Napping Struggles, Aedan Rolling Over, and Cincinnati Zoo Trip

Samantha: 40 Months, Week 4
Aedan: Week 24

After Ben being gone late into the evening Monday night, and after having a long day of taking care of everyone myself, I wasn't feeling so great.  It felt like my sinus infection may have been coming back again.  Tuesday, with Ben leaving early in the morning for Bible Study, made us have kind of an off morning.  It took a while to get ready, everyone was moving slowly, making us a little late for preschool.  Then, in a rush to get out the door, I forgot to have Samantha grab her preschool bag.  I didn't realize that we'd forgotten it until we pulled into the preschool parking lot.  You should have seen the look on her face when she realized we didn't have her bag.  Tears welled up in her eyes, and she was so close to almost breaking down.  However, I reassured her that I would talk to her teachers about forgetting it, making sure they knew that it was my fault.  I also told her that I would be sure to bring it with me when I came to pick her up.  Her biggest concern was not being able to get a new book.  They have a lending library at preschool, and the teachers give them a new book every Tuesday.  Samantha looks forward to seeing what her new book is every week.  Poor girl, I felt so bad for her.  She definitely has the first child personality and doesn't want to disappoint or let anyone down.  She always wants to be prepared and ready with what she needs.  I can understand that.  I would feel the same way. :)

Despite our crazy morning, Aedan had a good morning since we just went back home after dropping Samantha off.  He slept in until a little before 8:00, and I was able to get him down for a good nap around 10:00.  It was a rainy day, perfect for a good nap.

Here are some cute pictures of Samantha and Aedan from that afternoon after lunch.

This week napping for Samantha was a bit of a struggle.  Even though she was very tired on Tuesday afternoon, was acting cranky, and also had a stuffy nose, she wouldn't let herself calm down enough to nap.  It's always difficult when she chooses to skip her nap on Tuesdays because she has ballet in the afternoon, and we know that if she doesn't nap, ballet doesn't go as well because it's more difficult for Samantha to listen and follow directions when she is tired.  I have thrown around the idea of trying to cancel her lessons and get a refund because sometimes it just doesn't seem worth all the hassle in getting her to sleep, getting her ready, and getting her there.  I know I've mentioned this before, but we try not to tie anything to whether or not she naps.  However, if she really is going to stop napping, then she needs to learn how to control herself throughout the rest of the evening and try to not be cranky and think about her actions a little more.

We decided to get her out of her room and see how she was acting before deciding whether or not to take her to preschool.  Aedan woke up a little earlier than normal from his afternoon nap since he took such a good nap that morning at home.  Samantha was acting okay, not really cranky at all actually, so we decided that it would be fine for her to go to ballet.  Also, since Aedan woke up early, I was able to nurse him and leave him home with Ben while I took Samantha to ballet.  She did a pretty good job listening to Miss Ashley, really, just as good as all the other girls.  I mean, how much can you expect an almost 3 1/2 year old to follow every single direction exactly?  I really enjoyed watching Samantha dance, holding hands with other girls, dancing on their tiptoes, learning third position, and best of all, wearing special dresses at the end and dancing around the floor however they wanted. (Samantha is in the background of the picture below.)

We go to church for my Bible Study in the morning, which is always sort of rough on Aedan.  He was ready for a nap right at the time the Bible study was starting, and we even got there a little early because I wanted to try to rock Aedan to sleep and get him to take a nap, without having to burden the childcare workers to do that.  However, being in the nursery was just too stimulating for him.  The noise of the kids playing in the next room was just too distracting, and I wasn't able to get him to fall asleep.  I told the childcare workers that he will probably need a nap at some point.  When I checked back during our break, I saw Aedan passed out on the shoulder of one of the workers, so that was good.  I was glad it looked like Aedan let himself take a nap.  However, when I went down to pick Samantha and Aedan up after the Bible study was over, Aedan was crying because he had hit his head on the table just recently.  Also, they informed me that they got Aedan to sleep, but it didn't last long and he woke up again.  I have no idea how long he was actually asleep for.  I feel bad that I throw off his napping routine on Wednesdays, and part of me was thinking about asking Ben to stay home on Wednesday mornings, since he doesn't have class, to let Aedan take a nap at home.  However, I decided that one day a week where Aedan doesn't get much of a morning nap is okay, and it usually results in him just taking a longer afternoon nap.  Plus, the benefits of being able to go to a women's Bible study every week, to study God's Word, and to have a small break from being a full-time mom, is worth dealing with one off napping day.

