because I'm full of the negative laziness. The "I-just-don't-want-to-do-anything" laziness. I finally unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, but besides that I haven't done anything.
Charla was in an annoying mood all day today. If she wasn't getting someone's full attention she would get into something so someone would have to give her attention. Poking at the DVD player, turning the TV on and off, rocking her chair into the wall repeatedly, all annoying attempts at getting someone to notice her.
Nap time was wonderful but just too short for a day like today. I personally like the idea of putting a power button on kids, then I could turn her off for about 3hrs while I veg on the couch. I did get her outside for a walk, played ring around the rosie until I was dizzy, blew bubbles and had her talk with her "Papa's" on the webcam.
No news on my possible pregnancy. I got a negative test on Friday morning but that doesn't surprise me. I was REALLY late before getting a positive when I was pregnant with Charla. Pregnancy test kits just don't like me.
Friday I woke up with Charla, fed her breakfast and then my husband suggested we take turns napping. So, I went back to bed at about 9am and stayed there until 11:20am! It was bliss. Today hasn't been as blissful because I'm full of the negative laziness. The "I-just-don't-want-to-do-anything" laziness. I finally unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, but besides that I haven't done anything.
Charla was in an annoying mood all day today. If she wasn't getting someone's full attention she would get into something so someone would have to give her attention. Poking at the DVD player, turning the TV on and off, rocking her chair into the wall repeatedly, all annoying attempts at getting someone to notice her.
Nap time was wonderful but just too short for a day like today. I personally like the idea of putting a power button on kids, then I could turn her off for about 3hrs while I veg on the couch. I did get her outside for a walk, played ring around the rosie until I was dizzy, blew bubbles and had her talk with her "Papa's" on the webcam.
No news on my possible pregnancy. I got a negative test on Friday morning but that doesn't surprise me. I was REALLY late before getting a positive when I was pregnant with Charla. Pregnancy test kits just don't like me.
Friday, January 29, 2010
I wish
I really want to move. I'm tired of the cold and snow. Tired of listening to weathermen predict another colder than normal spring or snowier than normal winter. I want to live somewhere warm. Somewhere tank tops and shorts make a year long appearance.
I'm also bored with the monotony of the cold Wisconsin weather. There is nowhere to go, there is nothing to do. Last night my husband blew bubbles outside in 3F and we watched them bounce around on the pavement. This is the highlight of my life.
I want to move somewhere warm, fast paced and fun.
I'm also bored with the monotony of the cold Wisconsin weather. There is nowhere to go, there is nothing to do. Last night my husband blew bubbles outside in 3F and we watched them bounce around on the pavement. This is the highlight of my life.
I want to move somewhere warm, fast paced and fun.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
How play has changed
When Charla was younger things like shaking rattles over her face or playing peek a boo were a big hit. These things were fun and exciting for her but for me this was rather boring. Yes, it was fun to watch my child enjoy herself and learn but after a few months I was ready for a change!
Charla didn't start crawling until she was 11 months old. So, her play was limited to what was immediately within her reach. Her toys became a little more amusing to me in the fact that they did more things. Sometimes she would figure out what a toy did before me! Play was still very basic for her though.
Last summer she learned to walk and crawl all within about 2.5 months, so life's pace picked up quickly! In the warm weather, play turned into going for walks, swinging on swings and digging in the sand box. Summer was a very enjoyable time for both of us.
In fall, as winter was looming ahead of us, I wondered what we do for these long 4 months of snow and cold. I shouldn't have worried. As she is approaching 2 years, her play is both imaginative and fun for both of us! In her kitchen she will make me food and bring me a cup of "water". Her animals in the farm run, eat, sleep and drink water. Her dollhouse's doorbell is constantly ringing, the baby loves "swinging" and the doll's sit at the table to eat. The thoughts and words that come out of her mouth surprise me sometimes.
I'm excited both for what she's doing now and for what she will do in the future. I can't wait to see her first drawing of her family, to play her first board game with her and to find out if she's going to be a gymnast or a ballerina (or maybe a soccer player)!
Charla didn't start crawling until she was 11 months old. So, her play was limited to what was immediately within her reach. Her toys became a little more amusing to me in the fact that they did more things. Sometimes she would figure out what a toy did before me! Play was still very basic for her though.
Last summer she learned to walk and crawl all within about 2.5 months, so life's pace picked up quickly! In the warm weather, play turned into going for walks, swinging on swings and digging in the sand box. Summer was a very enjoyable time for both of us.
In fall, as winter was looming ahead of us, I wondered what we do for these long 4 months of snow and cold. I shouldn't have worried. As she is approaching 2 years, her play is both imaginative and fun for both of us! In her kitchen she will make me food and bring me a cup of "water". Her animals in the farm run, eat, sleep and drink water. Her dollhouse's doorbell is constantly ringing, the baby loves "swinging" and the doll's sit at the table to eat. The thoughts and words that come out of her mouth surprise me sometimes.
I'm excited both for what she's doing now and for what she will do in the future. I can't wait to see her first drawing of her family, to play her first board game with her and to find out if she's going to be a gymnast or a ballerina (or maybe a soccer player)!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Mixed Feelings
I still haven't taken a pregnancy test. I've been toying with the idea of taking one tomorrow, but I'm so torn. There are still symptoms of possible pregnancy and I'm now 1-2 days late, so the chances of my being pregnant are getting better and better. Why am I not testing? This is something I've thought a lot about today.
This would be a planned pregnancy, my being pregnant should not take me by surprise. However, I think talking about having a second child and the reality of actually having a second child were somewhat divided in my head. I'm both excited for the possibility and terrified at the same time. This is why I'm not testing. Right now I'm in a place where everything is the same as it's always been. I don't have to think about being pregnant and I don't have to think about if I want to continue trying.
I think I'm going to wait until Friday to test.
This would be a planned pregnancy, my being pregnant should not take me by surprise. However, I think talking about having a second child and the reality of actually having a second child were somewhat divided in my head. I'm both excited for the possibility and terrified at the same time. This is why I'm not testing. Right now I'm in a place where everything is the same as it's always been. I don't have to think about being pregnant and I don't have to think about if I want to continue trying.
I think I'm going to wait until Friday to test.
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