Oh what a night!

What a night! We left Houston at 4:45, landed at dfw around 5, ate and headed to our next flight. When we got there they were already boarding so we were one of the last people on the plane. We timed it to be around alex's bedtime. We sat on the plane for a little bit then saw a man in a suit walk by, then 2 police officers walk down the aisle. Several minutes later, they all escorted man, with his pants unbottoned off the plane. We then waited for them to see if he had any carry ons, which he didn't. Then the pilot decided for everyones safety, they would have everyone get off the plane so they could so a security sweep of the plane. We finally took off and instead of landing in Burbank at 9:05, we landed a little after 10. thankfully Alex slept most of the way. When we got my sisters, Alex was wide awake. She ended up staying up until midnight...two am our time! She slept with us, tossed and turned just as I expected. She was up at 6am (8 Texas time), I took her downstairs and the dog started barking so everyone woke up around 6:30. Alex is getting so much attention so of course she doesn't want to sleep. I have taken so many pictures and don't have the energy to upload them now. I will have a TON of pics to share when we get home! (and sorry for any misspellings or things that don't make sense, I'm updating from my phone and I've taken several breaks and had a few glasses of wine!)

Stress

We are leaving for California this afternoon. I haven't been stressed at all...until last night. Last week we shipped Alex's pack and play to my sisters so she would have a place to sleep. It was supposed to be there Wednesday. I called Thursday and the lady told me there was a delay and it would be there Friday. I called last night when I noticed there was no update on FedEx's site. The package was lost! It was supposed to be there Wednesday and the rep told me she had no idea why I was told it would be there Friday. They started a trace but we won't know anything until Monday. Had the lady told me the correct info they could have started the trace Friday and I'd already have an update. So, Alex will be sleeping with us. Lately she doesn't do well sleeping with us so we'll see how it goes. If it is just horrible, we'll be renting a pack and play from a company I found in LA.

Collie Love

Alex adores her Cooper dog. He is the only one she will give kisses to anytime we ask. Poor Coop has had his fur pulled one too many times. He usually gets up if she comes near him. We have a stuffed collie we call Baby Cooper and Alex loves giving him kisses! It gives our real Cooper boy a little break! Josh is taking Cooper to meet his Dad at the lakehouse tomorrow. Cooper is staying with Grandma and Grandpa while we are in California. I know we are going to have a blast and Cooper is going to love being the center of attention but I sure am going to miss that boy!

boo boo bunny

My poor little tinks busted her lip today. What's even worse, I don't know how she did it. I was cleaning up the lunch dishes and she was playing with Abby. Alex started crying and Abby came around the corner with the toy Alex had been playing with, so I assumed Alex was upset Abby took the toy. I went to check on her and there was blood in her mouth! She was kneeling by the bar stool so I can only assume she lost her balance and hit her mouth on the stool. I looked in her mouth and the blood was coming from her gums. I gave her a little water to wash the blood out. After a few sips, she wiggled away to go play. I gave her a few minutes then got her toothbrush because it's the only way she will willingly open her mouth to let me take a look. There was still a little blood but no cuts or anything on her gums. It looked like it was coming from the gum line. She wasn't fussing so I let her play. Within a few minutes, her lip started swelling. Since she was more interested in playing than me holding her I gave her a mesh feeder with an ice cube in it to help the swelling. The swelling went down some, but you can see a bruise on her lip. My poor little pumpkin. I do have to say, for as clumsy as this kid is, I am shocked this is the first boo boo she has had!

her poor little fat lip

a better view

I think it worked!

Our sleeping struggle may be over...maybe! We have had 2 nights in a row where Alex didn't get up for an hour in the middle of the night. It's a start. The first few nights Alex would wake up crying after a few minutes I'd go in and check on her. She was always fine, just wanted to be held. It would turn into her being up for an hour and a half or so. The 3rd night, she slept without waking up at all. Then she started waking up as soon as Josh and I were going to bed. We keep a white noise machine on in her room so she has a constant sound she hears and we don't have to worry about waking her up with any noise we may make. It's on a remote, so after we get in bed, we turn it off. For several nights before we would even turn it off, she would wake up. We let her try to CIO and she cried for half an hour two of the three nights. After 30 minutes we finally went in there and held her until she finally went back to sleep, but it took at least an hour each time.

