it's 3 am

I hate that it's 3 a.m. and that I'm awake.

I'm awake because Laine is awake screaming in her bed.

She used to be such a great sleeper until she got sick.

Now she keeps waking up.

I'm letting her cry, which doesn't bother me anymore, except for the fact that it keeps me awake.

Trying to sleep train an almost 2 year old is way harder than trying to do it with a 6 month old.

Especially when she gets herself so crazy mad that she poops.

And then the screaming changes from "Hug you! hug you!" to "Change you! Change you!"

So I'm forced to go in and get her.

But, I'm not great at sleep training babies either.

I have good intentions with this new baby.

But those will all fly out the window in 4 weeks.

Any advice. You'd think I'd know by now right?

Well, I don't.

And that's why I'm awake at 3 a.m. Listening to Laine cry.

Oh, and should I mention that Gwen wakes up and come in my room every night.

She asks to get in bed with us.

But she knows better, so she drags her sleeping bag in with her.

Her sleeping bag and her pillow pet.

She sleeps on the floor next to the bed.

And now after listening to Laine cry for so long (how long has it been? I don't know.)

I'm temped to go in there just so I can get some sleep.

Oh hell.

naughty and nice

A couple of weeks ago, my fabulous friend Annie took pictures of my girls.

My  normally perfectly behaved angel child was anything but, and my everyday demon child turned instantly into Americas Next Top Child Model (that doesn't mean she took great pictures...it just means she actually cooperated and smiled for the camera).

We had to do 2 different sessions because of naughty Lainey. I was surprised Annie was able to get any good pictures at all....but she was able to get these. Thanks so much Annie!

naughty naughty

Remember when I declared my love (and slight favoritism) for Laine here and here? Well, the other morning I got Gwen off to school and thought that Laine was sleeping in rather late (9:00 I think). When I went to check on her, this is what I found. And the real proof that I love Laine more is that instead of getting mad and yelling at her (which I find myself doing to Gwen way more than I would like) I laughed and took pictures. Yeah, I told her she was naughty, but how could I get mad at this (and considering it was me (actually I think it was Morgan) who left the butt paste lid off and within arms reach)?

And speaking of Gwen....the other night she took all of my fancy hair products (and by fancy I mean I bought them at Target instead of Walmart, and they're actually name brand) and decided her My Little Pony needed her hair done. She did get into trouble for that. 

Do you think that when/if Gwen ever reads this blog, I'll have to take her in for some therapy sessions?

halloween

This is the only picture we got of the girls together this year.

Better than nothing I guess.

Obviously, Laine was a witch. Gwen was a Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader.

After 5 days of Halloween activities....

Wednesday - Trunk-or-Treat

Thursday - School Halloween party

Friday - Uncle Matt's work party

Saturday - Trick-or Treating

and Sunday -Family party

all I can say is I'm glad it's over.

Now I just need to find a way to get rid of all of the candy....and me eating it isn't an option.

big pumpkin and big belly

Last Halloween we threw our old nasty jack-o-lanterns in our back garden. In the spring we noticed little pumpkin plants growing. By mid summer I was sick and tired of the massive pumpkin vines totally taking over our entire garden. This vine was so giant, it grew through our fence into our side yard. We watched and watched for pumpkins, but nothing came. Finally, we noticed one pumpkin growing on the side of our house.

This is the one and only pumpkin that grew from the miles of vines (oh, and Laine...what? You can't just take a picture of a pumpkin).

We picked it on Sunday. Gwen saw it and commented. "It's big, like my mama's belly!" Yep, I'm only 6 months along, but my belly is already as big as this pumpkin. Aren't I lucky.

firsts

This is Gwen on the first day of Preschool

That little cropped sweater really emphasizes her gut, and that smile really emphasizes her inability to take cute pictures.

Here is Gwen and Laine. How are these girls sisters? Look at those eyes. Total opposites I tell you....in every way.

Here is our other first I told you about in my last post. Morgan is quite pleased with this picture. He thinks he looks quite healthy. The ultrasound tech was shocked at our sons explicit display of his boy parts. I'm afraid. AND...was that arrow pointing to the "deedler" (as it's called here in our house) really necessary? Is it not totally obvious?

maybe I forgot to mention it

So for those of you who still read this blog (which judging from the comments, none of you do), I have a question.

