Dear Diary, 12/2/2012-12/5/2012

Dear Diary,

The kids slept in until 7:06 this morning and it was glorious! We gave up on Leo's sleep right before Thanksgiving because we didn't want him screaming all night while the guests were in. Yes, ten days of Ferber and he still was waking and crying. So, he is back in our bed, but the stretch of sleep he has in his own crib seems to be getting a little longer. Nicholas brought him in to me around midnight last night. I had nursed him and put him to bed around 7:30 and then went to bed myself at 10:30.

But that extra sleep this morning was awesome, as is this beautiful day! It is 74 degrees, sunny, and beautiful here today. A day that I don't want to stay inside and clean, although that is what I should be doing while everyone is napping.

Three days have passed now, and the weather is gray. I did get some cleaning done Sunday. Today I've got more on my plate than I will be able to accomplish, so I'll just post pictures of the past few days including Olivia in her big girl bed, and note that she has done way better than I expected! We told her that the rule was when we put her to bed, she had to stay in until she woke and called for us to get her out. So far, it has worked!!

Olivia dancing in her "Briar Rose costume" from Abby. She loves it, and as you can see from the following pictures, she wears it a lot! (We have allowed some movies for the first time in the past few weeks. Olivia has now seen Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, although we fast forwarded through the scary parts--the evil stepmother being "not nice" and the witch turning into a dragon--at Olivia's request. Now Olivia likes to act out the movies. She wants us to sing "Once Upon a Dream", turn pumpkins into coaches, and run to her room and cry when we tell her she can't marry the boy from the woods or when her step sisters rip her dress. She can do that now that she can get in her toddler bed. Perfectly timed!)

Olivia playing with ornaments. A favorite past time of both kids!

"Reading" in her big girl bed to all her animal friends.

Hosting a party in her room. We do that a lot, too!

The promised picture of the tree, completely adorned!

Leo is standing on his own now, and has technically taken his first step, but he is not walking on his own. He likes to hold on to my hands and walk everywhere, which is probably why my back has been hurting! Here comes trouble!

Leo after a bath. Always happy after a bath!