We have been reading a lot lately. I've been trying to keep the TV turned off and let the kids play more. We've also been trying to read more. We have a little section of our bookshelf with books that we are currently reading. The Book of Mormon For Latter-day Saint Families is a great book, we love the pictures and the definitions. Isabelle and I are reading each afternoon after Karter goes down for his nap. We are currently reading the unabridged Winnie the Pooh books. We also are practicing the alphabet (she pretty much knows them all) from the Museum ABC book. In the evenings we read from a chapter book. We just finished the last Tucket book by Gary Paulsen. Now we are in the middle of Farmer Boy. I love, love, love reading with my kids.

Nighttime Visitor

We have had a late night visitor join us in bed several times these last few months. She is either scared, lonely, cold, ect. The reasons vary, but she always has one when she comes into our room.

I remember getting into bed with my parents at this age. I would go to my mom's side of the bed and when she pulled back the covers I knew I could climb in. I remember being so hot sleeping between my parents. I would push the blankets down so I could cool off. (I'm sure my parents loved that!) I remember feeling safe and happy sleeping in bed with them.

With these happy memories as my guide, I have always let my kids sleep with us when they have come into our room in the middle of the night. Well, little Miss Isabelle has taken advantage of my hospitality and joined us most nights. She is not the easiest person to sleep with (I'm sure I wasn't either) and we don't sleep that great with her in our bed. We finally had to set some limits. She can still come into our rooms, but most nights we tell her to go back to her bed. A couple times a week she gets to climb in with us. I keep reminding myself to enjoy these times. She won't want to sleep with us forever (though sometimes I wonder) and the time will come when this won't happen. So, I'm enjoying the simple moments even if I lose a little sleep in the process.

This Guy

This little guy has still been waking up at night. He seems to get up around 4:00 - 4:30 am. My pattern has been to feed him a bottle and put him back to bed. Well, it is time for my almost 15 month old to start sleeping through the night.

I was given this book from a lady in my old ward when I had just had Jakob. I have loved it and used it with my older two kids. Jakob started sleeping 12 hour nights at 2 1/2 months and Isabelle started sleeping 10-12 hour nights at 4 1/2 months.

Basically it teaches you the importance of sleep and why your child should sleep. It helps you recognize the signs your child shows when they are ready to sleep. He emphasizes getting your baby on a sleep schedule. It states the importance of consistency in bedtime routines and where your child sleeps. And, it teaches that letting your child cry it out is a okay. The crying part is hard. Realizing how important sleep is to your child and that socially they will cry because they want to be with people over sleep helps make it easier. Babies don't understand how important sleep is and we as parents need to make sure they get it.

So, I know that this system works but frankly I was too exhausted with Karter to do everything that was required to make it work. I did enough and over time (it took a bit longer with him) he got on a great schedule except for his nighttime wake-up. Well, this last week we decided to do the work to change this. I have had 3-4 nights where he has been up crying (screaming) for 1-2 hours. It is so hard to not go into him, especially when I'm tired, but I have stayed strong. He has also had 1-2 nights this week where he has slept through the night. So wonderful to go to bed and know that I can sleep until the morning. He seems well rested the mornings that he has slept all night. He wakes up happy and content. I'll let you know how long it takes to break him of this nighttime waking. I know the older they are the harder it is for them to lose a habit. So, I leave you with thoughts of many more restful nights to come.

Isn't This How You Cook At Your House??

We have been having the kids help out around the house. They have one job a day!! It has worked well for their age and is easy for me to keep up on. Isabelle has always been my little helper. She loves to help me in the kitchen. One thing she is great at is buttering the bread.


She is not suppose to be on the counter, but I didn't even notice! She asked for a knife and started to butter. Finally I realized where she was sitting, feet on the plates and cookie sheet. Well, isn't this how you cook at your house??
It was such a great picture, I had to take it. I clicked away, and promptly removed her from the counter.

Does anyone want to come over for food at our house?? It may be a bit disgusting, but the chef sure is cute!!

What I've Learned.

I remember with Jakob being so uptight about teaching him his letters, numbers, etc. I had letters up in his room when he was tiny and was frustrated that he wasn't "getting it" at a younger age. I tried to sit down and read him a series of alphabet books when he was 1 and was upset when he lost interest. I did alphabet flashcards with him when he was 2 and was wondering why he wasn't learning it. I thought the way he should learn would be to sit and drill him on the letters. Finally at 4 years old he was able to sit and learn his letters, my way.

With Isabelle??? I haven't worried about teaching her the alphabet, I just let her soak it in. We have watched alphabet shows while she has danced around room. We do flashcards and I do one or two with Isabelle and let her play with the extra cards. We read alphabet books and I don't care if she loses interest. AND, she loves the alphabet. She loves to sing her ABCs. She loves to look at alphabet books and "do" the flashcards. She loves the alphabet shows and will run around saying "A B C!" She really enjoys her letters and I think she will learn them much quicker then Jakob did BECAUSE I didn't push her to learn them. She has just been surrounded by letters and doesn't feel that pressure.


WHAT I HAVE LEARNED:

1. Most babies and toddlers won't sit through a lesson. They won't pay attention as you drill them on facts and figures. They do soak in EVERYTHING!! You just have to present it to them, submerge them in it, and they will learn it. You will have those moments that you will teach and can drill (especially as they get older), but the best way for these little ones to learn is to be surrounded by numbers and letters.
   
2. That it never helps to push to hard. Being positive and gently pushing works, but when they get too frustrated they just don't do well. They won't learn as well, they won't like what they are learning, and they aren't going to want to do it in the future.
   
3. That my poor Jakob is the one that I test my theories on and that I'm sure I will continue to mess up with him. Sorry baby. Maybe I will learn to be more relaxed as we continue to learn together.