Over the weekend, we decided we'd just keep her up later (until 8) to see if she went to bed later, maybe she'd sleep all night. It worked...but it threw her naps off. We are finally getting back on schedule with naps and she has slept through the night 2 nights in a row! Woo hoo!!!

Other than sleep issues over the weekend, we had a great time. Saturday, we went to Ikea and to an outlet mall near Houston do to a little shopping. Alex got some jeans and new shoes! I don't understand kids clothing sizes. Her jeans are 9-12 month and they are still a little big in the waist and so long we have to roll them up! We are in the process of turning the office/guest room into a playroom/tv room with a sleeper sofa for guest. We found a great shelf unit at Ikea and got some storage bins that slide into it. It's great for all of Alex's toys and it was cheap enough that if something happens to it, it's not a big deal!

Sunday, Nomi and Popi came to visit. Popi helped Josh hang a projector in the playroom, Nomi and I went to Target and Alex napped. We are getting ready for our trip to California, where it will be much cooler than it is here, so Alex needed some long sleeve tops and pants. They have some of the cutest stuff out now! I feel like there is so much I should be doing before we leave, but I can't really think of anything. I'm sure I'll be running around like crazy towards the end of the week!

swing, take two

The other day we had a few errands to run that ended up being pretty quick and we had a little time before the rain was supposed to come in so we stopped at the park for about 15 minutes. I put the girls on the same swing they shared four and a half months ago. It now seems like a lifetime ago. Both babies have changed so much. Alex has SO MUCH MORE hair! My baby is starting to look like a little girl now.

May 5th

September 15th

Wakeful Wiggle Worm

Don't let this sweet little face fool you! She is a perfect little angel during the day, but at 2am the horns poke through her baby fine hair! The last 2 nights at 2am Alex woke up screaming and crying. The first night, I went in and rocked her for a few minutes and put her back in her crib. Before she even touched the mattress she was screaming! I sat on the floor so she could see me and she sat up in her crib for about 20 minutes. We tried rocking again with no luck. After about an hour, I gave in and put her in our bed. She tossed and turned and was just so restless and I figured there was no need to keep both Josh and me up so I took her back to her room. We rocked again, I sat on the floor again. When I thought she was out, I slid out of the room on my rear end! lol!!! The second I shut the door, she started crying. I sat on the couch for a few minutes to see if she would calm down. Josh got up and held her for a few minutes then I went back in her room and she immediately reached for me. We rocked again, I put her down and went to our room. She screamed and cried. Finally Josh said, just bring her to bed with us. So we tried it again. She sat up, tried crawling all over the bed, kicked Josh then started talking in her sweet little voice. As tired as I was, her little voice made me smile. I decided to give the rocking one more try. I got a blanket, snuggled with her in the glider and after 20 minutes she finally fell asleep. I waited longer this time to make sure she was really out. After an hour of dozing, I finally put her in her crib and she was fine. It was now 4am and I was beat!

I chalked it up to teething. I noticed 2 teeth that are about to break through the gums and in the past, she usually has a bad night right before they pop up.

Last night, again screaming and crying at 2am. This time, I decided I'd just rock her until I could tell she was out and I'd put her back in her crib. At 3, I put her back in her crib and she woke up. I laid down on the floor and put my hand through the slats on the crib and she held my hand and fell asleep. After 45 minutes or so I headed for my bed and she started crying. I ended up on the bed in the office with her. She tossed and turned forever. She'd giggle, rub her feet on my legs, poke my eye, pinch my cheek...basically anything but sleep. Finally around 4:30 she fell asleep on my chest. We got in about 2 hours of sleep until the alarm in our room went off and she popped up happy as a lark.

Needless to say, I am one tired mama. I don't think I can handle another night like this.