Wednesday was another interesting day for napping.  It's odd sometimes because Samantha will complain about being tired, but then the moment I leave her room after putting her down for her nap, she is out of her bed and getting a book.  We didn't know if this is another phase because her napping will go in spurts like this sometimes, where she naps well for a week or two, and then doesn't nap well for a week or two.  Or, we didn't know if she was just outgrowing them.  I know it is fairly rare for an almost 3 1/2 year old to still even be taking naps, so for that I am grateful.  The thing I have a hard time with is playing the charade of getting her ready for a nap, reading her books and singing to her, just like we do at bedtime, just to have her sit in her room and read or play.  The only problem is that if we don't do that, if we don't at least try to get her to nap, then she for sure won't nap.  If we stop doing the routine, then napping will probably be done for good.  And there are some days she does still take a nap and some days that she definitely needs a nap, so we are just not willing to give that up yet.  I just do my best to let it slide when napping doesn't happen, to not get overly upset about it, and to not let it ruin my day.  I am definitely improving in this area.

She also is improving in how she behaves on days she doesn't nap.  It used to be that Samantha would be unable to control her actions and would have many more meltdowns and time-outs in the evening on days she didn't nap.  However, the last couple days she has done well, so that's a relief to know that even if she doesn't nap, she can still function normally in the evenings.  We just put her to bed earlier, and she doesn't get the reward of watching a show and eating a fruit snack.

After a week of very little napping, I decided to make a sticker chart to try and encourage her to stay in her bed and nap, rather than get out of bed to play or read.  Here is what I came up with.  She can get up to four stickers per day for not crying or whining when Mommy or Daddy leave the room, for staying in bed, for not looking at books or playing with toys, and for taking a nap.  She gets a prize from my prize box every time she gets eight stickers.  Who knows if it'll make any difference, but it's worth a try!  I figure this way it makes me feel like I'm not giving her "permission" to get out of bed on days that she chooses not to nap.  She clearly knows that we would like her to nap, and we will still try to get her to nap, but if she chooses to get out of bed and play instead, then she knows what the consequences are, and I don't feel like I have to continually go into her room and tell her to get back in bed.

Wednesday night, after having dinner, giving the kids baths, and getting them to bed, Ben and I had a nice conversation.  It's funny how much I long to reconnect with him in the evening after a long day apart, doing our own things.  There were a few things on my mind, especially from my Bible study that morning.

The first thing I talked to him about was how glad I was that Aedan was starting to learn how to fall asleep on his own.  Even just that night, he didn't fall asleep while nursing, and he doesn't seem to really like to be rocked to sleep anymore.  He will just wiggle and squirm, arching his back, and whacking you with his arm.  Whenever he starts doing that, I just lay him down in his crib.  And lately, instead of crying when I do that, he will just make little noises in his crib for awhile and then fall asleep on his own.  This brought to my mind a worry from a couple months ago when I was concerned about whether I should stop nursing or rocking Aedan to sleep all the time, worried that I was creating a habit that would be hard to break, wondering if I should purposefully try to lay him down while he was awake so that the could get used to falling asleep on his own, without assistance.  But now I see that I had nothing to worry about.  Aedan is learning how to do it in his own time.  He does not always need me to fall asleep.  Sometimes that makes me a little sad, to see another step of independence, of him growing up.  But it gave me a new perspective on how caught up in worry us mothers get, thinking our children should be doing this or that by a certain point in time, when really, all kids will learn what they need to and develop how they need to at the time when it is right for them.

The other thing I wanted to talk to Ben about was a concept brought up in our Bible study of 1 Thessalonians.  It had to do with loving one another so much that we can hardly stand it, and Beth Moore gave the illustration of watching her grandchildren and being so overcome with love and emotion that she could hardly stand it, and her eyes filled to the brim with tears.  That got me thinking about my own children and how I often feel that way towards them.  I just LOVE to be around them, to watch them grow and learn, to hold them and kiss them and cuddle them, to be there for the excited squeals as well as the hurt and tears.  I am filled to the brim and overflowing with love for Samantha and Aedan, so much so that I can hardly stand it.  Sometimes it makes me want to cry tears, not sad tears, but tears of joy.  And then I think about the future, and can only imagine how my delight in my children will increase more and more.  Thinking towards all the things I can to participate in in their lives: their school days, their first game or performance, their first missing tooth, the first time they read a book all by themselves, when they ask Jesus into their heart, the awkward teenage years, their first time off at college, their first time meeting the man or woman of their dreams, seeing them get married, seeing them have children and begin to raise up their own family.  Just thinking about all that life with them overwhelms me, and I'd like to think that I will be just as delighted to be a part of it then as I am now.

