Naptime Woes

We've been having many napping issues at our house. Prior to the week before Christmas, Andrew was an excellent napper. Read a couple stories, put him in his bed and he'd typically sleep around two hours. Ahh, the good old days... Ever since Christmas and all the excitement that came with it, and we think the pending arrival of a baby brother, naptime bliss is gone. Don't get me wrong. He still goes to his room for two hours, he just doesn't sleep anymore. And therefore is a very tired trainwreck by the end of the day. And frankly, so am I!

On Thursday, when the two hours were up, I went to get him, only to find him naked except for one sock, carrying his clothes toward the door. I asked him why and he answered, as he does to all questions these days with an, "I dunno." Then added in a shocked voice, "Where my diaper?" So I dressed him and thought little more about the incident.

Fast forward to Friday's naptime. I decided to try something new, so I sat in the rocking chair in his room, in hopes that he would stay in his bed and listen to me sing. Well, it worked for a short time, then I fell asleep and he read books to himself and sang loudly, which I only vaguely remember. I was very tired! After an hour, I gave up and left his room. He didn't seem to mind and I foolishly thought maybe he had tired himself out in my semi-conscience presence.

After a little time had passed, I checked the video monitor and saw him sitting on his bed - naked, fighting sleep, and saying "Holy Smokes" over and over. Then he fell asleep. It was 5 pm and I was just ready to go get him, but then the thought of a 30-45 minute nap was too much to pass up. Keith came home from work and went to get him, only to find the room reeking of poop. We quickly discovered the source of the smell. Andrew had painted his window and part of one wall with poop. Yes, I said painted, but I think smeared is a more accurate description. Keith gave Andrew a quick bath and I had the fun job of cleaning the room. Ahh, parenthood. They don't give you literature on this fun stuff when they give you your positive pregnancy test results!

Today I'm happy to report that while I ran errands, Keith and Andrew ran their own errands, which resulted in Andrew falling asleep in the car. He then was transferred to his bed and slept 3 hours and would've probably slept longer, but I was hungry and we wanted him to sleep tonight. Hooray for us! No poopy paint today! I fear Monday and being here alone to clean up any new art project Andrew might create!

Merry Christmas with the Ayottes and Fleurys

Andrew, Ben and Cate

Andrew playing in his new Diego ball pit with a little help from Grammy.

Do you think he likes it?

Cate and Andrew share snack time.

Ben, Andrew and Cate

Ben and Andrew reading books. Let me assure you this was the only time they were this quiet except when they were sleeping!

The whole family! And if anyone out there still doubts I'm pregnant, well, you're just crazy!

Grammy and Grandpa with the kiddos

Audra on playroom duty

More story time - love this book, by the way!

Watching the record-setting 16-0 Patriots game! Go Pats!

The moms feigning playroom stress.

Ben got a Nintendo DS for Christmas. Andrew thought it was the COOLEST thing on earth!

Obviously I'm still struggling to get caught up with the blog. We had a GREAT time with the Fleurys and Ayottes at Christmas! They had a horrible time getting here, but they finally made it and we are so glad they did! Andrew loved playing with his cousins and being spoiled by Grammy and Grandpa and Uncle Dave and Aunt Audra! Cate said that her favorite part about our house was Andrew because she loves him! I think that pretty much summed up how they all felt about each other! We ladies got a little shopping time, Dave and Keith got to go coyotte hunting with my dad, we ate a lot of food, played a couple serious games of Uno Attack and laughed till we cried. Sadly all good things must come to an end, but we have lots of pictures to keep the memories alive! Thanks for making the long trip to Kansas! We can't wait to see you all again soon!

Christmas Day!

Testing out the features on Ashley's new camera.

Andrew and Annette playing with the marbles.

Andrew and Aunt Sondra

On Christmas Day, all of the extended Nisly family met at mom and dad's house where we ate too much food and played lots of games. We also had a fun white elephant gift exchange. Unfortunately, I ended up with some yarn and knitting needles. Could've been worse! Dave was fortunate to win the best prize - an unused roll of toilet paper, an original Andrew drawing and family portrait from the late 70s. (Yes, I confess, we donated that gift!) Guess I need to learn how to knit in my spare time. Ha ha!

Merry Christmas with the Nislys

Andrew got a remote control dump truck from Matt and Sarah.

Matt and Sarah

Andrew helping Grandpa open his new coffee pot from Sondra.

Sondra reading Andrew his new book, Hiccapotomus. A very cute book, by the way!

Sondra, Chad and Grandma

Grandpa and Andrew playing with the new dump truck.

Dad surprised Mom and got her a new microwave.

Sondra and Chad got Andrew a cool game called Cariboo, which he LOVES!

So, I'm very behind in posting and I'm sure I won't get caught up today since Andrew is boycotting his nap, again. *sigh* Anyway, here is a start to our Merry Christmas. We were blessed to enjoy Christmas with both sides of our family this year. Sondra and Chad and Matt and Sarah came home a couple of days before Christmas, so we had Christmas with my family on the 23rd. And Grandma joined us. Andrew was more interested in helping everyone open their presents than playing with his new toys. As soon as a present was opened, no matter what was inside, he would say, "I need another present." Eventually we ran out of presents and he could calm down and enjoy his new toys.

Here's a little video Sondra took that illustrates Andrew's crazy Christmas present-opening frenzied spirit.

A snowy December

We have had lots of snow this month or at least a lot for Kansas! It seems it has snowed or been icy every weekend. It's made Christmas shopping and preparation quite challenging... But it doesn't bother Andrew! He loves playing in the snow and eating it. He's also big into jumping on snowballs as you can see in the video.

Big Boy Bed

We have graduated Andrew from his crib/toddler bed to a big boy bed. It's actually the top part of new bunk beds, but for now we aren't putting the bunks together. Too much temptation to climb to the top and then jump off! We spent Saturday morning putting the bed together with Andrew helping by stealing all the nuts and bolts required to hold it together. But we finally got it set up, and he was very excited about it and climbed right in with a book. We thought it was a great sign until naptime came along. He wasn't interested in napping in his new bed and instead emptied all the clothes out of his dresser - twice. I don't know why I waste my time and energy folding his clothes! He did, however, sleep through the night in his new bed the past two nights and right now he's in his room trying to nap. Hopefully today will go better than the past two days! So far I haven't heard any dresser drawers opening...

Bathroom, Library - Whatever you call it

Yesterday, Andrew did a poopy in his diaper as he does everyday. But after visiting Grandma on Thursday and learning how to fake grunt and try to poop on the toilet, he decided he needed to sit on the toilet fully dressed to finish his business. I thought it was cute and funny until I had to confiscate three rolls of toilet paper AND disconnect the flushing chain to keep Andrew from flushing his college savings away. I finally convinced him that I needed to change his diaper, all the while burning a pan of cookies in the oven and letting my lunch get cold. Needless to say, I no longer found his new fascination of the toilet amusing! Later in the day, I thought he had forgotten his new found playroom only to notice him missing. These pictures are what I found. Where do they learn this? I can tell you that I do NOT have time during the day to read in the bathroom, so he didn't learn this from me! I'm sure more potty training woes are in my future. At least he's interested in the toilet even if it is just to watch the paper flush away.