{dAtE nIgHt}

Last night, Jeremiah and I got to go on a MUCH NEEDED and LONG OVERDUE date night!! We moved here 4 months ago and haven't been on a date night....ALONE....since we lived in Utah (with the exception of little "let's go get ice cream" date nights). We got spoiled in Utah when we had a babysitting co-op with 4 other families and got to go out on a date "kid-free" EVERY single Friday night! We then had to babysit all the kids every 5th Friday. Ahhh....it was the greatest thing ever to have that alone time every week!! We really need to get one of those started here....trust me, it's SO worth it!!

Anyway, we put the kids to bed at 6:30 pm and Jeremiah's parents babysat without really having to "babysit"! We had a $100 gift card to one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Newport Beach...Villa Nova...a place that we would never go on our own dime! It's on Newport Harbor and our table was right on the window overlooking the water! The guy that sat us at our table said, "I hope this is ok Mr. and Mrs. Smith" as he seated us at the BEST table in the entire restaurant! Umm....hello!! Yes, this is perfect and much better than the table we had at McDonald's last Friday night that was overlooking the play area! We lived it up with our "free" $100 and we spent every single penny of it!! We ordered an appetizer, salads, yummy entrees and 2 desserts!! Ahhh!! I think I gained 5 lbs last night! We even splurged and did valet parking...even after paying the $8 for that, we agreed it was a cheap date night! It was such a great night...and I was so impressed that we hardly even talked about the kids...it was all about us this time! =) I don't think we have had 2 hours of uninterrupted conversation in months!! I was so relaxed that I almost fell asleep in the car on the way home and it was only 9:30 pm!! Ha! We are getting so old! We REALLY need to do this MORE OFTEN!!

{lOOk OuT...wE hAvE a wAlKeR}

Well....sorta a walker!! Zoe took forever to have an interest in standing...I thought she would never walk!! But then she started standing for a few seconds here and there before falling and then she would stand for a little longer and NOW...she is walking behind her walker!! She loves to push anything and everything now. And I love watching her walk from behind because she seriously looks like a little old lady pushing a walker. I love it! She's also starting to cruise a tiny bit along the furniture. I'm sure it will still be a while before we have a "real" walker, but I am hoping by her 1st birthday (which is only 5 weeks away I might add....oh my gosh, where did the time go?!?!) she will be walking for "real"!

Here is a little video of her showing off today...pushing her little activity table. I love it when she turns around and starts walking away...she looks like how I remember my great great grandma walking with a walker! Ha! =)

{hAnDsOmE}

Here is Ayden before church on Sunday. How cute is this little fellow!?!?!? I loved seeing him in this little outfit...he looked so handsome! I swear, throw a name badge on his shirt and he looks like a little future missionary!! Funny thing was that I kept telling him all morning how handsome he looked. He knew he was cute and as soon as he got into his nursery class, he ran up to his teacher and said, "I am handsome"!! It was so cute! Of course he wouldn't smile for me...he was too busy looking at himself in the mirror....I mean, watching TV!! =)

{GooDbYe CaBiN fEvEr}

Yesterday, the weather finally took a turn for the better after a long week of rain. We were getting some serious cabin fever and were anxious to get outside again. So when we knew that it was going to be nice yesterday, we decided to go down to my parents. Ayden loves driving to Grammy and Papa's house and watches closely as we drive over the hill and the beach appears. As soon as he catches a glimpse of the beach, he starts talking about "turtle friend". He always wants to see his turtle friend that is close to the entrance of the pier.

Walking on the boardwalk with Grammy Con and Papa Roger!

He also loved looking at all the crabs and lobsters at the fish market. One of the workers got out a crab for Ayden to "pet"! I couldn't believe how close he got...almost TOO close...the crab was ready to pinch him!!

You can't make a trip to the pier without getting some ice cream. Ayden and Zoe both loved theirs!! =)

Ayden also loves checking out the fishermen...and wanted to get really close to these pelicans!

