Both kiddos are taking a nap. As if that isn't miraculous enough, Rebecca is sleeping in her BED and not the (evil/wonderful) SWING! This is huge news.
In typical "parenting a 2nd child form" (i.e. path of least resistance), we have not followed "the rules" for helping Rebecca learn how to sleep well (i.e. long stretches, by herself, in her bed). She's pretty much been napping exclusively in her swing for a couple of months. And though she slept in her bed in her room at night, she woke up a LOT to nurse, and the 3 weeks or so before Christmas I just started bringing her to bed with me. I know, I know...
So New Year's weekend was the weekend of tough love for our little girl (i.e. the Ferber method). It worked wonders for Owen at 3.5 months but I was a little more reluctant to do it with Rebecca. I think its partly because she hasn't been nearly as difficult as Owen and partly because she's my little girl. Plus, what's hard about cuddling up to your baby all night long? Okay, but we knew it was time...
For those unfamiliar w/ Ferber, please note that it has been mischaracterized as the "cry it out" method when that's not really how it works. Yes, the baby cries, but you go in and comfort them every few minutes, in increasing intervals. The goal is to take away their sleep associations (i.e. need to nurse, or swing, or be held in order to fall asleep). They learn to fall asleep on their own and ultimately, everyone is happier.
Night #1: Put her down at 11:21, cried until 1:27, slept for 30 minutes but woke up again. Started over--she cried for less than 30 minutes and then slept from about 3 until 8am. (Rebecca cried a lot less "violently" than Owen did, but the sweet thing also through up 3 times too...every baby is different.)
Night #2: Put her down at 10:50, asleep by 10:59, slept until 9am! The next day was trickier (and that's likely to continue for a while...she wouldn't go to sleep in her bed during the day even though she was soooo tired. After 30 minutes (or sometimes less) we'd pick her up but end up starting over again b/c she'd fall asleep in our arms. The lucky girl got a reprieve because we held her (and she slept) during our Sunday evening Bible Study group.
Night #3 (last night): Put her down around 10:15, cried for less than 5 minutes and slept until 9am! She didn't wake up once, that's incredible! And the surprising part is that she's been asleep for about 45 minutes (in her bed, on her own) today!!! So, she's definitely getting the hang of it...and I can feel some normalcy (or atleast sanity) returning to our lives.
Yea for kids who sleep!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Christmas highlights
"Merry Trismas!!! Merry Trismas!!! Merry Trismas!!!"--Owen, running around in a circle.
We had a wonderful Christmas. It was sooooo nice not to be traveling across the country to be with our family. The furthest we went was WAY down to south Austin. :) We got to spend time with everyone, but somehow it didn't feel rushed which was really great. Even though this is not our first Christmas as a family, it sort of felt like it because we're in a much less transitional stage of life, plus Owen is getting old enough to start to understand things (he knows Christmas is Jesus' birthday--not that he understands what that means).
Here are some photos...
Christmas Eve morning Kyle, Luke and Joel went for a quick hunting expedition, so Bailey came over to play. Here are the kids eating waffles in front of our tree (our only picture of the tree with presents under it...)
We went to church with Bee that night before enjoying our traditional stew and opening the 1 Christmas Eve present allowed (always pajamas). Isn't this a sweet pic of Rebecca "sitting up" at church?
Owen actually did really well during the (short) service. He enjoyed the part where he and I went up to the front of the church for the kids' thing the pastor did (he kept saying: Momma, dad man is talking to us!). There was a (really long) prayer towards the end that I thought we might have to leave in the middle of because Owen wouldn't stop talking. I'm not sure where he got this (and the irony is pretty clear)--we are pretty sure he was mumbling "buy stuff, buy stuff, buy stuff". Great--the other meaning of Christmas. :( He definitely liked the part with the candle. I was a little nervous because he kept wanting to "do cheers" with them.
Here we are back at Bee's. Rebecca got a new hat with a fabulous pink embellishment from uncle Alex and Deidre. (Deer in headlights?)
Rebecca with Jo Jo.
Both Owen and Rebecca got the most adorable pajamas (she looked like a little elf princess) and Owen's had cowboys all over them--he has requested them every night since and would prefer it if I would let him stay in them all day!
