duuuude...

so last night sucked big time. caleb wailed in his room at bedtime for a good hour before i went to sit in there. he was so exhausted from all his crying...but still got up at 1130 and proceeded to cry some more. cried until about 1 am...not wailing, but crying, stopping, crying, stopping...so dave finally went in and put him back in bed. soon after that, though, brynna was up, wanting to eat. they finally let us sleep for a good 3-4 hours, but then brynna was up again at 515 wanting to eat. of course, right after i finally get her to go back down, caleb is up.

he has a slight fever and a runny nose and he's fussy because of that and not getting enough sleep...gonna be a grrrreat day. hope brynna is okay today cuz i'm tired and i might just need a beer by the end of the day...

poor brynna...

today brynna is three months old!!! i just went back and was reading some of my older posts about caleb cuz i wanted to see what he was like at this age, and i have to say, i wrote a LOT more about caleb...all about his sleeps, how much he was eating, new things he was doing, what we did with him throughout the day, etc. even now i feel like most of the stuff i write is about what caleb is doing that's new or interesting. i was telling my sister on the phone today that i feel bad for brynna because it seems like we give caleb a lot more attention...he just demands it. she's much easier, more laid-back, sleeps more, fusses less...there just isn't as much to say. and i guess since it isn't all new to me, i don't write about it. poor girl. i'll have to remind myself that even though she doesn't demand it like caleb does, she deserves just as much attention as he gets.

dang it...

just when things seem to be rolling along smoothly...

brynna throws us off by not wanting to go to sleep...feed her, she falls asleep, we put her down, she stays down for about 20 minutes and just as we're falling asleep, she's up again...did that a couple times last night and finally went down around 11 pm, which is really late for her.

then caleb's up at 1230, crying...i go in the room, and because i'm so tired, i lie down with him and go to sleep. he moves around so much, though, and startles each time i move, so it's not really a restful sleep. next time i know better...i'm just letting him cry until he goes back to sleep (the only thing that sucks is that sometimes he gets so loud he wakes brynna up and that screws everything up).

then brynna's up at 430, crying, which is completely unexpected because she usually sleeps through. so dave gets up to feed her, then we switch places and he goes in with caleb and i take brynna.

he gets caleb to go down...then, at 545 when brynna's finally gone down, he starts crying again. we let him go until about 620, when i finally get out of bed and head back to his bedroom before his wails wake brynna up.

grrrr.

so far this morning caleb managed to take about 20 wipes out of the container while i went to bathroom, took my jeans drawer apart while i was feeding brynna, and somehow got into dave's deodorant that he threw away in the trash can. oh well. at least he's taking a nap now...hopefully a nice, long nap so he wakes up a happier boy.

day three

so...today is day three of caleb's new big boy bed. i thought it would be a lot more difficult for him to make the transition, but so far, so good. i mean, of course it hasn't been perfect, and last night it took him a long time to go down, but for the most part it's been okay.

first night...i stayed in the room with him, he cried for about ten minutes, then went to sleep. woke up at 530 crying and i went in to sleep with him.

day two nap...took his blankie and paci, daddy turned on the music, he quickly went to sleep and got out of bed and joined us in the living room when his nap was over.

day two bedtime...screamed and fussed and didn't want to stay in bed. i went in and sat with him but that was just taking way too long so i started to move in increments toward the door...he wasn't having it and wailed at the gate for a while. i can't really remember how it all ended...oh yea, dave took over while i went to bocha, then we kissed him goodnight again and he went sleep...i think...he was up early this morning doing who knows what cuz when we woke up with brynna at 6 a.m., he was already walking around the room.

day three naptime...he went in at around 11 a.m. and didn't go to sleep...he made doodoo, played with my mom's papers, opened drawers, turned the lamp on and off, etc... so after an hour of him just cruising around the room, i brought him out and fed him lunch. he ate some, then fell asleep in his chair.

day three bedtime...cried a little, came to the baby gate, put his head down on the gate for a while, went to his bed and stood next to it with his head on it, then climbed in and went to bed.

i love his independence...but it makes me a little sad to see him turn into a big boy.

new rooming arrangements...

caleb is now on a big boy bed in his room (yep, not a toddler bed!) and brynna is in the crib in our room. last night was the first night of the transition...after reading caleb his stories and turning on his music (our normal routine), i put him down in his new bed. he was already anxious because he knew it was something new so i stayed in the room but sat on the opposite side of the room from his bed. he stood up and started to try to crawl over the rail, but i told him no and surprisingly, he stopped. he just stood there, wailing, for about 10 minutes...then he stopped, found his paci and blanket, and went to sleep! i was amazed. i was scared that he'd get up in the middle of the night screaming because he was in a different bed and alone...which he did, but only at 5:30 am...and i just went to his room and jumped in bed with him and he fell back asleep. today, for his nap, dave took him in the room, gave him his paci and blankie, played his music, and he just lay in bed, listening to his music and eventually fell asleep. wow.

brynna looks much more comfortable in the crib than in the squishy bassinet. she slept well last night so we hope it continues!!

home alone and other transitions

tomorrow caleb, my mom and i are going to maui. caleb and i are going overnight, my mom is going to stay for a while. dave and brynna will be home alone. needless to say, this is a new adventure for us because we've never done solo flights or solo overnights.

after tomorrow we'll be one on one with the two kids too during the day. for the summer we're teaching a class so one of us will be home with the kids and one of us will go to work. don't know exactly how we're going to switch off yet, but we'll figure it out.