We also went to the park...you can't beat a park with a view of the ocean in the background! Zoe LOVES going on the swings!! She laughs and laughs!! Ayden is really into climbing right now...he's a little monkey! And when he's climing anything he has to say "Sube", which he learned from Diego!! Zoe is also a little monkey and loved climbing up on the slides!

We are loving our beach days..can't wait til summer when we can enjoy this all the time!! =)

{wHeRe's WaLdO??}

I mean, Where's Ayden??? Last night I went to check on him before we went to bed and was surprised when I didn't see him in his bed. I almost tripped over him when I saw that he was on the floor. Not sure if he fell out of bed or just decided to go lay down on the floor!?!?!?

But I did think it was cute that he managed to take LION along with him...you can barely see him tucked under his chest!!

It's interesting to me how much more attached Ayden has become to lion this week since we started our new trick at bedtime. This week, sleep at the Smith house has been the best it's been in months....I have to give all the credit to my friend Steph for her idea to take away lion and blankie when Ayden got out of bed in the middle of the night! Last night was by far the best night since we started 5 days ago. He went to bed at 6:45 pm (ahhhh...I am loving this new bedtime and the fact that both of our kids are in bed every night at 6:30 ish...it sure makes for a nice long evening)!! He didn't wake up at all in the night until 5 am. But the best part was that he didn't come out of his room because he knows that if he does, he will lose lion. So he stood at his door and called for me, "Mommy, Mommy come here!!!" I was so proud of him (even though it was 5 am)! So I took him potty, got him a drink of water, tucked him back in bed and told him that if he got out of bed I would take lion. It worked like a charm....he slept in until 7 am!! =) Woohoo!! Jeremiah and I are crossing our fingers that the same thing happens tomorrow morning (or 8 am would be nice too)! It would be the first Saturday in months that we have been able to sleep in past 5:30 am!! Ahhhh...heaven!

{tHiS little PiGgy....}

This little piggy loved spaghetti.

This little piggy made a mess.

This little piggy threw it in the air.

This little piggy had fun.

And this little piggy went wee wee wee (WHO ME??)....

While her Mommy cleaned up!!

Since I am an OCD neat freak, meal time is not one of my favorites at this age. But since Zoe is at the stage where she wants to do everything ALL BY HERSELF, I decided to just let her go at it with the spaghetti the other night! She sure had a blast getting it all in her hair, down her shirt, in her diaper (somehow) and the dogs enjoyed cleaning up the floor around her. And I really enjoyed watching Jeremiah clean her up when it was all over!