Two other really special things from that evening:
1) Bee gave Owen his stocking. She has been working on it since before he was born (it was more complicated than she anticipated, and she had hand surgery that set her back quite a bit). It is adorable and really special. She even stitched a little bee (the bug, not the letter) in the corner as her "signature". I told her she could take a day or two off before starting on Rebecca's! :)
2) Bee serenaded us with a beautiful arrangement of Silent Night on the piano. She has been taking lessons since her quasi-retirement started. It was really beautiful, and of course, very well done. I took a video, but promised her I wouldn't post it.
I actually don't have hardly any photos from Christmas morning because we used our actual video camera...maybe I'll get the footage off and crop out a couple of short videos. Bee & Jo Jo came over first thing in the morning for presents and a breakfast casserole.
Since we have most of the educational/developmental toys for her age because of Owen we got to spoil her with totally unnecessary and girly things that she probably won't even play with for quite some time. A dollhouse, a tea-set, a Madam Alexander doll, 2 pearls added to her add-a-pearl necklace my Aunt Joyce started for me when I was born (so special)! Here is Rebecca with a little dolly she got--it crinkles and has rings for her to grab onto. She loves it.
At about noon, we headed over to Nana's for more gifts and lunch. Here is Owen and Bailey each playing with their hammer sets. This was a year of "classic" toys for Owen. He got a sit-n-spin (remember those?), some really great puzzles/games, wooden cars, and tinker toys. He and Bailey enjoyed opening presents together--they were always distracted by the gift they just opened and not quick to move on to the next unwrap job, which was fine by us!
After all the girts were opened and we ate lunch, the kids (and I!) took naps. Here is Rebecca hanging out with Nana.
Aunt Mel and Rebecca.
One tradition we started this year to try to help our kids understand Christmas is celebrating Jesus' birthday with a cake (like we do with all other birthdays). So, Mel came over on Christmas Eve and we made this delicious cake. We wanted it to look "Christmas-y" to reinforce the connection between Christmas and Jesus, but I think it ended up looking more like the Mexican flag. Feliz Cumpleanos a JesuCristo! Anyways...we'll see how the tradition unfolds next year.
Owen and Bailey playing with Kyle.
One of the highlights of the day was hearing Owen and Bailey have what we think was their first real conversation with each other in full/quasi-full sentences. None of us can remember what they were talking about, and it didn't last long before changing into a little yelling match about candles or something, but they were really talking about something--so fun!
Owen wearing Kyle's new lightweight backpack. Bailey got inside it at one point and tried to walk around the room with it over her head--hysterical.
Lucky for us, my dad isn't particular about holidays or schedules so we were able to celebrate with he and Pam on Saturday. We went over to their place for breakfast and stayed all day just hanging out. (I'm realizing that I have very few pictures of Owen from these celebrations--I think because I'm paranoid about not having enough pictures of Rebecca, but also because he's so active, it's hard to catch a good photo of him right now!)
Here is Grandad Stan with Rebecca.
Kyle with Rebecca.
Owen got a remote-control car and a kazoo (or, tazoo, as Owen says) from them...which conveniently got left at their place. :) Owen figured both out very quickly, and remains a better kazoo-player than the rest of us. Call it natural talent.
So, that's the run-down. I can't express enough how great it is to be in Austin and able to celebrate with family with such ease. What a blessing for our kids to be able to spend these special days (but also all the days in between) with their grandparents, uncles/aunts, cousins. We're still thinking about and trying to develop a lot of our family traditions (like the birthday cake) but this year was a really good start. Owen really enjoyed his "little people" manger scene and his advent calendar and (thanks to Melissa) I have some great ideas for how to build up on that for next year. We're also thinking about ways we can incorporate more service into our celebration--difficult with little kids--so if you have any ideas, let me know.
Okay, that's it for now. Happy New Year all!
We had a wonderful Christmas. It was sooooo nice not to be traveling across the country to be with our family. The furthest we went was WAY down to south Austin. :) We got to spend time with everyone, but somehow it didn't feel rushed which was really great. Even though this is not our first Christmas as a family, it sort of felt like it because we're in a much less transitional stage of life, plus Owen is getting old enough to start to understand things (he knows Christmas is Jesus' birthday--not that he understands what that means).