(But then how is it that some parents don't seem to share in this same delight, in this same joy of their children?  Why is it that some children feel neglected by their parents, like they're an afterthought?  When is it that some parents lose this joy and delight in being a part of and speaking into the lives of their children?)  I pray that I will never lose this love for my children.  That I will always love them and care for them, no matter what choices they make, so much that my heart hurts and I can hardly stand it any longer.  I also pray that I can take those same emotions of love and feel it for others around me, others that don't know Jesus like I do, and I pray that I will not be ashamed or afraid to share it, but that I will let it spill out and overflow from my heart.

Thursday was a big day because Samantha was Star of the Day at preschool again.  Also, they had the fire department coming to visit.  After taking Roscoe out that morning, I just had to stop and snap a picture of the beautiful sun rising over the field where the cows grazed.  Never in a million years would I have guessed that some day I would live across the street from a field of cows.  But I have to admit, country living is growing on me.  It's so peaceful, calm, and serene.

Samantha brought goldfish and apple juice boxes for snack, as well as her toy fire truck for the share bag, since it went along with their theme for the day.  In fact, Aedan and I ended up staying at Samantha's preschool for a little while so we could see the fire trucks.  As I was waiting outside Samantha's classroom, I was able to peek in the window and watch her without her knowing.  Since she was Star of the Day, she got to sit next to the teacher at the "top" of the circle, as she called it.  She wasn't too shy to give her clues this time and said the class was able to guess that it was a fire truck.  She said Matteo was especially excited to see her fire truck.  It was wonderful seeing the little smirk on her face as the kids passed around her toy.  She loved being the special one for the day, being able to dress the frog to show the weather for the day, being able to stand first in line and hold the door, and getting to wear a special sticker.  All these things are so special in the eyes of a three year old.

Aedan and I came back into the classroom once the firemen arrived, and we were able to sit next to Samantha as they practiced "Stop, Drop, and Roll," what number to call if there is an emergency, and how to crawl under smoke.  They even had a fireman (a fighter fighter, as Samantha calls them) come in with all the equipment on, including the tank of air and mask to help them breathe.  You could hear the air coming in and out, and they wanted the kids to go up and shake his hand, showing them that he is kind and helpful, and is only there to help them if they were to ever see someone dressed like this come into their house during a fire.  Some kids were afraid to shake his hand, but not Samantha.  We then joined the kids outside as they waited to see the fire trucks.  However, Aedan and I left fairly quickly after getting outside because he was getting a little tired and fussy, and I didn't want to be around when they turned on the siren or honked the horn, because I knew that would scare Aedan and make him cry.

After leaving Samantha at preschool, Aedan and I went grocery shopping and he fell asleep only for a little while in the Ergo and then again in the car after picking up Samantha, so he didn't get much of a nap in that morning.  Samantha had a wonderful time at preschool and had a hard time settling down for her nap.  She couldn't stop talking about everything she did with the firemen and even when she was in her bed at nap time I heard her mumbling something about fire.  Despite all the excitement, she did actually fall asleep, so that was a good thing.  I love that we have the chance to send her to preschool here.  She is enjoying it so much, and it's great for her to have more opportunities to play with other kids her age, to get a break from being with just me at home, and to begin learning in a classroom setting, yet still having it be focused on hands-on, fun activities.

On Friday, I had plans to take Samantha on a bit of a Mommy/Daughter date to a local farm.  Some Oxford moms planned this trip to go to a farm for a hayride, to get to pick a free pumpkin and coloring book, and to play around in a hay maze.  Daddy agreed to stay home with Aedan that morning so that I could go with Samantha by myself.  We had a wonderful morning together, even though it was a bit chilly.  We enjoyed looking at pumpkins in the store.  (Do you notice a theme in her outfit for the day?  Pink!  She picked it out all by herself! :)

Then we got to go on the hay ride, which Samantha was so excited for.  We rode on big trailers piled with hay, pulled behind big tractors.  The hay ride went through the corn fields and then stopped in front of a fenced in area with cows.  The kids were able to feed the cows dried up corn husks by throwing them over the fence.  Samantha was able to get the corn over the fence with a little help from me.

