Early Start to the Terrible Two's? I Hope Not.

About 6 months ago, Jill and I made a concerted effort to let the girls "cry it out" when falling asleep.  "Cry it out" has different meanings to different parents.  To us it means let them cry and check on them after about 15 minutes if one or both hasn't fallen asleep.  Usually if one wasn't asleep within the first 15 minutes, she probably needed more milk or had a dirty diaper that needed to be changed.  She would usually then fall asleep after being changed or eating.  Over time, we started folding under the pressure.  Sometimes, Jill or I would stay in the room for a while holding the crier, sometimes falling asleep in the rocking chair.  Sometimes, we would let the baby sleep in our bed.  And, sometimes, we would take the baby downstairs to play and get more tired.  Each of these scenarios could last HOURS.  

This past weekend, Jill and I endured so much crying, we had reached our limits.  I told Jill to buy earplugs (partly joking), and after ensuring that the children were feeling well (no teething pain, gas, hunger, etc.), we let them "cry it out" again on Sunday night.  Poppy fell asleep pretty quickly, and Olive needed a diaper change after about 15 minutes.  Finally, all was quiet.  Peaceful.  Serene.

Then, last night came.

We got the girls ready for bed as usual.  Warm bath, playtime, maybe a video, quiet time in nursery, bottle, and...  an hour long tantrum, care of Poppy.  Actually, she didn't even make it through the bottle before she started screaming.  I think she had a sip.  Jill was trying to hold her, but Poppy knows how to slip out of anyone's grip.  She went limp, then stiff, then limp, then stiff.  Finally, she fell onto the floor.  I whispered to Jill (so as not to disrupt Olive who was drinking so nicely), "Let's switch babies.  Maybe that will help."  Wrong move.  Poppy knows I have the patience of a saint, so she screamed even louder to try to rattle me.  I took her and her bottle into the guest room.  I tried everything to calm her down: rocking, walking, swaying, singing.  She wouldn't give up her bottle, but also wouldn't drink it.  So, after an hour, Jill tried to calm her down.  Jill rocked her and moseyed into our bedroom where the TV happened to be on.  Then, silence.  Jill put Poppy on our bed, and Poppy just watched whatever was on and fell asleep in 20 minutes.

Seriously.

Was she crying for TV, or was it just a distraction at the right time and place?  I felt so defeated.  We really try to limit TV exposure with our kids, so I am baffled that she wanted it so badly.  

So, if Poppy screams at lights out tonight, where do you think she's going to end up?  I'm putting her right in her crib.  It might sound cruel, but bedtime is bedtime.  If they don't sleep, I don't sleep.  If I don't sleep, it really affects my parenting.  I can't play and interact with them as well as I otherwise could.  We spent almost a year catering to their needs all night long.  I know that it's part of having children, but there comes a time when it needs to change.  Let's see how tonight goes, and if I have the time and energy tomorrow, you'll get an update!

Playing on the Stairs (Olive, Poppy)

"This is like a roller coaster!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I am thankful for my wonderful family.  Jill and I are sick and won't be celebrating in the traditional way.  We'll be thankful for what we have and not worry about the lack of turkey.  We have our own little animals to keep us occupied!

Kisses and More

The kisses come later.  First, I want to update you on some cool stuff.  The first update is that Olive can say "big truck"!  It's not a surprise since we have gotten anywhere from 1-8 packages every day for weeks.  And, how are packages delivered?  By big trucks.  Of course, the packages are holiday goods.  Jill organized gift giving for families in need... with 17 kids in all!  If each kid gets 3 gifts, that's 51 gifts total.  Our UPS guys must think we are nuts.  They come to the door and say silly things like, "There's only one package for you today," or "I'll get the other 29 boxes from the truck," or "Uh, Merry Christmas, I guess."  

Next is Poppy's apparent love for coloring.  No more coloring on boxes for her!  I bought some actual coloring books, and she took to them right away.  She even has a good crayon grip for a toddler.

As promised, here are the kisses or the "almost kiss" I should say.  Olive is on the left, and Poppy is on the right.

"I love you so much."

"Psych!"

"Not the forehead!"

"That's as close as were gonna get."

Bounce Dancing

Guess the Smudge

"I wasn't eating a crayon."--Poppy

How Embarrassing

The girls had a doctor's appointment Tuesday to make sure they didn't have ear infections or anything.  They'd had low-grade fevers on and off for over a week, and I was starting to get worried.  They're fine.  Now, for the embarrassing story...


Late Monday night (8:30 is late by the way) the phone rang, and I didn't recognize the number.  An embarrassing dialogue ensued.  Keep in mind, my pediatrician is not Dr. B., and Chuck is a very funny friend.


Me:  Hello?


Man:  Hello.  This is Dr. "B".  I'm calling about Olivia, um, Olive and Poppy.


Me:  Oh, ok.


Man:  This your child's pediatrician.  Is this Mr. Argo, um, Agro?


Me:  Yeah.  Who did you say this is?