Here are some photos...
Christmas Eve morning Kyle, Luke and Joel went for a quick hunting expedition, so Bailey came over to play. Here are the kids eating waffles in front of our tree (our only picture of the tree with presents under it...)
We went to church with Bee that night before enjoying our traditional stew and opening the 1 Christmas Eve present allowed (always pajamas). Isn't this a sweet pic of Rebecca "sitting up" at church?
Owen actually did really well during the (short) service. He enjoyed the part where he and I went up to the front of the church for the kids' thing the pastor did (he kept saying: Momma, dad man is talking to us!). There was a (really long) prayer towards the end that I thought we might have to leave in the middle of because Owen wouldn't stop talking. I'm not sure where he got this (and the irony is pretty clear)--we are pretty sure he was mumbling "buy stuff, buy stuff, buy stuff". Great--the other meaning of Christmas. :( He definitely liked the part with the candle. I was a little nervous because he kept wanting to "do cheers" with them.
Here we are back at Bee's. Rebecca got a new hat with a fabulous pink embellishment from uncle Alex and Deidre. (Deer in headlights?)
Rebecca with Jo Jo.
Both Owen and Rebecca got the most adorable pajamas (she looked like a little elf princess) and Owen's had cowboys all over them--he has requested them every night since and would prefer it if I would let him stay in them all day!Two other really special things from that evening:
1) Bee gave Owen his stocking. She has been working on it since before he was born (it was more complicated than she anticipated, and she had hand surgery that set her back quite a bit). It is adorable and really special. She even stitched a little bee (the bug, not the letter) in the corner as her "signature". I told her she could take a day or two off before starting on Rebecca's! :)
2) Bee serenaded us with a beautiful arrangement of Silent Night on the piano. She has been taking lessons since her quasi-retirement started. It was really beautiful, and of course, very well done. I took a video, but promised her I wouldn't post it.
I actually don't have hardly any photos from Christmas morning because we used our actual video camera...maybe I'll get the footage off and crop out a couple of short videos. Bee & Jo Jo came over first thing in the morning for presents and a breakfast casserole.
Since we have most of the educational/developmental toys for her age because of Owen we got to spoil her with totally unnecessary and girly things that she probably won't even play with for quite some time. A dollhouse, a tea-set, a Madam Alexander doll, 2 pearls added to her add-a-pearl necklace my Aunt Joyce started for me when I was born (so special)! Here is Rebecca with a little dolly she got--it crinkles and has rings for her to grab onto. She loves it.
At about noon, we headed over to Nana's for more gifts and lunch. Here is Owen and Bailey each playing with their hammer sets. This was a year of "classic" toys for Owen. He got a sit-n-spin (remember those?), some really great puzzles/games, wooden cars, and tinker toys. He and Bailey enjoyed opening presents together--they were always distracted by the gift they just opened and not quick to move on to the next unwrap job, which was fine by us!
After all the girts were opened and we ate lunch, the kids (and I!) took naps. Here is Rebecca hanging out with Nana.
Aunt Mel and Rebecca.
One tradition we started this year to try to help our kids understand Christmas is celebrating Jesus' birthday with a cake (like we do with all other birthdays). So, Mel came over on Christmas Eve and we made this delicious cake. We wanted it to look "Christmas-y" to reinforce the connection between Christmas and Jesus, but I think it ended up looking more like the Mexican flag. Feliz Cumpleanos a JesuCristo! Anyways...we'll see how the tradition unfolds next year.
Owen and Bailey playing with Kyle.
One of the highlights of the day was hearing Owen and Bailey have what we think was their first real conversation with each other in full/quasi-full sentences. None of us can remember what they were talking about, and it didn't last long before changing into a little yelling match about candles or something, but they were really talking about something--so fun!Owen wearing Kyle's new lightweight backpack. Bailey got inside it at one point and tried to walk around the room with it over her head--hysterical.