{wE DiD iT!!!!}

I don't even care if I jinx myself right now...I am just so excited this morning!! Ayden slept in until 8 AM!!!!! That's right...the same kid that woke up at 5 am yesterday and 4 am the day before that.....slept a whopping 13 hours last night....and by 8 am, he usually has about 3 hours of TV in already!!! I won't say that he didn't wake up at all in the night because he did 4 times!! But they were all very easy to put him back to bed, thanks to our new game plan!! Yesterday I talked to my friend Steph and she gave me a good pep talk....a "shame on you Lindsay, ths isn't about sleep...it's about willpower!!!" Ahhhh...just wanted I needed to hear as I was running out of ideas! Her little Alyssa is just like my Ayden, so usually what worked for her will work for us! So when we went to bed last night, our new plan was that if Ayden woke up, we would start taking away his favorite things.....lion and his blankie!!! So he woke up the first time at 10:30 pm (we were caught a little off guard because he usually doesn't wake up this early...I knew we were in for a long night)!! The first time, I put him back in bed as he was kicking and screaming because he said he wanted to sleep in our room. I told him that if he got out of bed again, I would take lion away! Well, a minute later, he opened his door....and guess what happened to lion!?!?!? I took him away, put Ayden back in bed and told him if he gets out of bed again, I would take blankie away! Well, here he came right behind me....so I took blankie away too!! I did feel a little bit bad, but was hoping it would work! When I went to put him back in bed, we had a little conversation...it was like he was ready to talk about it because he knew I was serious this time. He told me he just wanted to sleep on the floor in Mommy and Daddy's room. But I told him he was a big boy and he needed to sleep in his big boy bed. I said that Mommy and Daddy sleep in their bed and said to him "you can do it....you're a big boy, right?" And he said, "right Mommy" underneath his sniffling tears. I told him that if he stayed in his bed and didn't cry for 5 minutes that I would bring lion and blankie back into his bed. So he did it and he got his things back! He woke up again at 12:30 am and 1:30 am and I told him the same thing....if he got out of his bed, I would take lion away. Well, he never got out a second time!! And then when he came into our room at 5 am, I thought that was the end of our good night, but I took him back to bed and told him I was going to take lion if he got out again. And at 6:30, when our alarm went off, we were both shocked that Ayden was still in his room....fast asleep!! And he stayed there til 8 am!! I even had to go in at about 7:30 am to make sure he was still breathing because I just couldn't believe it!! Now, I know that it has only been one night, but I am hoping this is what is going to work and that we can do the same thing again tonight!! We will see...you can see from the pictures how important his lion is to him...he has a serious death grip on him every night!! When Ayden finally came downstairs, I was so excited and hugged him and started dancing around saying "We did it, we did it, we did it!!!" He laughed and laughed at me and said, "Mommy, you are so silly....silly Mommy!!" I can already tell that we are going to have a good day....he is SO CHEERY this morning already!! And he woke up with some serious dragon breath (which he never has), so I know that he slept good!!! =)

{4 AM....ARE YOU SERIOUS???}

So I've had this sleeping book for 4 days now and still haven't read it! (Why?? I have no idea....this is why I don't ever read books...I just can't sit down and relax enough to read a book! You would think I'd make the time for this one since we are obviously struggling in the sleep department around here!) I've glanced through and looked at the part about "Morning Wake Up Time is Too Early" to see how to solve the problem. Everything says that an early wake time means that bedtime is too late!! Our last 3 mornings have been not good at all...Ayden hasn't slept past 5:30 am once!! And last night was the worst...he woke up at 12:30 am and 2:30 am, but luckily went right back to sleep. Until 4 am when he woke up FOR GOOD!!! He laid in our bed from 4-5:30 am totally restless and didn't sleep at all! He was tossing and turning which of course kept me awake! He has gotten a 1 1/2 hour nap the past 3 days even though we have had to resort to taking a car ride so he will fall asleep. It only takes about a mile of driving for him to fall asleep and then we come home and put him to bed! And his bedtime has been gradually getting earlier...he's gone to bed at about 7 pm for the past 4 nights!! So......what is the problem??? Why is he still waking up so early?? I would think that it should be getting better since he's been getting more sleep the past few nights. I'm starting to lose faith that the sleep in this house is ever going to get back to normal!!

I just want these binkys back....he was such a happy baby and good sleeper with it! I miss the days when he used to ASK to go to bed or ASK to go down for a nap!! I'm sure he just wanted to get a drag on his binky since he only got one at bedtime!!

And I also want this room back....his "real" room that he slept so well in! Maybe he just knows that this isn't REALLY "our" house and that heisn't in "his" room and that is why he is sleeping bad! Ugh...I am lookng for anything to explain why we aren't getting any sleep around here!! I miss my sleepy boy!

