Our Family Near Death Experience

Ok...so that's a stretch. Last night we had a really bad storm come through our town. I said to Erik, "It looks all green outside - sign of tornado weather." I have no idea where exactly that theory comes from except to say that I remember knowing that as a kid in Illinois. A minute later we start hearing a siren going off and I turned on the radio which said that there was lots of rotation in Daytona Beach and Holly Hill. So all four of us went and hung out in our hallway and had a little tornado "drill" for a good 10 minutes. Seems kind of silly now, but it was a bit scary.

I Need....

Jael's latest thing is that she "needs" everything. Here are just a few...

"I need to go outside."
"I need a cheese crisp."
"I need to go to church."
"I need to go that way." - This one is said while in the car or stroller.
Today at Jess's house it was, "I need Veggie Tales."

Another cute thing is that yesterday I was walking into the living room and tripped into the tv making a loud noise. Jael was in the other room with her dad and calls out, "Are you ok mommy?" And I said yes. Then she says, "Do you need some help?" Haha! So cute and so sweet. She is getting so verbal and creative - it's so much fun!

Here is a picture just for fun.

Jael's Amazing Jumping Hug

Jael has started this new routine where after I get her dressed on her changing table she gives me a "jumping hug". I'm sure at this point you are wondering...what IS a jumping hug exactly. I'm glad you asked:






If you can't tell from the pictures, this is heaven in a hug. Makes my tummy giggle every time.

Ba Ba Ba

Heidi's first "word"...

Video Fun

This first video was taken by Erik and is actually quite a bit longer than I had thought it was (now I know why it took so long to upload). I just watched like the first minute and thought it was too cute.



This video I took while my niece, Abby, was spending the night last weekend. You can see where she built a tent (I tried to explain that we called those forts back in "my day", but she insisted it was a tent). Plus a little fun with Heidi.

Picture Fun

A face to eat up. You know you wanna.












Jan (Grandma) and the girls...so sweet.












Sharing secrets already...

Coffee

Who knew I would ever be a coffee drinker? I'm not sure exactly what did it, but I have a few ideas listed for your ease of reading:

1. Kids, Kids, Kids
2. Lack so sleep (see #1)
3. New diet - I'm off of pop and need some caffeine
4. With Mike Waers leaving I am the only one at work who doesn't drink coffee (peer pressure)
5. My husband started drinking coffee
6. I'm finally resigned to being an adult and that's what adults do
7. It's yummers with just a little bit of Splenda

Hats of to the Super Nanny

This is a follow-up post to my previous one about Jael and her going to bed. The second and third nights where horrible. She kept getting up and then we would "discipline" her for getting up over and over again. She never seemed too discouraged by this and on this would go for about 2 hours. So frustrating. We got tired of "disciplining" and it obviously wasn't being effective.

We decided to try it the Supernanny way. I've actually tried this approach before and either I did it wrong before or she was just too stubborn to care. Anyways...the Supernanny method is to put them to bed with lots of love. When they come out the first time you tell them it's time for bed and put them back in bed. The second time you just say "bed" and then put them back to bed. Every time after that you just lead them back to bed never speaking to them or making eye contact.

So last night we did it and I couldn't believe her response. She got soooo mad! Our regular "disciplining" methods never got her this upset before - I really think that this method was so much more effective for her personality. I stuck to it and within about 20 minutes she was out. Erik put her down for her nap today and she went right out. Thank you Jo. :-)

Edit: Wanted to add that tonight I put Jael to bed and she didn't come out of her room even once. Also, wanted to add that I don't get enjoyment about how much this upset her the first time we did it. It was just reassuring to know that it was being effective. Usually our other methods bring about laughing and smiles.

She's A Spirited Child

Oh my Jael. Such life. Such spirit. She fully experiences every moment of life and we have to just go along for the ride and help her to not get herself hurt. So last night we put Jael back in her toddler bed (we tried this once before and it worked for a few weeks). I was worried because last time we tried it she would get up a hundred times before falling asleep - it wasn't fun. It was going great - she only got out of her bed ONCE. Well about 45 minutes after she was first put down I decided to check on her again. I figured she was asleep because I hadn't heard her talking for a little while. I open the door to her room to see her in her bed, looking right at me as she was buck naked and playing with her play cell phone. Totally serious look on her face. I ended up closing the door and started laughing and called Erik to come and see his daughter. When we went in there she asked if it was time to get up. What a kid! Nearly 2 hours after she first went to bed she finally fell asleep. Fun times.

It Was Good

So this blog isn't so much about my kids, but about my mom. And really I'm not ready to write about her on here yet. I just found this picture and remember what a fun day it was. This was on Christmas day 2001. It became a tradition to go to the beach on Christmas day - just because we could. I remember mom laughing at me because I kept running after groups of seagulls that had landed on the sand and watch them all fly away.

For now, if you want to know more about my mom you can visit her website at memoriesofnannie.com.