Lucky for us, my dad isn't particular about holidays or schedules so we were able to celebrate with he and Pam on Saturday. We went over to their place for breakfast and stayed all day just hanging out. (I'm realizing that I have very few pictures of Owen from these celebrations--I think because I'm paranoid about not having enough pictures of Rebecca, but also because he's so active, it's hard to catch a good photo of him right now!)Here is Grandad Stan with Rebecca.
Kyle with Rebecca.
Owen got a remote-control car and a kazoo (or, tazoo, as Owen says) from them...which conveniently got left at their place. :) Owen figured both out very quickly, and remains a better kazoo-player than the rest of us. Call it natural talent.So, that's the run-down. I can't express enough how great it is to be in Austin and able to celebrate with family with such ease. What a blessing for our kids to be able to spend these special days (but also all the days in between) with their grandparents, uncles/aunts, cousins. We're still thinking about and trying to develop a lot of our family traditions (like the birthday cake) but this year was a really good start. Owen really enjoyed his "little people" manger scene and his advent calendar and (thanks to Melissa) I have some great ideas for how to build up on that for next year. We're also thinking about ways we can incorporate more service into our celebration--difficult with little kids--so if you have any ideas, let me know.
Okay, that's it for now. Happy New Year all!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Stats/Updates
Rebecca had her 4 month checkup today. She is growing strong and meeting all the milestones. She weights 15 pounds, 9 ounces and is 25 inches long/tall. That puts her in the 75th-90th percentile in both. Here are some things she loves or is doing right now:
-sucking on her fists, playing with her hands
-she discovered her tongue the other day which means she likes to stick it out and sort of chew on it
-she loves sitting in her bumbo chair, especially now that it has a suction-cup toy on it for her to play with and try to eat
-she loves to sleep in her swing and/or in momma's arms (yes, we're going to have to work on this in the coming weeks...it has been the path of least resistance, but it's time for tough-love)
-we are able to elicit belly-laughs if we tickle her in just the right way--such a sweet sound!
-tummy time (she actually doesn't seem to hate it, like Owen did)
-Owen...it won't be long before he's really able to make her laugh
-"Moosey" and some of Owen's other favorite toys from when he was this age (boy am I glad he doesn't remember that those were his toys so we don't have to hear his "mine, mine, mine"!
And a few Owen items of interest:
-the other day Owen got out his doctor kit (stethoscope, etc.) to "fix" his doggy who was "sick" by listening to his heart (conveniently located in his head and then his tail)...afterwards, the stuffed animal felt "all better"
-Owen says "Iwudu too, momma"...melt my heart
-Owen has been playing a game where he pretends to find things in his crib (when he's in it, say, for naptime). I'll hear him have the following conversation with himself through the door:
"Ummmm, someping greeeeen! Nooooo, just green blankie. (pause) Ummmm, someping blue! Nooooo, just blue blankie." And on and on and on through all the colors of his blankies.
-Owen got a little bit of a shiner (and a nasty cut) over one of his eyes (he tripped over Kyle's foot and into the edge of his bedroom door. My dad taught him to say "you should see the other guy" when asked about his eye...
DRUM ROLL PLEASE...
Owen used the "potty chair" for the first time!!! We're not pushing it yet, but he's showing interest in potty training and he went pee pee in the potty for the first time about a week ago (on Kyle's watch--Dad is very proud). He asked (unprompted) to go. It hasn't happened since, but we were all pretty excited. He got a sticker of a digger.
Well, that's it until after Christmas...Merry Christmas!
-sucking on her fists, playing with her hands
-she discovered her tongue the other day which means she likes to stick it out and sort of chew on it
-she loves sitting in her bumbo chair, especially now that it has a suction-cup toy on it for her to play with and try to eat
-she loves to sleep in her swing and/or in momma's arms (yes, we're going to have to work on this in the coming weeks...it has been the path of least resistance, but it's time for tough-love)
-we are able to elicit belly-laughs if we tickle her in just the right way--such a sweet sound!
-tummy time (she actually doesn't seem to hate it, like Owen did)
-Owen...it won't be long before he's really able to make her laugh
-"Moosey" and some of Owen's other favorite toys from when he was this age (boy am I glad he doesn't remember that those were his toys so we don't have to hear his "mine, mine, mine"!
