3rd Night's a Charm!!

As I blogged a couple of days ago, Madison's first night in her "big girl bed/room" didn't go so well.  We counted, and ended up putting her back to bed FIFTY TIMES!!  Well, the next night, Sunday, she stayed at her Oma & Opa's house, but Monday night we were back to the transition of changing rooms, and it only took 7 times of putting her back to bed.  Tonight is night 3 and. . .she went down easily!!! Ironically, she was a terror today for me (I'm on Christmas break) and I just about lost my mind having her all day, but when I went to blow off some steam at the gym, she went to bed without struggle for George.  I'm just happy she's asleep in her new room!!  Jayden is sleeping in the crib for the 3rd night in a row, so we officially have our room back!

BTW, Madison is now saying 4 word sentences!!!  She communicates so well, it amazes us everyday.  She loves to say, "turn the lights on?" when we pull in the garage because she wants to turn the Christmas lights on and, "Mommy/Daddy where are you?" when she's looking for one of us!!  Sadly, she started calling me "Mom" today, instead of her usual "Mommy".  I like being Mommy!

Maddie moves to "Big Girl Room". . . long night

George and I decided tonight was the night to move Madison into her "pink room" to sleep in her twin bed so that we can move Jayden into the nursery with the crib because he's quickly out growing his bassinet.  Well, I thought everything was going well at first: drank milk, took a bath, brushed teeth, read books, and then layed her down for night night.  Two hours later. . . she was finally asleep.  BUT, one hour after that, she was up crying and coughing.  George is up with her now (it's 12:30am), and she's still crying and coughing.  We have a humidifier in her room,  and she hasn't coughed all day (although she was coughing this morning), so I'm not sure what's going on with her.  I wish this didn't have to be so hard.  Transitioning is so tough on little ones.  Why can't she just go to sleep in her new bed???  This was why we decided to try it on a Saturday, so that neither one of us has to work tomorrow. 
Wish us luck!

Madison's 1st Haircut

On Tuesday, December 22nd, we took Madison for her first haircut.  Part of me had a hard time having her haircut because she has so little hair to begin with, but the mullet look HAD to go, so off it went.  She started out seeming all excited, but quickly switched to her nervous face when she got into the chair.  The, the tears started falling and didn't stop the WHOLE time!!!  The poor hairdresser tried many things to calm her and finally got her to giggle and relax by allowing her to spray a mirror with water over and over.  Now Maddie's hair doesn't look very different from the front, but the back is cut like a bob and looks good!

Before haircut

After haircut - NO mullet!

Looking nervous right after she sat down.

Then the tears started flowing.

December Update

Jayden was 4 months on November 30th, but we didn't get in to his doctor's appointment until midway through December, so his stats may be a bit off.  He is 17lbs 11oz (almost 90th percentile!) and 25.5 inches (50th percentile).  He is holding is head up very well, and although he doesn't really enjoy tummy time, he is getting better at staying on his tummy for longer increments.  He also rolled over for the first time the other day, so he is definitely getting interested in moving around on his own!

Madison hasn't had a doctor's visit in awhile, but I did let her step on the scale at one of my Weight Watchers meetings a couple of weeks ago and she's 27 pounds!  She talks constantly (can't imagine who she gets that from :-p ) and is an interesting mixture of being a daredevil, yet cautious.  She is such a big helper around the house and with Jayden and absolutely LOVES Elmo!

We have had some trying times this month:  George's car broke down, we had a toilet overflow upstairs and leak through the downstairs ceiling, and then my car window was bashed in at work (luckily nothing was taken and no one was hurt).  Through all of these hurdles, we are reminded how lucky we are in life and how family is more important than stuff.

Here's a picture of their visit to Santa Claus.  Their Oma, Nana, Grammie, Great Aunt Annette, and cousin Peter took them while George and I worked because it was the best time to do it without much of a crowd.  We were bummed not to be there, but appreciate our family taking them and getting such a great picture!

Going for my Master's Degree

Well, it's official. . . I'm applying to Graduate School!  I'm so excited and nervous at the same time.  My application process is not complete however, just the actual application is turned in and I'm in the process of collecting/producing all of the required paperwork (recommendations, transcripts, personal statement, etc).  I'm applying for a Master's of Education in Curriculum & Technology: Integrated Teaching Through the Arts.  it sounds like such a great program for me and it is SO convenient, only meeting one weekend a month.  So, wish me luck all.  I plan to get all of the paperwork in by next week and will hopefully hear from them soon!

George saved Madison's Life!

Today, for the 2nd time in the last month or so, George basically saved Madison's life by pounding on her back to get her to cough up food stuck in her throat!!!  So scary!!!  I was at the gym BOTH times it happened, and am so grateful that George is fast on his feet!  Life is so precious.

Snowfall in Auburn!

December 6th brought SNOW to much of northern California, especially in the foothills, so I HAD to take the kids up to my parent's home in Auburn to play.  Madison seemed to enjoy playing in the snow and making a snowman with her Papa.  She talked about her snowman all the way home!  It was such a beautiful sight to see Auburn covered in snow!
Also, we took the kids to Auburn's Festival of Lights on December 5th.  It was cold, but we were bundled pretty well and enjoyed the small town tradition.

Our beautiful family- Madison 20mo & Jayden 4mo