Sunday Bloody Sunday

Joe and Nathan enjoying some relaxing time by the Christmas tree. Now onto my story...
Sunday started off with Ella climbing out of bed and standing in her doorway behind the gate, yelling, "Mommy, I's awake." Her yelling then woke up Nathan. Super. Not to worry though, I was able to feed Nathan and then put him back in his crib for a while...until Ella ran upstairs and woke him up again. Oh well, it was time to get ready for church anyways. Somehow we got everyone ready and out the door, buckled into carseats, and backing out of the garage we went...very slowly, and with a strange noise. Something was wrong. A flat tire! So we pull back up into the driveway, I run inside to grab the extra carseat base to install into the Mazda, Joe gets Ella into her other carseat, and away we went...again. We made it to church with a minute to spare. I dropped Ella off in the nursery while Joe and Nathan went to sit down. Ella is doing much better with going to the nursery. She doesn't cry anymore, which makes it much easier to leave her there. When I found Joe and Nathan, Joe gave me a look...not a good look. When Joe took Nathan out of the carrier, his outfit was completely soaked. He had peed through everything! Bad Target diapers, bad. So Joe takes him to change his diaper, but we didn't have an extra outfit in the diaper bag. I can't think of everything! So Nathan spent all of the service wrapped in a blanket, in just a diaper underneath. I hope nobody noticed! When we got home, we ate lunch, put Ella down for a nap, and all Joe wanted to do was watch the Packer game. No such luck...he was on-call, and got called, and had to spend most of the afternoon trying to fix a problem at work. Then he took the tire to try and get it patched, but it was beyond repair, so we had to get a brand new tire. Needless to say, we were exhausted by the end of the night.

On a positive note, we were invited to dinner by a family at church Saturday night. They have 2 children and we brought Ella and Nathan. Ella had fun playing with their 2 girls and Joe and I had a nice time having adult conversation and a wonderful meal.

On a not so positive note, Nathan still isn't sleeping great and has yet to establish a good routine. Ella fell into a routine on her own, but Nathan isn't, so we're a bit clueless as to what to do. I am willing to try anything to get him to sleep for more than a 2 hour stretch. We recently purchased a Homedics Sound Spa Lullaby machine and the Miracle Blanket. We got both items on the same day, and that night Nathan slept for 5 hours straight. I thought it really was a miracle. We haven't gotten a 5 hour stretch again. I still have to get up with him 3, sometimes 4 times. He melts my heart when he smiles at me though.

Gigi and Puppa (my parents) will be arriving on Wednesday, then they will drive with me and the kids in the van back to Michigan on Friday. Joe will drive my parents car to Michigan the day before Christmas Eve. Then Joe, the kids, and myself will drive back to Wisconsin on the 28th. I am really looking forward to going to Michigan! Many people will get to meet Nathan, and I will get to see some friends that I haven't seen in a long time. I will finally get to meet THEIR kids!

Happy Holidays to all!

Holiday Cheer

Just wanted to share some pictures showing off our holiday decorations. And of course, my little elf, giving a smile for the camera!

These are The Days of Our Lives

I'm finally getting into a groove with my two kids! Yeah, it's still really difficult at times, but it's starting to become "normal." This is my life now, and even though every day is different and brings new challenges, I am so grateful for these two amazing creatures!

Ella continues to go to Miss Linda's house every Tuesday and Thursday. On those days, Nathan and I get some alone time to bond. I probably kiss his cheeks a hundred times or more! I also tend to do my errands on those days...it's much easier carting around one kid at Target. Nathan's sleep is improving, but it's still not great. He goes to bed between 10:00 and 11:00pm, and for two nights in a row, slept for 4 hours straight, and the next night, 3 hours straight. Then he was up every 2 hours until he was up for good for the day. However, last night he was up every 2 hours. I didn't get the 3-4 hours in the beginning. Darn. He seems to fall asleep about 2 hours after he gets up for the day, but sometimes not. I'm hoping in the next few weeks, we'll get on a better schedule...before I go back to work. Speaking of work, I took Nathan into work last week to "show him off." :) It was nice to see my co-workers and talk to my supervisor about my return. I will start back on Tuesday, January 6th, 2009. I will be working Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 hour days, not 10 like originally planned. I also got a flu shot while at the hospital. My arm hurt for 3 days! But...I am NOT getting sick again!

Ella is learning so much every day. She is able to recite the ABCs all by herself. It's the cutest thing to hear. She also said to Joe and I, "I wish you a merry Christmas." I wonder if they're singing Christmas carols at Miss Linda's? Ella is being much more gentle with Nathan. She loves to give him hugs and kisses, and asks to hold him. She is definately 2 years old however. I tell her to stop doing something, and she looks right at me and does it again. She also has this horrible habit of saying "HUH?" whenever you ask her a question. It is so much fun being able to do activities with her and have conversations with her. I try to do some sort of art project or craft on the days she is home with me. We made Turkeys for Thanksgiving by tracing her hands and feet, and just last night made reindeer with traced hands and feet also.

I was lacking motivation to put up Christmas decorations this year, but I did it anyways, and I'm glad I did. It makes the house look festive and puts me in the holiday spirit. Joe and Ella went to get a Christmas tree over the weekend, and after much adjusting, the tree is somewhat straight. I put all the lights on last night but still need to work on hanging the ornaments. I also have been playing Christmas carols on the piano, which has been fun and brings back memories. My parents will be coming to Wisconsin on December 17th and leaving their car here. Then they will drive back to Michigan with the kids and I in the van on the 19th. Joe will drive their car back to Michigan on the 23rd to join us. Then, Joe, the kids, and I will drive our van back to Wisconsin on the 28th. I am so looking forward to seeing family and friends, many who have not met Nathan yet. I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season!