A series of unfortunate events...

which was going to be titled - My favorite room in the house - but alas, one long night later, title has changed. :(

Here is what was going to be included in the original post:

The Little Man's room has always been my favorite in the house, from the day we (meaning Daddy) orignially painted it to this bright, fun-loving green. Now that it has been transformed into a 'big boy' room, it might be possible that I like it even more. I am not sure, since the bumper pads and mobile from the crib were cute... Anyway, the Little Man appeared to be warming up to the new arrangement (as of last evening). He finally went to sleep on his own and stayed asleep for the duration of the slumber three times in a row.

Now, for the new post --

Although the Little Man went to sleep on his own last night beautifully, around midnight he awoke with a start! The only explanation I have is that he had a bad dream. Which makes me wonder how a child this young could have a bad dream, or what this bad dream could be about -- a lost pacifier, I can't find mommy...? Regardless, he awoke. After a bit of a cuddle and he had calmed down, we talked about tractors, lawnmowers and edgers, elmo and playing with his friends... he went back to bed and appeared to be heading back to slumberland. About 15 minutes later, a major emergency must have occured down the road -- about 5 mintues of very loud sirens and horns sounded. This was followed by our own little siren, unhappy about being startled out of his state of half-awakeness. Once that was resolved, he went back to bed, a little more awake than before, but appeared to be happy to return to sleep... Then, a neighbor must have returned from a late night job... slamming doors and bright lights in the window... aughhhh.... he was wide awake. It took us about 3 hours to get him back to sleep. He did not think he should have to go back to bed, apparently.

Our streak was broken! :( I hope that we are able to return to our happy little sleeper ASAP! Mommy is TIRED! :)

A quiet child spells trouble!

Daddy just went in to check on the Little Man... guess he wasn't asleep.

Changes underway

After a wonderful visit with our friends, we had some decisions to make. We decided that it was in our best interest to stay in VA until after the baby is old enough to make the trip to CA... and our house sells... That means, we keep the house on the market, hope that someone buys it now, then move in Jan or Feb. We'll see how that goes!

Second decision - since we are staying here for a little while, we needed to reorganize to fit another being in this house. So, the Little Man upgraded from crib mattress on the floor to big boy (twin) bed. After his room is reorganized, I'll post a picture. Then, we moved the office out of the office and into the living room... making room for a nursery. So, the craft/office/guest room no longer exists... it is now a nursery or sorts. We'll wait for a crib until after we have visitors (like grandma for 2 weeks in late Nov/early Dec).

Now, our big decisions include which computer armoire we can afford that looks halfway decent in our living room... although, most anything will be an improvement from a computer on a table with junk piled on it! Oh boy....

That is it for changes, sorta... The Little Man is undergoing some major sleep changes... just when we had him on a decent schedule!!!!!... Now that he has his big boy bed, we have yet to put him down and find him asleep in under 2 hours. He has kept himself up by climbing in and out, in and out, in and out. The funny thing is, he was able to do that before (as his mattress was on the floor) but this must be WAY cooler... he didn't go to bed until almost 10pm last night. We aren't sure he is even asleep now for his nap -- 1.5 hours later. Aughhhhhh....

Once he gets into a good routine, that is when baby arrives... bad timing all around.

Fun with Visitors -- and sleep

Having guests visit is fun... we have been so busy. We have been to Georgetown and Bluemont... crafting and resting. So much fun! The Little Man sure has a hard time figuring out how to play with a 11 month old. He has tried tackling her, sitting on her lap, and stealing her toys. None have worked. We'll try more techniques later, i am sure. We have been using our double stroller and it has been SO AWESOME! What a good purchase. We consolidated from 2 strollers (lightweight/everyday and jogging) to one (phil and teds). Both kids love it, and our friend Biscuit has found it a comfy place for a nap on several occasions...

The little man, however, no such luck. He has not slept in it and thus naptime is a bit scattered. We have been lucky in that he has been using our "Light On" alarm clock soooo wonderfully. We have pushed it back to 7:20am and are amazed at how unstressful this transition was. He has taken to it without a problem! Knock on wood, i hope this continues!