What does it mean when your face looks like you're 13, you crave pickle juice and jalapeños and you cry during commercials and episodes of Cupcake Wars?

You guessed it. I'm with child AGAIN! Yikes. What made us decide to do this again you might ask? A lot of convincing on my part, and a lot of giving in on Morgan's part. I may have mentioned in a post way back when I announced I was pregnant with Laine that Morgan wouldn't have a 3rd child if #2 was a girl and that nothing would change his mind....well I was wrong, and by some miracle he did.

This is our 3rd and last child....for sure. I feel good about 3. 3 has always been my favorite number. 3 is good.
Now you may be asking (except that you're not, because no one is really reading this) "How far along are you?" "When are you due?" How are you feeling?" And here are your answers.

I am 19 weeks and 5 days pregnant.
I am due January 19th.
I am feeling good....tired, but good.

Almost 20 weeks you say? Do you know what you're having yet?

I figured we would have another girl. We make girls. That's all.
Today we had the ultrasound, and to my surprise, it is not a girl, but in fact a boy.
I really can not believe it. But he sat there, legs spread eagle, proudly showing off his boy parts.
I guess we can make boys. Surprise, Surprise.

can't sleep

I can't sleep. I have too much going through my seldom used brain. Mainly the mess that is my house. It's scary. Really scary! Part of me is horrified. Part of me doesn't really care. So I live somewhere in the middle. I clean for a bit, then get tired and stop. I guess that this is where THAT gets me. Oh well. Tomorrow I'll clean....a little....maybe.

So, since I can't sleep, you get more pictures.

Nothing like an X-treme Gulp to quench your thirst on a hot summer day.

(don't worry...it was water)

Playing at the splash park in St. George.
(she definitely takes after me in the vampire skin department)

Strike a pose.

(that shadow makes her have a shrek nose)

what's up?

What have we been up to lately?

drinking slurpees

wearing the dresses uncle Matt brought us back from Mexico

doing a little "tooty ta" and finishing preschool

getting haircuts by big sister

fathers day (we gave him a bag of Cheetos)

and making lots of messes

weekend

We spent last weekend in St. George. Realized on the drive down that the camera battery was dead (have to charge on the computer). So, no photos were taken. Went swimming twice a day. Watched Gwen steal little kid's pool toys. Watched Laine waddle around in her little swimsuit with her hands behind her back (Morg calls her Napoleon). Laine didn't like the pool. Gwen could swim all day long.

 yep, I see the resemblance

new

This is my new nephew

Steele Bentley Preston
born May 3, 2010

Aren't his eyelashes amazing!

as requested

I recently got a request to put more pictures of the girls on here (by family of course...you non-family people can click away now). So here you go.

We had a huge box that Gwen drew on and made into a little fort. She fell asleep in it one night.

Gwen's lunch one day. A hot dog octopus with ramen noodle seaweed...or something like that.

Laine loves looking at books. I'll find her in this little rocking chair a lot.

I was spinning the girls on the computer chair. They loved it.

you're going to be so jealous

So, how many of you hate cleaing your toilet?

I would too if my toilets didn't do this!

I get this rush of excitement every time I flip those little things and pop off the lid.

Bet you wish your toilet did that too...maybe yours does, but if it doesn't, don't hate me because my toilets are better than yours.

not just gwen

Guess who else likes smoked oysters?

and orange creamies

easter and magic

Remember our easter picture last year? Well, these are the only two we took this year of the girls in their dresses. Do you hate me for dressing them the same? Come on,  it's cute. Don't worry, I won't make them do it when they're sixteen or anything. I made the clip and headband...because I'm super cool like that. Dresses are from Walmart...because I have a secret love for this store. Don't hate me for that either.