{love}

I have been reading so many posts about love these past few days for Valentine's Day! It got me thinking about what I love in my own life. There are so many things that I am grateful for and it's so easy to look far beyond those things, sometimes without even seeing them, when I am frustrated about other things. For this post, I want to focus on what I LOVE! I really do LOVE my life....I LOVE that I have such an amazing family....I LOVE that I had such a memorable childhood. I LOVE that after 39 years of marriage, my parents still LOVE each other. I often look at them and hope that Jeremiah and I can have half the relationship that they have when we have been married for almost 40 years! I LOVE that Jeremiah's parents have been so generous to let us bring our crazy family into their house these past 4 months. I LOVE my hubby...when you have 2 little kids, it's hard to focus on what you LOVE about your spouse and it's so easy to be critical of what they do...when it may not be the exact way that you would do it. When I think of my life without Jeremiah, I cringe at the thought! I LOVE my kids to death! I won't lie....every single day is a HUGE challenge. A HUGE challenge that I wouldn't trade in for anything!! The only thing I ever wished for, hoped for, dreamed of and desired so deeply was to be a MOM....and I LOVE it!! We tried so hard, went through so much and waited so long....my babies are finally here and I LOVE them so much (even when they drive me up the wall)!! I would never want to trade this crazy life that we have now for the simple life that we had before our kids (even though there are some days that I just want to sleep in until 9 am or go out to eat...just the two of us or run to the grocery store just by myself)! My life is perfect....it is full of LOVE!! And I'm grateful for that on this LOVE day!!

This afternoon we made heart cookies....I love an excuse like Valentine's Day to make some sweets! And my little sugar tooth buddy loves to help and like the bowl clean!

Zoe got in on the action this time....she was pretty impressed with the KitchenAid Mixer and loved getting a little taste here and there! =)

{Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child}

Ok, so I have decided to take the advice that everyone has been giving me for weeks and finally get this book. We are having some serious sleep issues here and I don't know what else to do, so I RAN (as fast as I could) to the bookstore today and bought the book. I haven't read it yet...and to be honest, I have no idea when I will find the time to read it in the next few days! But I did glance through the first chapter and learned something very important!! I looked at the chart that shows how many hours of sleep a child Ayden's age should be getting. 90% of 2 year olds are sleeping 14 hours a day! On a good day, Ayden gets about 11 hours of sleep....along with only 10% of kids his age! Ummm....there is my first clue that we have a problem...he is not getting enough sleep! I'm just not sure how to get that extra 3 hours in!! He refuses to take a nap in his bed...so unless we are driving, he will not nap! And tonight, we tried to get him to bed at 6:30 (how great would that be....both kids in bed by 6:30 pm....ah, heaven on earth)!!! But after dinner and baths, it was 6:45 before he was in bed ready for Daddy to read a story. I know he was tired because he kept yawning, but his body must have known that it wasn't the usual 7:30 pm bedtime. So he came out of his room a couple times and wanted me to come in and scratch his back....and he also told Jeremiah to come in because he had to tell him something and then he couldn't think of anything to tell him!! Ahhh...the things that they come up with at bedtime!! Anyway, his eyes were finally closed and he was fast asleep at 7:15 pm! So we will see if it helps him sleep in at all in the morning or if it stops him from waking in the night. And over the next few days, we will try to get those 3 extra hours in! Wish us luck and thanks for all the advice!!!!

{AnD wE dO iT aLL oVeR aGaIn...."

Those of you jealous of our warm weather don't need to be jealous anymore!! We have had a week of rain, wind and cold weather! It has been kind of nice because it actually feels a little "wintery", but I'm ready for the warmth to come back so we can get back outside!! =) Yesterday when I went walking at 7 am, it was a chilly 36 degrees!! Brrrr!!!

