playground

Monday we had the new playground put in. It took 2 men 3 1/2 hours to put it together and then Sarah gave them each a Popsicle for working so hard. Sarah didn't seem to be very happy about the playground but in the evening the Fourniers came over and we played then. Sarah didn't take a nap so she was in a mood by the time everyone got here. The pictures are of Abby and Claire and Sarah enjoying different parts of the new playground.

What a night!

We had the best time yesterday going to lunch with our friends the Norris' and then we went to Build A Bear and Sarah got her dog. She read to "Pickle" and then tucked her into bed. She put all the pillows on top of her in the window seat.

Well, You would have thought we never had tried to get her to sleep through the night. She was up 3 times last night. I got up with her twice and was trying to let her cry through it, but Russ got up with her the third time and get her Tylenol and Dimetap and then talked with her for a few minutes and she went back to sleep. We were all up for about 1 1/2 hours. She then slept until 8:00. When she got up, she asked about a sticker and i told her no because she had us up 3 times. She said she would try better tonight. I sure hope so.

The picture here is of Sarah and her Uncle John the fireman. He brought his uniform and tried it on for us one Sunday before Catherine came into their lives. The second picture is of Catherine and Sarah.

She Did It

Well Sarah did it! She has now slept in her own bed all night long for 8 nights in a row. We went to Build A Bear today and got her a black Labrador puppy. She named it pickle. She gave it sound of a dog barking and when we stuffed it, she kissed the heart and placed it on the inside. She was so excited. She then put it in the stroller and belted it in for the ride back to the car. We had to seat belt it in the car. When we got home, she showed Pickle around the house. Now the next thing we have to work on will be getting Dad out of the hallway when she goes to sleep.

Sleeping

Well, we might have fixed to night time problem. Sarah is sleeping in her bed until around 6 in the morning. She then comes to our bed and sleeps til 7:20-8:00. She has 3 stickers and is working towards a build a bear. It is nice for all of us for her to sleep through the night.

On another note, Sarah put her own outfit together the other morning and here is a picture of it. She is so cute it is hard to keep from hugging her forever.

She made it!

Well, Sarah made 5 nights of sleeping without waking me. We never talked to her about 5 nights in a row so in 6 nights she got 5 good nights of sleep and we went today to get her a remote controlled helicopter. That is waht she wanted and so we did it. SHe was so excited. When her dad came home, they played with it until dinner and then again after her bath.
We set up a new sleep reward of 5 nights in a row and she can go to build a bear. I am hoping this will be the end of the waking mom in the middle of the night but only time will tell.

what a day!!

Today has been a very unusual day. I took Sarah to her one n=month checkup for her ear tubes and they looked great. Dr. Albright had us repeat the hearing tests. They showed that she has a moderate hearing loss in her left ear and a mild one in her right. This was a lot to absorb by myself. The doctor wanted us to go and have a blood test done called connexion 26. I found out that this is a genetic condition that both parents have to have and affects the hearing. Nothing can be done to not have it happen and we are not sure if it is progressive or can be fixed right off the bat. As Russ tries to tell me, we don't know if she has it. One tech told us she had no permanent damage and now another says we do. We have an appointment at the Center for Speech and Hearing on Aug. 20th and hopefully they will give us a better report than today. If she does have the hearing loss she will have to wear a hearing aid.
Having Sarah give blood was a disaster. The first nurse couldn't get the vein and then we had to lay her down, with me at her feet and tummy and Russ at her head talking to her trying to get her to calm down so they could get the vein. The nurses said it was because she was tense, but i think she just has hard veins to find. It was horrible. I am not sure who cried more, Sarah or I. At least she got to sleep on the way home.
I know in my heart she is perfect, I just want this to go away!

OOPS

Well Sarah, you didn't sleep through night on Friday. You were very sad when you didn't get your sticker. We talked about your not sleeping and asked you why. You said you wanted mommy. That is ok, but no sticker. We talked about it last night and you slept through the night.!! Yeah!! When we set up the stickers, we didn't talk about it being 5 in a row, so you are going to get the helicopter when you do 5 nights. The next reward will be 5 in a row. Don;t know what that will be yet, but your dad is thinking about Build A Bear. We shall see.

Sleeping day 2

Well you have slept for 2 nights now. 3 more and you will get the helicopter you want. I think talking about sleeping in your own bed and short naps have helped in this project. I only hope that it sticks.

Sleeping

Well, Sarah is getting better at sleeping but still not all night every night. Yesterday She and I went to Memorial City Mall and saw a helicopter that flies with a remote control. Sarah really wants one bad. SO last night we set up a sticker system where if she sleeps all night in her bed, and doesn't wake mom and dad for 5 nights, she will get the helicopter. She did it last night!! She never woke up. I did but she did not. So today we put out first sticker on the chart. She said she got her helicopter now and I had to tell he that she had 4 more nights to sleep all night. We shall see what happens.

Catherine's dedication

Today was Catherine Norris' dedication. We went down to Clear Lake to the Watershed Church that the Norris' belong to. Sarah was so excited to see Catherine and share Froot Loops with her. Catherine was crying in the nursery and Sarah gave her a Froot Loop and she stopped. Sarah was so excited that she helped calm Catherine down. After, we went to the Norris' house for lunch and a red egg and ginger party. This is a welcoming of new babies into a house. They actually had red eggs and ginger root. We stayed and played until about 3. Sarah and Catherine would be great friends if we only lived closer together. We love them!!

