Our Newest Addition

Our friends found this kitty outside in their driveway!! They put up a bunch of signs and no one claimed him. They thought to ask us if we were interested in having a kitty. We jumped at the opportunity!! About 10 minutes after they called Jakob and I drove over to pick up our newest addition. The kids say that he looked liked Mittens off of the movie Bolt. Isabelle didn't meet him until the next morning. She was excited at first but then cried when I told her he was a boy. "I want a girl kitty," was tearfully exclaimed. She calmed down and started calling him "the boy kitty Mittens." We decided to name him Jack.

He seems to be a good little kitty. He has been going in his litter box from the very first day. We found a couple of accidents the first couple of days, but nothing since. He is great with the kids. He puts up with Isabelle holding, carrying, and loving him all day long. I didn't realize how much my kids would love having a kitty until we got Jack. So glad he is a part of our world now.

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.

Pumpkin Patch Visits

Good times with family, pumpkins, and gorgeous fall weather. Love, love, love this time of year.

Preschool Field Trip

A visit to the Apple Farm!! Apples, a fun tractor ride, hay maze, apple bouncy house, 5 excited preschool kids, an 80 year old tractor, Farmer John, 4 happy pigs, apples, apples, and more apples makes for a fun day. Could not have asked for a more beautiful fall day!! Makes me realize once again why I LOVE living in this part of the world.

Country Life

We don't live in the country, but it sometimes feels like we do. I keep telling the kids the rain is coming and they need to take advantage of these last few sunny days of autumn. Steve put up a rope swing and the kids have been enjoying that. There is nothing that compares to playing outside and I love that we finally have the chance to enjoy the outdoors on a daily basis.

Just Waking Up

I love when babies first wake up, especially my babies. They are still a little sleepy and wanting some cuddle time. This sweet little man is getting so grown up! He is climbing on everything, walking, running, screaming, wrestling, and loving life! He still has his blue eyes and is still getting up quite regularly in the middle of the night.
He loves to eat peanut butter on whole wheat bread! He is allergic to milk and so we have been rotating formula and rice milk. He still prefers the formula to the rice milk. He loves to play with cars and balls. He says mommy and daddy! He could say hi all day and is going through this phase of saying, "Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi......" you get the point! He says me and bye.

He prefers Daddy to Mommy. The minute Dad gets home he follows him around begging to be held, crying if Daddy puts him down, and pushing Mommy away if she tries to take him from Dad. He loves his big brother Jakob and is learning to play well with Isabelle. She has toughened him up and he enjoys her company MOST of the time. We just love him so much and are trying to enjoy these baby days since we know they will be gone all too quickly. Love you Karter man!

Sneak Peek

Here is a glimpse into Isabelle's room. I did a wall grouping in her room, just a bunch of stuff I had up in her old room that I decided to put together on one wall. The green walls look much greener in person!! Hopefully I'll get good pictures of the color when I take more photos of her room. We are still waiting on closet doors!! I will take some finished photos when it is completed.