Bet you guys don't know what this is. What? A nasty, dirty, stained with black paint, blanket? You would be sorely mistaken. It's magic. A MAGIC blanket that keeps bad dreams away. Do you know where we aquired this blanket? Target? Walmart? Wrong again. Harry Potter (I mean Harry Potta - as Gwen would say with her English accent). He made it for Gwen. He put a magic spell on it specifically to keep those nasty dreams at bay. Gwen can't sleep without it. I know you're jealous.

what not to wear

Yesterday morning Gwen wanted to go outside to play. She was still in her pajamas (because we don't get dressed until we actually have to leave the house), so I told her she had to get dressed first. She ran into her bedroom and came out like this. Well, you know that the tops go together "cause they both have stripes Mom!" and the pink pants match the pink stripe in the sweater ("Pink and pink" pointing to the pants and stripe). Good job Gwen, you know your colors. And the best part of the outfit is the part you can't see. Underneath those awesome pink velor pants, are her jeans. I guess she was going for the layered look....not to mention the wild hair look. You look super pretty Gwen. Keep it up, and you're sure to be really popular in high school.

Eeww. Don't look at the scary inherited with the house grandma drapes behind Gwen. They're creepy.

 

 And here is Laine's outfit today after church. The dress is gone and now it's just the tights up to her boobs and the little panties that went with the dress. And look at that hair...what little she has. I love her more than Gwen...but not really, I don't think.

crumbs

The other night Gwen came to me and told me that her tooth hurt (her front tooth). I asked her what happened, and she said "I went like this (grinding her teeth), and then there were tooth crumbs, and then I swollowed them." Sure enough, the bottom of her front tooth is chipped (hardly noticable). Well Gwen, you know tooth crumbs aren't like cookie crumbs right? You don't eat them. But tell that to the girl who eats boogers, butter, ants and raw ground beef.

1 and 4

February 13th was Laine's birthday. Her first birthday. We didn't have a party. Morgan and I went out for Valentines day instead. My mom felt bad for her, and made her a little cake. She wouldn't eat it. She touched it I think. Maybe tasted the frosting. She didn't get any presents from us. 

  

Here she is.  See that rubber duck in her hand? It's a dog toy. My mom gave it to her for her birthday. She loves it. Laine has started "walking" (or taking steps on her own) and talks quite a bit. Head, eyes, bye bye, and hi are some of her favorite words.

Gwen's birthday was 5 days after Laine's. February 18th.

 She got this booster seat. She's pretty excited about it. She picked it out herself.

Here she is in all of her birthday glory. Tiara and all. We didn't give her much. We left it up to the grandparents to do that.

Here are her cakes. She decorated them herself because I'm lazy and didn't do anything fancier. The less I have to do the better. The cake isn't even made from scratch. It's a plain old white cake mix. Delicious.

I'm an awesome mom.

Gwen and Laine on Gwen's birthday.

Gwen got the shower cap for her birthday too. She is so lucky.

weeee....or wii

We got the wii a while ago (my father-in-law got it for me for my birthday/mother's day I think). Since then, we have been trying to find games that Gwen would like and would be able to play. There are plenty of games that Morg and I can do, but when it comes to Gwen, she just can't seem to get the whole idea. Any of you have ideas out there? Her birthday is coming up, and I'd like to get her a game (speaking of birthdays, I can't believe Laine is going to be a year old on the 13th...weird).

Morg and I did get the new Super Mario Brothers game last week....in celebration of our tax return. Morg hates me because I make him die all of the time...and I suck at finding secret areas. Oh well. Anyone ever tried Wii active? We have it. It's actually pretty awesome. For the first little while, I was doing it every day, and was actually getting out of breath, and was always sore the next day. I would make Gwen do it with me (I was still worried that the doctor told us she was overweight). That's all.

lost my mind

 (scary picture I know, but this is how I have been feeling)

Any one have ideas or advice on how to control/discipline an out of control, head strong, stubborn, naughty, disobedient, crazy, tantrum throwing, 3 year old (almost 4) little girl. I'm out of ideas....and out of patience. Help.

girls room

Isn't this little girls room awesome! I would love to have a room like this for Gwen and Laine (when they eventually have to share a room). I think the upholstered headboards are amazing. Gwen wants a bunk-a-bed, or a bunk bed as us normal people call them. As far as space goes, a bunk bed is probably the way to go.