After the hay ride, Samantha was able to pick out a pumpkin, get a picture taken inside a corn cob, and play with other kids in the hay maze.  Her friend, Matteo from preschool, was there, and they had a great time chasing each other and playing tag inside the maze.  Matteo would yell, "Sa-man-tha, come and get me!"  And then she would chase him and try to tag him, although he was much faster than her.  Samantha was running around and having so much fun that I just let her play until most of the other kids were getting ready to go home.

While Samantha and I were out that morning, Daddy and Aedan hung out at home.  In fact, shortly after we left, Ben texted me saying that Aedan had rolled over and then had a look on his face like, "Well, now what do I do?"  He did it too fast for Ben to get a video of it.  I tried to get him to roll over later that afternoon, but he would just roll onto his side, perfectly content hanging out there, not seeming too interested to go all the way over.  He also is trying to figure out how to get his arm out from under him when he rolls over, that's the tricky part.

Since Daddy was home with Aedan that morning, he was able to get him down for a really good morning nap, longer than he usually takes.  In fact, he slept until around noon, making his afternoon nap a little later than usual.  We attempted to get Samantha to nap, but again, she decided to get out of her bed and play and look at books instead.  However, it's okay, it just meant that she would have to go to bed early that night.

Chicago Grandpa and Grandma arrived that evening after dinner, right when we were in the middle of making a homemade apple pie from the apples that we bought at the farmer's market last week.  Samantha was very excited to see her grandparents, and Aedan gave them a huge, gummy smile when they walked in the door.  We all hung out for about an hour or so before it was time to get our two tired kiddos in bed for the night.

It's always nice when people come to visit us.  It means a lot to Samantha (and eventually to Aedan) to have her family sharing in her world and her life.  Also, it's so much easier than packing up all our stuff and hauling both kids to see family.  It's much easier being in our own environment, in our own house, with our kids in their own beds.

Since the weather was going to be sunny and only slightly chilly in the morning on Saturday, we decided it was the perfect day to visit the zoo and see what their "HallZOOween" is like.  We went to the Zoo Boo at the Indianapolis Zoo last year, and Samantha had a great time, so we looked forward to experiencing the Cincinnati Zoo as well.  They encourage the kids to dress up in costumes, and they have trick or treat stations around the zoo where the kids can get candy.  Samantha got to pick something from her dress-up clothes box, and I was expecting her to choose Snow White or Tinkerbell, but instead she chose more of a generic princess dress, which actually looked beautiful on her.  Then, I braided her hair in two little braids and gathered them in the middle of the back of her head with a little clip so that she looked like a real princess.  Here are some pictures of our time at the zoo that day.

We started out walking to the left, with our ultimate destination being the polar bear, since we didn't get to see any of the bears on our last visit.  Plus, they had a time scheduled for the polar bear to participate in pumpkin play, and we thought Samantha would enjoy seeing that.  Here she is on top of Daddy's shoulders, watching the polar bear pumpkin demonstration.

While Samantha watched the polar bear, since there was such a crowd, and Aedan was getting ready for a nap, I put him in the Ergo and walked around with him for awhile until he fell asleep, all nice and cozy against my chest.

Once it got to be around noon, after Samantha rode on the carousel, we stopped and had our picnic lunch.  At that point, Aedan was getting pretty hungry himself, so I let the rest of the family finish eating while I took Aedan to the nursing mother's area.  (It's SO nice that they have this.  There's no way that Aedan would nurse under a cover out in public.  He is just too distracted.)  After nursing Aedan, we met everyone in line for the train.  It was perfect timing.

Here are the best pictures I got of Samantha dressed up like a princess.  (Yes, she's wearing white tennis shoes.  Hey, they're the best shoes for walking around a zoo all day!)

We didn't dress Aedan in a costume, but we did put a little Halloween outfit on him.  The shirt says, "Mommy's Little Pumpkin," and as you can see, there is a pumpkin on his tushy.

This picture we took as we were all sitting on the train, waiting for the ride to start.  Aedan looked a little dazed and confused because he had just eaten and was ready for his afternoon nap, not a train ride. :)

After the train ride, we visited the animal petting zoo, where you were able to pet and brush goats.  Samantha loved this part and spent quite awhile brushing the goats and then going back and getting different brushes for different goats.  These pictures are kind of funny to me since she's wearing a long, fancy princess dress.  I guess she's one of the princesses who is friends with the animals, like Cinderella or Snow White, or I guess really many of the princesses.