(Meanwhile, Jill is looking at me like I have two heads.)


Man:   This is Dr. B., your child's pediatrician.


Me:  [Silence and confusion]  No, you're not their pediatrician.  I've never even heard your name before . . . .  Is this Chuck? (It sounded just like him.)


Man:  [Silence and confusion]  No, this is Dr. B. calling.


Me:  You're not their doctor.  My kids see Dr. "D."


Man:  Dr. D is my partner.  You have an appointment at 2:40 tomorrow, right?


Me:  Yeah...? [Blubbering]  Oh my god I've never heard your name before you sound just like a friend of mine that's why I didn't believe you I'm so sorry yes yes Poppy and Olive have an appointment tomorrow with Dr. D.


Jill: [Laughing hysterically]


Man:  She's not available tomorrow, so you'll see me when you come in.


Of course I would have to see him after making an ass of myself.  The conversation ended somehow, and when I see him Tuesday with the kids, what's the first thing out of my mouth?  


Me:  [Blubbering]  I'm so sorry I thought you were playing a trick on me last night on the phone I've never heard your name before you sound just like a friend of mine that's why I didn't believe you I'm so sorry.


Dr. B.:  Oh, it's OK.  I called a bit late and caught you off guard.  So, what seems to be your concern...?


How embarrassing.  But, I'm glad he was so professional about it.  I will be sure to learn the names of everyone in that office.


I usually take some pictures when we go to the doctor's office, but I went solo this time.  Here are some pictures of our new Learning Tower.  They love it!  We bought it to prevent the girls from climbing the stools and getting onto the countertop.  Olive is in the purply pink PJs and Poppy is in the blue PJs.

Finally! (Part II)

You've seen them vacuuming, now see them cleaning the ottoman!  Man, I'm lucky!

Best Seat in the House

To tell you the truth, I'm not a huge fan of Olive and Poppy sitting atop the ottoman.  However, I'll be pretty sad when they can't fit in the trays anymore.  I better enjoy it now.  Stop growing!

Olive

Coloring Gone Wild

Just a Note and a Video

Tonight while getting dinner together for the kids, Poppy climbed the stool at the counter (see video below from 5 days ago of her climbing all the way onto the counter), sat down, and waved at me.  Then she said, "Hi, daddy."  Not, "Hi, dada," or "Hi, da," but "Hi, daddy."  It made my heart melt.  Here she is discovering the new world...





Any bets as to when Olive will climb onto the counter?

Two Cute Pictures (Two of Mom-mom's Favorite)

To celebrate fall, Poppy wore a leaf in her hair.  Look at how much hair she has now!  Some days it's so out of control that she needs two hair clips to keep it at bay.  

 This is a picture of the queen tipping her hat.  I couldn't figure out who it is a picture of, but with some help from Mom-mom, we figured out it is Olive.  Looks like Poppy, huh?

Fun Videos

For Your Enjoyment

Here are random pictures from Grandmom Rosalie and Pop-pop Joe's house.  Enjoy!

Poppy--That girl can spot an airplane through clouds.

Olive--Probably seeing the same plane that Poppy saw

We Have Twins, Too!

I may have been a hypocrite.  I saw a woman in Costco with infant twins and accosted her, saying, "Congratulations!  We have twins, too!"  Of course, she replied, "Thank you!  We are finally out of the house!"  After a quick chit chat, I realized that I did to her what tends to bug me when I'm trying to get things done with the kids.  I interrupted her flow.  It's fun going places with the kids, but sometimes I just want to get done what I need to get done!  I usually have a list in hand, have a crazed look on my face (to deter salespeople at the mall for instance), and am walking at double speed.  So, I'm a hypocrite, but since I have twins myself, I think it's OK.  What do you think?  The mystery woman got stopped several more times by random people, so I feel kind of guilty. 

Anyway, she better get used to it.  Here are some pictures!  Enjoy!

Olive getting ready to fake smile

Olive fake smiling

"Leave me alone now.  I'm busy."

"Where did that other crayon go?"

Poppy concentrating...

... really hard.

Architectural genius

Halloween 2010

Here are pictures from Halloween!  Poppy is the duckling and Olive is the monster.  We walked around with Grandmom Rosalie, Pop-pop Joe, and Mom-mom Diane.  Jill had to work, so she missed it.  And we missed her!  Enjoy!

Poppy's outfit was pretty cumbersome.  Her hands didn't even reach to the end of her wings, so we had to keep rolling up her sleeves (wings)!

I got so many pictures of Olive that I love, but I couldn't just choose a few.  Oh, it's a FAKE belly, but her's would have done just fine!

I am Officially a Guest Blogger!

You already know that I attended the Stay at Home Dad Convention, but what you don't know is that I was asked to be a guest blogger for Daddyshome, Inc.!  So, here is my first article, "Raising Twins."  Just a note: the picture is a stock photo of twins.  It is being corrected to include a photo of me, Poppy, and Olive.  Enjoy!


P.S. Halloween photos to come...