I'm not sure if it's this weather or what, but we have had a rough last week!! Our day starts out at 5:45 most mornings when Ayden comes in our room ready for the day! One morning, he even woke up at 4:45 am!! He also is still waking up once or twice in the night, comes into our room, and I put him back in bed. Why is this happening?? Please someone give me some insight if you have had this problem with your toddler!! He goes to bed between 7 and 7:30 every night. We have tried putting him down later, but it doesn't seem to matter when he goes to sleep....he wakes up every morning before 6 am!! He doesn't have an "official" nap during the day, but he does "nap" if we are driving and will sleep about an hour! Anyway, all I want is to figure out a way to get him to go back to sleeping in until at least 7 am!! When your day starts out at 5:45 am, it makes for a VERY LONG day!! Which might explain why things have felt a little hectic around here and why our patience is dwindling! Speaking of Ayden, I think it's safe to say that we have officially hit the TERRIBLE TWOS!! I've heard people say that the 3's were harder than the 2's and I am starting to believe it!! All of a sudden, Ayden has turned into an even more stubborn little stinker! It's almost impossible to go to any store without him throwing a fit as we walk out of the store without whatever it was that he wanted!! He SCREAMS at the top of his lungs to make sure that everyone around him knows that he is VERY mad at his mom! I choose to ignore his tempers, so I get plenty of irritated looks from strangers!! Oh well!! =) It works for us!! =) He is also really into being a little sassy mouth and talking back to us if he doesn't like what we say! His favorite lately is to pretend that he is Buzz Lightyear and he sticks out his arm and says that Buzz is shooting us!! Lovely!! He is also having a hard time learning to share with his sister...he is so threatened by her and if she comes within a 10 foot radius of ANYTHING he owns, he scoops it all up and screams saying "Zoe don't get my things, Zoe stay away!!!" We are constantly working on sharing...he needs to be around more kids I guess!! It sure is a good thing he is a cutie and looks adorable when he is sleeping!! It's also nice when Jeremiah or I walk in the door from being away and he runs into our arms for a big hug and a kiss and tells us he missed us!! And hearing him say "I love you SO MUCH" out of the blue will melt your heart! And when he listens and does EXACTLY what we ask him to do....well, that doesn't hurt either!! It is these things that I am constantly trying to remember to help me get through the days where I feel like I have reached my breaking point!! Because on those days, it is the simplest things that can set you off....like the time that I was in our bedroom folding laundry at the end of the day. I told Ayden that his lion was in the bathtub (the washing maching) getting clean so he was ready for bedtime! I came into the laundry room to get the clothes out of the dryer and this is what I found....he had pulled EVERYTHING out of the washer AND the dryer and thrown it all on the floor....in search of his lion! I was so mad at first as I thought to myself about having to clean up the mess he made! But when I realized that he was just looking for his little lion friend, I couldn't help but let my frustration go! It's moments like these that help us get through our days, right?!?!!? =)

"Don't worry about the mess Mom....I FINALLY found lion!!!" =)

And Zoe....she is just getting to the stage where she is into ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!!! She loves exploring her world....which means that she pulls herself up on the toilet, gets into things she shouldn't and puts everything in her mouth! Here are a couple pictures of her getting into things....and one of her trying to go down the stairs HEAD FIRST!!! Ahhhh!!!

Oh and her tantrums....they are quite interesting also! It could be the littlest thing that sets her off...and she could've been fine 10 second before the tantrum!! But she will lay on the floor, put her face face down on the floor and cry and kick her legs and bang her hands!! Where did she learn this?!?!!? I'm sure the next thing she will do is bang her head on the floor!! My mom keeps reminding me that I was the EXACT SAME WAY!! She says Zoe is just like me and that I am in for it! She also says that I am the reason they had no more kids after me! Ha!! At least Zoe makes up for it with her big, wet, slobbery, mouth wide open kisses!! And when she decides to lay her head on my shoulder and snuggle for half a second...that is pretty cute too!! But my favorite has to be the fact that I can calm her down when she is upset and noone else can do the trick!! Again, it is these moments that I need to keep reminding myself about!!

And it's the rare moments where everyone is happy and playing and getting along...like this moment that we had tonight right before bedtime!!

And now that they are both in bed, I can fall in love with them all over again...and try to be refreshed for my wake up call at 5:45 tomorrow morning when that sweet little boy will quietly wander into our room and gently pry my eyes open to tell me it is "morning time"....and then it will be time to be a good Mommy and do it all over again!!!