Oh how I miss Ava's crib...

I did it, I finally took down Ava's crib. I left it up so long due to my own laziness, I like to sleep. Once you put that little girl in her crib you didn't see or hear from her until 9:00-9:30. Don't get me wrong, we have tried the toddler bed before. It didn't work so well and I didn't have the patience. She had a crib and a bed in her room for a long time and that probably confused her I suppose. She wanted to sleep in her "big bed" so we let her try. After a few chances we gave up and put her in the crib. Kyle decided she was too old for her crib and I have to agree, I just didn't want to. She will be 3 soon and I guess I have to let her grow up. Once the crib was down my heart sank just a little bit. She is growing up too fast and it makes me sad. She is fully potty trained and now the big bed. Where has my baby gone? I guess I was trying to hold on to that one last thing from when she was a baby, strange I guess. Anyways, this bed idea was as bad as I thought it was going to be. SHE WILL NOT STAY IN HER BED!!!!!!! I get mad, she laughs, oh how I miss that crib. I try to listen to super nanny but what does she know? Jokes, it kind of works but not really. The first night I sat on the floor for 1 hour 30 minutes. Shoot me in the head please. The second night she didn't have a nap that day so it didn't take too long but last night was pure hell. Almost 3 hours! I sat there for the first hour but couldn't take it any longer so I got Kyle. He sat there for the next hour and I was getting mad. I went back up and let Kyle get some sleep, it was almost midnight by this time. I guess your not supposed to say anything or make eye contact, if they get out just put them back in the bed. I don't know what I am doing at all. Nobody talks about these things so I guess your on your own. I guess I couldn't let her nap anymore but she loves to nap and if she doesn't she is a nightmare. She usually naps for 2 hours so I could bump it down to 1 and see if that works. Who knows but hopefully it will get easier soon because I don't think I can do this for much longer. Even though I am not doing anything while I am sitting there, it is exhausting. I refuse to let her sleep in my bed, she never has and she never will. I don't want her to get in that habit. I also won't sleep in her bed, I just don't want her to be dependent on Kyle and I to fall asleep. That may be harsh but that's how it is minus the fact that I can't sleep with a kicking child. She doesn't stop moving. It has to get better right? Maybe by the time she's 4...

Family Photo

I decided that just maybe it was time to take a family picture. In all honesty I have not even taken professional pictures of Jaxen yet. Yes, I am a horrible mother! We haven't had a family picture taken since Ava was one. I can say that I have been busy but in reality I am just lazy. I was going to get a friend to take them last summer but then I decided that I would like Jaxen to be able to sit. Who knew he wouldn't be able to sit until he was almost 9 months old. Anyways, I wanted to get some done before Christmas. It was a little harder than I anticipated due to the cold weather and a hyper child. Ava seriouly would not hold still and when she did she didn't want to look at the camera. This photo here was the best out of the bunch and it was the FIRST one taken. There was some other cute ones but Kyle's head was either cut off or one of us wasn't looking. All in all it was worth it. At least now I have some pictures I can give to family.

No more Presents!!!

Ava's haul last Christmas

This year Kyle and I have decided enough is enough. How many presents does a child need? Jaxen for example, he is 9 months old. Do you think he cares how many presents he gets? Does he think the more presents he gets the more we love him? No, I didn't think so. And Ava, she is only 2 years old. 2 YEARS OLD!!! We want to teach our children what Christmas is really about and not about how many presents you get. I have seen people go crazy and spend so much money. In the moment it is exciting and thrilling as you are shopping seeing what you can buy next. I am not going to lie, I have gotten sucked in before. It's fun shopping and buying lots of things for you children. When it's all over and realize how much you have really spent can make you sick to your stomach. This year we planned out exactly how much money we were going to spend on each child and not a penny more. I went out by myself last weekend to buy Kyle and the kid's gifts. Ava wanted a camera, a pink phone and a Max and Ruby video. As we were writing the letter to Santa I asked her what else she wanted(just so I had options). She put her head down and quietly said that she doesn't need anything else. Well, that made it easy for me. I headed to Toys'R'Us and got started. The camera was the most expensive but the other two items were cheap. Jaxen got some toys but I didn't want to go crazy because I already have so many toys at home. I have all the big toys from when Ava was a baby so it was mostly trucks and such. I had money left over so I went to Wal-Mart for stocking stuffers. I was in and out of Toys'R'Us but when I hit Wal-Mart it was a different story. Who knew stocking stuffers cost a lot of money, I just kept putting stuff in the cart. In the end I spent $17.00 more then I had planned. I was proud of myself and you all probably think I am crazy. Really it helps both the kids and us. They learn to not expect lots of "things" and we save money. If only I thought the same way with Kyle. I knew part of what I was going to get him when I left home and bought that right away. As I walked around the mall I kept seeing things that I wanted him to have. I really did have to restrain myself and I was happy in the end with what I bought him. I just hope he feels the same way.