7am and all is well

So, we have been setting the alarm/light back a few minutes each night, and we are now up to 7am... and the Little Man is still asleep. That means, quiet and we don't want to check on him for fear of waking him. :) We are so proud of his accomplishements! I highly recommend this method for early risers old enough to understand how lights work. I have also heard of other methods for older kids, but hopefully we have eliminated the need for that???

We are back to full health, finally, and our normal routine. Our friends are here visiting from Sacramento, CA - Mommy's dear friend and her almost 1 year old! I can't believe how time flies! It has been a while since we've seen them, so it is quiet exciting. We have a myriad of activities in mind, but who knows what we'll actually accomplish on this visit.

As for the house, the market is sill horrible and we are down to the wire -- after this weekend, we can not logistically move before #2's arrival... so, moving plans on hold and baby plans initiated. Since we have most everything from the Little Man, basically we just need diapers, right? I sure hope so!

A wonderful-ish weekend

Friday afternoon, we headed west to Shenandoah National Park and the Big Meadows Campground for some R&R with our friends. The Daddies came after work. Timing the car ride at naptime was crucial, however both Mommies could have used a nap as well... alas, we made it there in good time and without any weather incidents (Thankfully). Mommies and kids set up the campsite on their own with both kids behaving EXTREMELY well!!! Couldn't have done it without them. However, I believe that this good behavior was used up Friday and left none for Saturday. Both were still good, however, sleeping became an issue. The little man's did not sleep well (snot and cold weather?) and his dear playmate did not sleep well Friday night either. Her mommy spent most of the night in the car to prevent waking her once she got back to sleep. Naps Saturday were late and much needed. Saturday bedtime went well, but around 10:00pm, our playmates made the executive decision to pack up and leave and to drive home 2.5 hours in the middle of the night. Of course, Daddy helped and it went pretty smoothly, but we all felt bad that they couldn't stay until Sunday... we missed them!

The Little Man is an expert camper, and although he didn't sleep well Friday night (due to mommy forgetting to provide his allergy medicine at the regularly appointed times) he recovered well and made us all proud. We had a WONDERFUL time and can't wait to do it again... although it probably won't be until baby #2 arrives and is sleeping through the night.

On our way home, we made a quick detour to Luray Caverns -- It was amazing! Glad we were able to check some sights of our "Things we want to do" list!

Happy Days are here again

Well, after a slow (and still continuing) recovery from hand foot and mouth disease, the Little Man is much much more pleasant and much much happier. He is eating a little bit and has decided that he does not need to wake up at night!!!!! At least that was true last night. Tonight might be a different story. The Little Man went to bed before 8pm and slept until 7am, with no stirring!!! YEAH! A restful night sleep for us all.

Now, we are going camping tonight and that will change things, I am sure, but I am hoping he is tired enough to zonk out each night without trouble. I, on the other hand, will still be waking up at night to use the restroom... and I sincerely hope that I am able to do so without waking Daddy or the Little Man. Or, I could just not drink anything all weekend. :)

Sweet Little Man

It really breaks my heart when the Little Man wakes up in the middle of the night, obviously distressed... it is much different than his middle of the night "i am awake and you should be too" wakeups...

Last night, we had just 2 wakeups (of the first kind). The first was an easy fix, Daddy went in and calmed and he went back to sleep in an instant. The second was a little more distressing... it woke up both mommy and daddy. Daddy went in, as usual, and calmed, but that was a momentary fix - the crying persisted and woke mommy. So, mommy got some tylenol and went to help calm. When I lifted him up, he was SOAKED. he has never been so wet in teh whole 22 mos of his life... well, aside from swimming or pouring his beverage on himself. So, a 5:30 wardrobe change and Mommy and Daddy crossed our fingers that it would not be another miserable morning. At 6 he came into the room -- we sent him back, explaining the whole 'light on = wake up' theory and hoped for the best. At 7:30, we woke up to a still sleeping little boy!!!! YEAH! For the first time in MONTHS, he has slept until 8... aside for the wakeups. We are thrilled.