And a few Owen items of interest:
-the other day Owen got out his doctor kit (stethoscope, etc.) to "fix" his doggy who was "sick" by listening to his heart (conveniently located in his head and then his tail)...afterwards, the stuffed animal felt "all better"
-Owen says "Iwudu too, momma"...melt my heart
-Owen has been playing a game where he pretends to find things in his crib (when he's in it, say, for naptime). I'll hear him have the following conversation with himself through the door:
"Ummmm, someping greeeeen! Nooooo, just green blankie. (pause) Ummmm, someping blue! Nooooo, just blue blankie." And on and on and on through all the colors of his blankies.
-Owen got a little bit of a shiner (and a nasty cut) over one of his eyes (he tripped over Kyle's foot and into the edge of his bedroom door. My dad taught him to say "you should see the other guy" when asked about his eye...
DRUM ROLL PLEASE...
Owen used the "potty chair" for the first time!!! We're not pushing it yet, but he's showing interest in potty training and he went pee pee in the potty for the first time about a week ago (on Kyle's watch--Dad is very proud). He asked (unprompted) to go. It hasn't happened since, but we were all pretty excited. He got a sticker of a digger.
Well, that's it until after Christmas...Merry Christmas!
The Society
We are proud members of the "Hill Country Camping Society," or "THE SOCIETY" for insiders. Its founder and acting president is our friend Trey (of Laity Lodge fame). The Society puts on a monthly camping trip somewhere in Central Texas and members can take part in as many trips as the like. And let me just say that this is my kind of camping--mansion tents, air mattresses, gormet food prepared by men using dutch ovens, kids painting rocks and generally running wild. :)
This was our first outing with the Society--we went to Inks Lake State Park with two other families--the Tulls (as in Trey) and the Other Mezgers (or Mukes, as many of us fondly call them--think: Mel/Luke). Luke was the "Camp Master" for this month's trip and he did a great job coordinating everything.
Two brothers and the Coleman stove they grew up using.
The Society's youngest member, Rebecca Salem. She and I ended up having a rough night of sleep (which had little to nothing to do with camping), but prior to that, she had been unanimously voted the "Camper of the Day" in true Buckner fashion. Seriously--for less than 4 months old, she was such a trooper! We think she actually enjoyed it!
Owen and Bailey helped Kyle put our massive family tent up. This is a far cry from the cut-your-toothbrush-in-half-to-save-an-ounce light-weight bare-bones camping/backpacking that Kyle loves. Did I mention there are bathrooms? :)
I think I posted that Kyle and Owen did a trial run sleeping in a tent in Luke's backyard a few weeks ago, however, Owen still refused to sleep in his sleeping bag. Everything else went great, but we're going to have to keep working on that. The funny thing is, he probably got the best night's sleep of the four of us!
Sweet Rebecca and I all bundled up in front of the fire. The kids did such a great job not messing w/ the fire and making s'mores.
Our crazy schedule means it may be a few months before we get to make it out with The Society again, but it was a great first outing!
This was our first outing with the Society--we went to Inks Lake State Park with two other families--the Tulls (as in Trey) and the Other Mezgers (or Mukes, as many of us fondly call them--think: Mel/Luke). Luke was the "Camp Master" for this month's trip and he did a great job coordinating everything.
Two brothers and the Coleman stove they grew up using.
The Society's youngest member, Rebecca Salem. She and I ended up having a rough night of sleep (which had little to nothing to do with camping), but prior to that, she had been unanimously voted the "Camper of the Day" in true Buckner fashion. Seriously--for less than 4 months old, she was such a trooper! We think she actually enjoyed it!
Owen and Bailey helped Kyle put our massive family tent up. This is a far cry from the cut-your-toothbrush-in-half-to-save-an-ounce light-weight bare-bones camping/backpacking that Kyle loves. Did I mention there are bathrooms? :)
I think I posted that Kyle and Owen did a trial run sleeping in a tent in Luke's backyard a few weeks ago, however, Owen still refused to sleep in his sleeping bag. Everything else went great, but we're going to have to keep working on that. The funny thing is, he probably got the best night's sleep of the four of us!