After getting her fill of petting the goats, we went to a barnyard show.  It was a race between a chicken and a goat.  The lady asked for volunteers several times throughout the show, and Samantha raised her hand every time.  Even after she picked volunteers, Samantha would leave her hand raised in the air, and then would say, "I want to do it!"  Towards the end of the show, any kid that wanted to could come up on stage to dance with the animals.  Samantha couldn't wait to get up on the stage, and she did a great job following directions and participating.  You can see her way in the background of this video.

After the show was over, we continued on into the Jungle Animal area, and got to do some fun activities where you could pretend to be animals swinging and climbing in the trees.

We found this really cute area with monkeys, and Samantha found the baby really fascinating.  She stood at the window and watched the mommy and baby monkey for quite awhile.  It was even more interesting to watch the monkey dig out the pumpkin seeds and goo from the inside and scoop it into its mouth.

We stayed at the zoo most of the day, both of our kids were tired and needed naps, so we decided to head out for the day.  I read books, sang songs, and prayed with Samantha, just like we always do at nap time, and she was pretty much asleep by the time I was done praying.

Aedan, on the other hand, did not fall asleep in the car.  I did my best to keep him quiet by using a pacifier and playing with toys, leaning over the seat from the front.  Even though Aedan made quite a bit of noise, it didn't seem to bother Samantha one bit.

Our drive home was about forty-five minutes, so Samantha at least got a little bit of a nap in.  Once we got home, I nursed Aedan and then tried to lay him down for an evening nap.  We knew he wouldn't make it until bedtime if he didn't get another nap in.  He napped a little at the zoo, but not nearly as long as usual.  Grandpa and Grandma were willing to watch Samantha and Aedan for us so Ben and I could go out on a date, but we knew we couldn't go unless Aedan napped.  It took a little work, but he finally fell asleep around 5:30, so Ben and I decided to go out.  We went to one of our favorite restaurants, Chuy's, and had a good meal together, being able to sit and talk without dealing with feeding children.  It was really nice, and we were glad to be able to go out together.  (Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!)

Since we had such a long day on Saturday, we decided to go to the second service on Sunday so that we would have more time to get ready and hang out on Sunday morning.  Here are some funny pictures from that morning.  Samantha wanted Aedan to sit in bed with her. :)

Aedan slept in that morning, and I was able to nurse him just before leaving for church, so he was happy as a clam all through the service.  However, he was extremely tired after church was over.  I tried to keep him up while we got lunch ready and ate, but he was just too tired and getting fussier by the moment, so I went upstairs to nurse him and put him down for nap.  We attempted to get Samantha to nap that afternoon, but it was just not going to happen.  After awhile we just let her come back downstairs so she could play with Grandpa and Grandma before they had to drive back to Chicago.  The good thing about her not taking a nap is that we then put her to bed early, having both kids in bed and asleep by 8:00, giving Ben and I a little more time together, and without kids, in the evening.

The other interesting development for Aedan was a few nights in a row that he almost made it all the way through the night without waking up to nurse. He made it to between 5:00 and 6:00 am, and I was then able to nurse him and get him back to sleep for another hour and a half to two hours.  It was great getting a more solid chunk of sleep ourselves, and especially nice for me not having to get up at 2:00 am to go into Aedan's room, change his diaper, nurse him, and get him back to sleep, which takes anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour on some nights.  I know Aedan isn't even six months old yet, and he is doing great on sleeping, I can't complain, but I will be a pretty excited lady when he finally starts sleeping all through the night without needing to wake up and nurse.  It's the small steps, right?  And sleeping from 8:00ish to 5:00ish, is a pretty big deal for a little baby.  That's a long period of good sleep that he's getting.

Monday we spent time just relaxing at home, since it was a rainy, cold day outside, and I didn't think it would be a good idea to go out to the park for story time.  Here are some pictures from the day.

Samantha took a really good nap that afternoon, so we ate dinner right away when Daddy got home from campus so that way we could spend the evening at the park.  It was really mild, warm weather, before a cold front was about to come through, so we wanted to take advantage of our time to be outside.

Also, we decided to let Aedan try a swing for the first time.  He really liked it!  We pushed him lightly back and forth, and he just sat there and hung out, looking around, and enjoying the new experience.

Shortly after arriving home, it was time for bed.  Samantha wanted to hold Aedan and give him a good night kiss.  (Aedan, on the other hand, was just interested in trying to eat Samantha's face!)

I just love my family!