Sarah's 4th birthday

Here are a few of the pictures from getting ready for and your party. Your aunt Marcy took a great deal more of them. We will get them soon. We started the day by measuring you. You are now 37 1/4 in. tall and weigh 31 pounds. We got dressed and Zadie, Aunt Marcy and Uncle Jim, Daddy, Mommy and you went to El Gallo for lunch and then we went to your party. Your party was at Young Chefs Academy. 13 of your friends came and you made pizza, and decorated cupcakes. The party was a great hit and everyone had fun. You especially loved that Jared came and sat by you. When he came in, you both hugged each other and you wouldn't let anyone else sit by you.

During your third year, you began school at Zebra Zone (Bendwood). You met many new children and had a great year. Mrs. jenny was your teacher and Miss Meagan and Miss Candice were the helpers. You were one of their favorites. In October, you got married to Jared and to this date, you still talk about him being your husband. You wanted to be a weight lifter for Halloween and we found weights at the pool store. You were so cute. You had on a purple leotard and a head band and carried your weights. You went around carrying the weights and saying 'GGGGG'. Your costume wasn't the most beautiful, but it was the most creative. You were adorable. Your school had a parade and then a carnival. That night we went with the O'Quinn's to their church for a fall festival.

In November, we moved you to a big girl bed. It was a big day and you helped daddy set it up. You slept all night in your big girl bed. We hope that you will sleep in the bed for a long time. For Thanksgiving, we went to the Parade downtown in the morning with the Pettey's and then came home and had thanksgiving here with Manna. It was a great day.

For Chanukkah we went to Dallas to spend the time with Zadie, Dee Dee, and Aunt Marcy and Uncle Jim. Then we stayed home for Christmas and had Manna here for Christmas lunch and present opening. Santa brought you all kinds of stuff but your dad is still your favorite toy. We went to San Antonio for a late Christmas with your Oma and uncles and aunts. You were the center of attention and loved it. We came home for New years and spend it here at home just the 3 of us. On New Years Day we went for dinner with Manna and her friend Mary from California.

In February, we went to Dallas for Aunt Marcy's birthday but also so say good bye to DeeDee. She passed away and you went to make Zadie laugh a little. You were very sweet and payed a great deal of attention to Zadie. We met Dee Dee's family and you entertained everyone.

during Mommy's spring break we went back to Dallas to help Zadie move apartments. He had to move from the 7th floor to the 2nd floor. As it turns out, he is the social butterfly of the Classic.

In May you had your program at Bendwood. You were to sing and dance with your class, but your cried the whole time. You kept reaching for me and I wasn't able to get to you. You also had your ballet/tap recital in May. I was afraid you would be afraid there also but you were the biggest ham in the group. You also had the most people come to watch you. Those that came were the Parisians, Elizabeth Imrie, Allison Brothers, Manna, Mrs. Laura and Mr. Ed, Margaret and Margo and your mom and dad. Daddy and Manna had flowers for you. You were sooo excited. After, we went to eat at Pei Wei (the chopstick store)

You also had ear tubes put in in June. I wrote a blog about that that you can read.

All in all I think your 3 year had a great deal of excitement. Let's hope that the next year is even better.

Happy 4th

We had a great 4th of July. The O'Quinns came over and we played, talked and ate. Then we had dinner. Daddy grilled and we ate some more. When it got dark, we went outside and lite sparklers. Sarah didn't like holding the sparklers but she loved for her daddy to and she would watch.

Sleeping last night

After 3 really good nights where Sarah would cry, I would go in and turn the music on, cover her up, and give her a kiss and she would go back to sleep. Well last might was a disaster. Sarah woke up at 12:30 crying and she was inconsolable. She just cried and cried. I held her, rocked her or left her alone and she would just cry. Sometimes harder then others. After she slowed down a little, her dad came in and she finally fell asleep in her bed. He stayed and rocked while s he fell asleep. It took about 1 1/2 hours for her to settle down. I sure wish i knew what was going on in her head. This morning she came and got in our bed at 6:30ish and slept til 8:45. When she woke up she told me she was sorry f or crying. I kissed her and told her I loved her.

Sleeping

Sarah has had a great deal of trouble going to sleep by herself and staying asleep. In the beginning, we would lay her down and she would fall asleep on her own and stay asleep all night. Then she became 3 and our life changed. She was up at least once a night and sometimes twice. She wouldn't go to sleep with out one of us rocking her until she was asleep or almost. And then we would have to stay in the room until she was asleep. About 3 months ago she began having trouble even with that. So we changed the routine to include watching a Baby Einstein movie until she fell asleep or was almost there. Then Dada would take her to bed and he would rock her until she was completely asleep. She would wake up in the night and I would go in, turn on the music and it in the rocker until she fell back asleep.

Well all this changed yesterday when we went to Sarah's 4 year check up and I talked with the doctor. Last night we began the tough guy routine. We did our routine of having a snack, reading books, brushing teeth and saying prayers. Then she watched about 6 minutes of her movie and then it was off to bed. She began to cry and I went in and told her she had to stay in bed and go to sleep by herself. She kicked and screamed and told me I was mean and I was hurting her feelings. Dad went in and said she was fine and good night. She started getting out of bed so I shut the door. She opened it and told me she couldn't hear. I got the gate for the door and she flipped out. Kicking and screaming. Daddy put her back in bed and promised that if she stayed in bed we wouldn't put the gate up. She cried at the top of her lungs and gagged and needed Kleenex but stayed in bed. I sat outside the door and she settled down around 10:45. She woke up at 3:30 and I went in, kissed her on the head and told her she was ok, turned on the music and went to sit outside her door. She cried for about 1 second and fell asleep. I went back to bed and she slept until 5:15 when she woke and I wasn't in the hallway. I told her it was because she had fallen asleep and she was ok with this. She told me that tonight she would sleep in her bed if I slept in the hall. I told her I would stay there until she fell asleep. We shall see what happens.