Sweet Rebecca and I all bundled up in front of the fire. The kids did such a great job not messing w/ the fire and making s'mores.
Our crazy schedule means it may be a few months before we get to make it out with The Society again, but it was a great first outing!
Christmas Cookies
I have extremely fond memories of making and decorating Christmas (sugar) cookies with my mom growing up. We made everything from scratch. We wore matching aprons. We always ended up with flour everywhere. We couldn't help but taste everything along the way, and eat a few cookies before they all got decorated--hopefully leaving a few to fill our cookie jar and give to neighbors.
What a special treat to get to continue that tradition with Bee and Owen (and someday Rebecca). Owen doesn't look like it in this picture, but he's about to have a LOT of fun!
Rebecca was so sweet to just sit back and watch us cook...next year she'll be able to join in the fun (and mess)!
Of course, we tasted as we went. Owen kept saying he needed "ooooooone more" (holding his pointer finger up--my mom said he looked/sounded just like me when I tell him he needs to eat one more bite of something). Yummy!
The dab of flour on his nose is also a little tradition--not sure how/when it started but you can't make good Christmas cookies without a dab of flour on your nose. (Just remember to wipe it off if you leave the house after making the cookies). In this photo, we're wearing the aprons my mom and I wore when I was Owen's age. Awww, how sweet!
Decorating the cookies was a hit. Owen's turned out surprisingly good for a 2-year old. And regardless of the uneven icing and sporadic mounds of sprinkles, they tasted really good!
What a special treat to get to continue that tradition with Bee and Owen (and someday Rebecca). Owen doesn't look like it in this picture, but he's about to have a LOT of fun!
Rebecca was so sweet to just sit back and watch us cook...next year she'll be able to join in the fun (and mess)!
Of course, we tasted as we went. Owen kept saying he needed "ooooooone more" (holding his pointer finger up--my mom said he looked/sounded just like me when I tell him he needs to eat one more bite of something). Yummy!
The dab of flour on his nose is also a little tradition--not sure how/when it started but you can't make good Christmas cookies without a dab of flour on your nose. (Just remember to wipe it off if you leave the house after making the cookies). In this photo, we're wearing the aprons my mom and I wore when I was Owen's age. Awww, how sweet!
Decorating the cookies was a hit. Owen's turned out surprisingly good for a 2-year old. And regardless of the uneven icing and sporadic mounds of sprinkles, they tasted really good!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Tis the Season
We have so much to be thankful for...
Here are some photos from Thanksgiving--we spent the day at Bee & JoJo's house and had a wonderful meal and enjoyed a beautiful day outside.
Rebecca LOVED being held all day! Here she is with my sweet cousin Megan.
Rebecca with my sweet Aunt Debbie (Megan and Melanie's mom, Bee's little sister).
Rebecca with my sweet (and youngest) cousin Melanie.
Owen "hiding" in a tree...
Kyle's mom (Nana) was part of the festivities too!
Rebecca with Bee--laughing it up!
We actually got a GREAT family photo of the 4 of us (meaning we're all looking at the camera, which is a feat!) but you'll have to wait for a Christmas letter to see it...
The Friday after Thanksgiving we went to get our tree. Didn't get any photos of Owen because he was too busy running through "the forest".
Hopefully we'll get our tree decorated before Christmas Day, but no promises...
Here are some photos from Thanksgiving--we spent the day at Bee & JoJo's house and had a wonderful meal and enjoyed a beautiful day outside.
Rebecca LOVED being held all day! Here she is with my sweet cousin Megan.
Rebecca with my sweet Aunt Debbie (Megan and Melanie's mom, Bee's little sister).
Rebecca with my sweet (and youngest) cousin Melanie.
Owen "hiding" in a tree...
Kyle's mom (Nana) was part of the festivities too!
Rebecca with Bee--laughing it up!
We actually got a GREAT family photo of the 4 of us (meaning we're all looking at the camera, which is a feat!) but you'll have to wait for a Christmas letter to see it...The Friday after Thanksgiving we went to get our tree. Didn't get any photos of Owen because he was too busy running through "the forest".
Hopefully we'll get our tree decorated before Christmas Day, but no promises...
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