Sleep Trouble

And the sleep saga continues. The boys have been doing pretty good at going to bed at night. Jonathan is still adjusting and was up at 5:30 Sunday morning. Fortunately I got him before he woke up Andrew. And then we both took a great nap that afternoon. I'm not made to be up at 5:30! Most mornings they sleep until around 7:30, but this morning Jonathan was crying at 6:30. I don't know what was wrong because he wouldn't use his words, and he wouldn't lay back down. He was, unfortunately, loud enough to wake up Andrew and that was the end of all sleeping!

And this is how I found Jonathan at nap time the other day. We are trying to establish his old room as the baby's room and have rest time in his new bed. But with his new found freedom, naps are a little more tricky. A child-safety door knob has helped keep him in his room. So now I hear these little knocks from time to time, followed by a pathetic, "Hewoo?!"

Apparently it's a rite of passage - this was Andrew in Sept. 2007, almost the exact same age as Jonathan now.

A day at Grandpa's

Jonathan and Luke were having a great time jumping/dancing on the trailer. And making A LOT of noise!

Andrew begged Matt to take him on a 4-wheeler ride on the "fast red one!"

Sondra, Andrew, Grandpa and Luke on a Ranger ride. Jonathan wanted nothing to do with rides.

Last week to break up the monotony of the heat, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Matt was in town and this day was only the 90s, so we spent a little time outside. The boys had a great time as always. Jonathan is currently against going for any rides, but he was VERY into jumping on the metal trailer and making a ton of noise. He called it dancing, but it was really just a lot of jumping around.

It was a fun and busy day. We met the rest of the Nisly gang at the Dutch Kitchen and then went to visit Great Grandpa. Sondra and Luke were at Grandpa's house too, along with Matt and us. By the end of the day, we were all tired and refreshed with a change of scenery!

Operation - Share a Room update

Well we have survived nights 4, 5, and 6. The bedtime routine hasn't been too rough. They are pretty tired by bedtime and have gone to sleep fairly easy. (I blame it on the heat. I think we are in some sort of 10-15 day streak of triple-digit temps. AWFUL!)

Anyway, Jonathan continues to take a nap almost every afternoon in his crib. I just don't trust him to stay in the big bed yet. And he's been napping most days because the boys are now early risers. So sad for this mama! We used to have a rule that Andrew had to stay in his room until the first two numbers on his clock were 7:3. But now that they share a room, he comes out the second his eyes open, and he isn't very quiet in his exit. (We're working on that!) So then Jonathan is up for the day too, yelling, "Anroo! Where are you?" Jonathan used to sleep until 8:30-9, but those days seem long forgotten and no one sleeps past 7:30. I know it could be worse and they could wake up at 6:30 or something horrible time like that!

We are surviving and learning a new routine. And the boys LOVE sharing a room and sometimes even play in there together during the day. So I guess this is our new normal. Now I just have to figure out how to get Jonathan to have rest time in his new big boy bed!

I just read this verse today and thought it was fitting:
"The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace." -Psalm 29:11

Operation - Share a Room

A couple weeks ago, we put up the bunk beds. The boys were super excited. We were scared. We held off letting them share a room until this past weekend. I know we need to start this process before preschool starts and before the baby arrives, but it's not easy!

1st night - went pretty well. They were both very tired and went to sleep without too many warnings. But Andrew was up at 7 and by 7:30 he was looking for a playmate, so he decided it would be a good idea to wake Jonathan. His parents were NOT happy with his decision-making process!

2nd night - again pretty good going to sleep. But Jonathan was up at 5:50 am. I told him the sun wasn't up yet and he needed to go back to bed. He argued with, "But I no go ouside!" Two minutes later, Andrew is awake and the parents are groaning with exhaustion. Everyone took a nap that day!

3rd night - repeated threats for silence were required, and we even had to go so far as to put Jonathan back in his crib to drive home the point that it was time to sleep. He, of course, screamed and cried promising to be quiet if we just let him sleep in Andrew's room. So we tried putting him back in the bunk bed. At 9:45 pm, he declares that he wants to sleep in his crib after all and so we put him back in his room. And that was the last we heard from the stinkers last night. And the best part of separating them again...they both slept in! Andrew slept until 8 and Jonathan until 9!

And now we approach the 4th night of this exercise. I'm scared and tired. What will tonight bring? Any ideas of how to make this a smoother transition, without drugs?!

Painting

A couple weeks ago, I was hit with an ugly 24-hour stomach bug. Keith was awesome and tried to keep the boys quiet and entertained so I could rest and recover. He set them up with the watercolors and paper and the boys went crazy. The stripes at the top of the paper are Jonathan's rainbow. And Andrew of course painted something red - his favorite color!

The boys were a little freaked out that mommy spent most of the day on the couch. They kept checking on me to see if I was still sleeping. So cute. We were all happy when I was back to my normal self Monday morning!

A cool front, finally...

It has been HOT. We've set records the past two days - 108 and 109. Miserably hot and last week wasn't much better - high 90s with higher humidity. The boys and I have been trapped inside going a little stir crazy, but not crazy enough to leave the air conditioning! But today it was only in the low 90s, so outside we went. And with the help of a little water, the low 90s is a nice cool day!

Jonathan "painting"

Andrew with the hose watering the slab instead of the brown spots in the lawn.

Putting him to work watering the garden.

This was the garden back in late April. The peas died a quick death and the tomatoes and cucumber finally took off. We had to put up a fence to keep out the rabbits, which were eating everything.

Bunk Beds

When Grandpa Ayotte was here last week, Keith had him help build bunk beds. The boys were so excited, but also distressed because we only had one twin mattress for about a week. So, the top bunk was off limits. And to make sure they didn't climb up there, the ladder wasn't attached, which stressed Andrew out.

But we went on Saturday and bought a new mattress and now the beds are officially finished! The boys are so excited to share a room, but we are giving Andrew a couple weeks to get used to sleeping on the top bunk. Plus Jonathan hasn't mastered climbing out of the crib, and I'm afraid he won't stay in a big boy bed the same way he stays in his crib jail. And I really like crib jail, especially during rest time!