August/September doings

This summer has flown by. We've been busy the last few weeks, but I don't really remember with what exactly.
Tim and JJ reading on the floor. JJ loves to have books read to him.
Emily loves to look at books, and magazines, and can make quite a mess in the process.
Playing with Mimi and Pappa one weekend.
Snuggle time with Emily. Kind of hard to see but she's making a silly face here.
Naked baby! Emily is so chubby and has some loverly baby fat.
JJ loves playing baseball out in the backyard with Tim, and has gotten really good at hitting Tim's pitches.
JJ now has a kiddie bike with training wheels. He enjoys it but definitely needs coaxing and encouragement to ride it, same as with his balance bike.

Emily and JJ playing together.

JJ is such a goofball! This is how he came down the stairs one night before getting ready for bed (I think he had help from Tim on getting his underpants on his head)
And Emily is such a happy kiddo!
Cute profile shot.

I love babies in outfits like this, that accentuate the big head and the big diaper booty.
Busted! Caught her red-handed
"Who? Me?"
JJ the firefighter. He has a firefighter helmet, a firefighter oxygen tank, a firetruck steering wheel, and a firefighter dalmatian (stuffed cow toy).
Such a great firefighter!
Poor JJ and Emily, stuck on top of the freezer while I do some laundry...
Daddy's little girl. Now that Tim is teaching (which he loves and is thrilled to be doing), he is getting to spend a lot more time with Emily and she loves it!
Good morning JJ!
Fussy Emily!
Silly Emily!
Cute Emily!
JJ relaxing in his bed. He likes to play with his wall decorations.
Emily rooting through all of JJ's toys while he is at school. Something tells me this won't be the only time this happens...
Emily in a box- how fun!
tee hee hee!
It's a popsicle kind of morning
My kiddos,
I love them to pieces.
JJ is now 3 and a half years old, and acts like it. The 3 year old stage is tougher for me as a mom in some ways than the 2 year old stage was. It seems like JJ is learning so much, and growing so fast, and pushing his limits in new ways. His latest stunt is to keep getting out of bed once we put him down. Sounds horrible and mean but his consequence for getting out bed is getting all his bed things, including his pillow, taken away for a few minutes. (We've tried other techniques to get him to stay in bed, including rewards and consequences, and this 'taking things away' is the most effective.) He'll cry and be upset but will stay in bed once we return his things, usually after 3 or 4 minutes. His bedtime is supposed to be between 7:30 and 8, but with all the shenanigans, its closer to 8:45 or 9:00 before he falls asleep. He is still taking a nap in the afternoons, which may make it harder for him to fall asleep at his bedtime. Since he is such a great napper, I'm hesitant for him to give it up. I've talked to other parents of 3 year olds, and they are all going through the same "bedtime battle" that we are. JJ's bedtime routine isn't really that bad, but it does mean he's getting to sleep later at night, and still waking up at 6:30 am or so. We've ordered a clock for him that lights up when its ok for him to get out of bed. I'm hoping this new clock will help him learn to stay in bed longer in the mornings, and let me get a few extra minutes of sleep.

JJ has also been having bad dreams lately. This is a new development. He'll wake up crying and either come into our room or wait for one of us to go to him. Poor kid- he's pretty upset after he does have a bad dream. The other day he said there was a blinking alien who kept blowing on his back. The blinking alien part is from his bike helmet but I have no clue where he got the part about it blowing on his back. Kind of freaks me out that something would be blowing on his back. Eek.

JJ is also taking some classes through the city. He is in a preschool class, two days a week, and starts a swim class this week. He is doing great in the classes, and I appreciate the alone time with Emily.

Since Tim is now teaching, he and I are working opposite schedules so that we don't have to pay for childcare on a regular basis. The new schedule is working out well for all of us. Tim works a shorter day and has more time with the kids, which he loves. I work the same amount and still get plenty of time to do fun things with the kids. Both JJ and Emily are napping at home and doing well with that.

Emily turns one on Wednesday, and I'll post about that later this week. She is teething and has been waking up more at night. I was going in to nurse her during the worst of it, but am now letting her "cry it out" to get her to sleep through the night again. I strongly dislike the "cry it out" method, because it is hard on her and hard on me, but it is also the most effective way to get her to fall back asleep on her own. Good thing I have hobbies, like writing this blog post, to keep me otherwise occupied while she quiets back down.

Emily is crawling on all fours now, for the most part. She still army-crawls when she gets really excited. She can also pull herself up to a standing position. She's getting stronger and more mobile every day.

Tim and I have enjoyed lots of date nights lately, thanks to great family members who love to baby-sit. It's been really nice to be able to go out, and get a break from the usual evening routine.