What a Face!

"Sish!!!"

It's been raining all day so to kill some time this morning I took Cheyenne to The Children's Museum and then to the pet store. I had no intention of coming home with a fish. I took her to the pet store so she could see the puppies. She wasn't the least bit interested in them when she saw the fish tanks. She went running saying "sish!" So we got a fish. A beta fish to be exact, with a lid so the cats don't have a snack when no one's around. Chey loves her fish. We haven't named him yet...any suggestions?

William's Birthday

William's birthday was Wednesday. I'm not going to say how old he is, he might not like that. :) We had a great evening out to celebrate. My sister Katie came and kept Cheyenne and we went to dinner at Fire & Sticks per William's request. Then we went to see Angels and Demons at the Palladium. This is the 1st movie we've been to see since Cheyenne was born and probably the last for a while. The tickets for $9 a piece. Isn't that crazy?!? Anyway, we got home around 1am. I can't believe we were able to stay up that late...that was crazy for us! Anyway, William had a wonderful birthday with lots of cards and dinner out from mom and dad on Monday. From Cheyenne and I William got a framed picture of Wrigely Field for his office. We also framed the picture of him at Wrigely Field along with the ticket stub from the game we went to. He loved it!

YAY!

I know this is my 3rd post of the day but I am ecstatic! Cheyenne just took a 2 hr and 15 minute nap....in her crib. You think she's trying to tell me something? I wanted her to be well rested before her nap with Katie and was desperate. Maybe Cheyenne just isn't ready for her new bed just yet. I think I'll give it a little more time, maybe a month or so and try again. Hopefully it will save my sanity!

Water Play

Yesterday we ventured over to Meredith and Jolie's for some fun water play! They had a little pool and a water table! Cheyenne and fun with her friends Luke, Lily, Jolie and a new friend Grant who joined us. It was a great way for the kids to cool off in the heat. Chey is in front with the red cherry bathing suit playing in the water.

30 weeks

This week makes 30 weeks for Baby Hailey and me! I can't believe this pregnancy is almost over. It has gone by so much faster than the 1st. Having a toddler running around makes the time fly! I had a check up at the doctor this morning and everything is great. The baby is measuring just fine. So we have 10 weeks (or less hopefully) left. I said in the beginning I wanted her to stay in as long as possible but that was before I realized how bad the heat was going to be and how different the pregnancy would be on my body this time around. It's really taking a beating! Hailey's room is painted although Cheyenne is still sleeping in there at night in the crib. I'll post pictures of the nursery when it's finished. It's still a work in progress.

Hailey is going to be a soccer player I believe. I thought Cheyenne did alot of kicking, but this one does it ALL NIGHT long. We're excited to meet her and for Cheyenne to be a big sister. Cheyenne likes to hug and kiss my belly, although she has no idea the meaning behind it. It's really cute though. I'm praying for a mild summer!

Having a Hard Time

Cheyenne and I are not getting along very well lately. Toddlerhood is so much harder than I expected. I knew it would be tough., but the ways things are going lately, I have to say I'm doubting myself and my parenting skills. Cheyenne was a spirited infant. She was quick to meltdown when she didn't get enough sleep and was hard to settle when she got overwhelmed. She sort of outgrew that around 10 months and up until a month or so ago things had been pretty good. She slept independently and went to sleep easily for both her naps and bedtime. She was a sweetheart to be around and was pretty easy going.

A month or so ago I started noticing changes in her. She gets bored very easily. Even if she has a new toy, within 5 minutes she moves on. I've tried rotating toys out so that she has different ones every couple weeks or so but it doesn't seem to be working. She has started hitting me. Not hard, mind you and sometimes she's "playing" but nonetheless, it's hitting. She is throwing toys. Just yesterday she threw a bell at little gym and hit another little girl in the head. Talk about feeling embarassed. I tried to use it as a good time to teach Cheyenne that it's not okay to throw and she hugged the little girl to say she was sorry. I know things like this are normal, but Chey is the only one like this in her class. The rest of the kids are easy going and will actually sit on their mom's lap! Mine does not sit still the entire 45 minutes. She runs around to all the other moms and kids and will pat their heads or run off and play by herself. I like that she's so independent but she's also all over the place! I'm having a hard time keeping up with her.

She throws her cup, plate and food down from her chair at meals... (again normal but annoying!) She has started tantrums when she doesn't get her way. Only 1 public one, so far...

The biggest issue we're having now is sleep. About 3 weeks ago, we started naps in her new room in her toddler bed. I never know how long she's going to sleep. Before she would sleep 2 hours. Now it's more like 1 hr and 15 minutes. Occasionally she has slept longer, but it's maybe once a week. This doesn't give me a lot of downtime, which makes keeping up with her alot harder. I have thought seriously about putting her back in her crib but wouldn't that just be a step backwards? I mean, I'm going to have to do this pretty soon anyway, and I thought that starting now would give us plenty of time to make the transition. Maybe too quick? I don't know. Honestly, I am expecting the worst. I expect this to continue and probably get worse after Hailey arrives. I guess I'm just in a down place right now. It took me over an hour to get Cheyenne to sleep tonight after being up for 6 hours after a 1 hour nap...that is just unheard of for her. Maybe I'm dealing with some separation anxiety too. We're supposed to leave her with my sister tomorrow night so we can go to dinner for William's birthday and I'm so afraid of what's going to happen. If she has this much trouble with me putting her to bed, what is she going to do with Katie? I guess I'm just stressed. I love Cheyenne so much. This age is just so frustrating and I feel like I can't do anything right.