Mystery solved

So, we found out yesterday that the Little Man's mysterious illness is hand foot and mouth disease -- he officially has cooties! :( Unfortunately, he is not happy about it. After a crabby day and stinky naps, he (and mom and dad) were more than ready for bedtime. He woke several times early on, but after about 1am, he slept until 6:30. The light had not turned on, so after a couple of requisite complaints, he stayed in bed for another 15 minutes until the light came on. Good Job, Little Man!

Just when you think....

you have it licked, mysterious illnesses arise. Last night was not our greatest. Yesterday, the Little Man had a fever and a rash all day, and hardly ate anything (which is really not like him). He took his nap in the morning, and never took a nap in the afternoon. He went to bed too late for not taking a pm nap (7:15pm) and woke up SEVERAL times last night. :( This morning, he thought it was okay to get up at 5:30am as long as he slept on the floor next to our bed. I brought him back to bed several times and at 6:00 it was Daddy's turn to put him back to bed. Well, Daddy is not quite as consistent as Mommy, so at 6:20 (we had turned the timer from 6:30 to 6:45am for this morning), he let the Little Man get up and watch the Wiggles... BEFORE the light came on. Then, after the wiggles, the Little Man wanted to go back to bed... and he let him -- the light was on by then, by the way! Oh dear... all my plans...

Well, we'll hope for a tolerable day of doing nothing this Labor Day, try for 2 naps to catch up on sleep, and try again tonight.

WOO HOO... YEAH!

So, It worked! I am pretty confident that this whole waking up when the light comes on thing is working. The only problem is that I think 6:30 might be too early. So, tomorrow we will try for 6:45. Daddy put the Little Man down at 7:45 last night and we didn't hear anything from him until 6:30am, on the dot. He slept through the night and stayed in bed until the light came on. YEAH! Success... It is amazing how quickly these munchkins can pick up on something, especially if it is consistent. I guess they take comfort in knowing that the routine won't change.

That is... until next weekend, when we attempt to go camping again. Cross your fingers for good weather.

Yeah rain!

Well, Ernesto brought a bunch of rain, but apparently we missed the major 'stuff''... a few strong gusts and an adequate amount of rain to water the lawn without drowning it. It was just what we could have hoped for. My inlaws apparently had more 'stuff' and there were power outages, trees down and much more rain! We will talk to them today to make sure that they are doing okay and that they didn't lose any trees at their house.

Light timer update - The Little Man went to bed without a hitch, and woke up at 6:30 -- came into our room with all of his personal belongings, ready to start the day. I would be jumping up and down right now, were it not for the fact that I am extremely tired from waking up at midnight, 1am, and 2am. I am not sure why, but I am guessing he still needs some reassurance and comfort with this transition. At midnight, the Little Man toddled into our room, with his blanket, pillow, and paci... He placed his pillow next to our bed on the floor and told us quite firmly, "Nigh-Night, pillow, mommy's room, floor". And he laid down on his pillow on the floor next to our bed, on his pillow. SO CUTE, but still, not okay. :) So, I put him back in bed. Daddy put him back in bed at 1 (with a little crying), and at 2, the Little Man woke up in tears (for the first time) just laying in his bed. I went in and lay next to him, he put his arm around me and said, "mommy, ohhh, mommy" and was happy as a clam and fell asleep. When I was sure he was out, I climbed out (quite ungracefully, if that is a word) and resumed my slumber next door. I would like to say we are making progress, but we'll have to see tomorrow!

From Pleasure to Work

This weekend is a wash out... no camping due to Hurricane/Tropical Storm Ernesto. :( We were very much looking forward to it and are quite disappointed. Maybe we can try to go next weekend. So, we have a free labor day weekend to do nothing!

Nothing has turned into - Let's get the Little Man sleeping better in the morning. Last night was the first night using the light timing method. We set it for "6:30am". He, luckily slept until 6, which is much better than 5:30. But, we still had to put him in bed twice and have discussions about the light turning on. At 6:18 (because the timer is very hard to set), the light came on and he came trotting in our room with a, "Get Up!". It wasn't so much an exclamation as it was a demand. The light came on, so now we all have to be up. I can see that once he gets the hang of this, there will be no more sleeping in. :) but, i suppose, once he gets good at this, maybe we can push the time back to 10am???