i'm interested to see how flying back by myself with caleb on saturday will be. i'm taking his umbrella stroller and only packing a backpack so it'll make it easy for me to carry and maneuver him. i'm bringing snacks for him on the plane so that he'll be occupied and satisfied...hopefully.

my biggest worry...he'll start throwing a tantrum on the plane cuz he doesn't want to sit nicely. he'll start screeching and kicking and being "that kid." he's about half my size, so sometimes holding and restraining him is not easy.

i'm sure dave and brynna will be fine...at least he'll be home and not out in public...lol. although she hasn't repeated her nine hour sleep, she's been going to sleep around 8ish, waking up at 1 or 2, and then going back to sleep until about 7. hopefully she'll do this for dave.

on saturday dave will be moving the crib from caleb's room to ours because brynna is getting way too big for the bassinet. today my mom and i are going to check out some toddler beds...i know it's kind of poho because he'll outgrow it in a few years, but he just seems too little for a big bed right now. even with the rails on the side, i think it's just too intimidating for him...hehe...probably just too intimidating for me...

over the summer he's going to have to be weaned from his paci too. i figure after 18 months his paci needs to be gone. we'll see how that goes. right now he only uses it for nap and bedtime, but still...i'll let him keep his blankie, though...he can keep that as long as he wants (for sleep time only!).

he's such a big boy already...a year and half...my goodness!!!!

fo' real...

i know i've written about it a couple times lately....but caleb's screeching is driving me bonkers. i don't know how to get him to stop. tonight we put him on the step and told him he was on time out...lol. i'm pretty sure he doesn't get it cuz he sat there and screamed, then got up, then i sat him down again, then he screamed some more, and when i went by him he reached up for me to carry him and when i did, he stopped.

he's 17 months old...almost a year and a half...and i can't imagine his tantrum-like behavior getting any better if what i hear about twos and threes is true. he's always been high-strung...from birth he came out screaming bloody murder...so i don't know if it's just a temperament thing or if it's a lack of parenting thing or what.

sometimes, when he's screeching like a little byotch, i wanna just punt him out the door. any suggestions on what might be better?????

NINE!!

brynna slept for NINE hours last night...amazing!!!! she stirred and whimpered here and there, but always found her thumb and soothed herself back to sleep. i am amazed. caleb took forever and a day to sleep through the night.

i'm anticipating tonight won't be as good...she's been really fussy this evening and has been crying like she's in pain. plus she never make doodoo, so that always throws things off a bit.

it's so freakin' hot...carrying her wearing a basketball jersey made me sweat so much that there were sweat marks all on my chest when dave took her...gross. well, i better get my butt in bed and get a head start in case she has a rough night...

shaddup!!!!

i swear, i know i talk plenty and my volume is kinda loud...but CALEB IS WORSE. hehe. when he's just jibber-jabbering and talking in a sane voice, it's not too bad. but when she's freakin screaming and screeching and whining....grrrrrr. and if i'm not in a most pleasant mood, sometimes i just gotta say, "caleb, shutup." of course, he doesn't listen.

i really, really wonder what it will be like when he's actually talking for reals. i guess this is my payback for always having to have the last word or argue my point...

baby expo, here we come...

we're attempting the baby expo today. dave, of course, would rather stay home with brynna and make me go by myself. see, if my mom were going, he'd probably get his way and be very happy...but since my mom went out, i'm forcing him to come with me. he really does not appreciate these opportunities for family field trips. lol...i guess if he was like me and i was him, i might want to have peace and quiet at home by myself too. too bad.

we're probably going to put caleb in the umbrella stroller and just carry brynna since she doesn't really like the sling. hehe, i'm trying to convince dave to wear the sling...that way, he can carry her and push the stroller at the same time. lol. just kidding.

okay, gotta go pack the bag of goodies...diapers x 2 sizes, wipes, bottles, formula, extra clothes, burp cloth, blanket, snacks, milk for caleb, etc. sheesh.

jinx

i know as soon as i say it, it's gonna change...but here goes...brynna has been sleeping like a CHAMP!!!! last night was the longest, about 6.5 hours...the previous nights, at least 4-6 hour stretches. so yea, tonight's gonna be hellacious.

she's been eating pretty good for the past few days too...eating her 4 oz about 3 hours apart. her cycle during the day has been wake up, eat, stay up for about an hour, get sleepy, cry, take a 2 hour nap, start the cycle again. she's learning to suck her thumb, so as long as she finds it, she can soothe herself and go back to sleep. she sucks her thumb so vigorously it sounds sore. dave was a thumb-sucker, so we'll see how this goes cuz caleb never got the hang of sucking his thumb...he's our paci boy.

speaking of paci boy...it's amazing to see how much he's grown, physically and mentally, in his 17 months. he's definitely a routine boy...he now knows that taking his vitamins means it's time for bed, so he's started to fight us on that. he knows that going into his eating chair means it's time for a meal. he knows that going to the refrigerator tells us that he wants milk...he's slowly learning the sign for milk. he sometimes does the signs for please, thank you, more. he says ball, light, up, key, please, byebye...i think that's all. he knows his blankie and paci are for naptime and bedtime and will usually give them to us after he's done. he knows when it's bocha time and will go to the bathroom with whoever is giving him a bath. he's observant, kolohe and sweet.

tomorrow night is the first time since bon joveeee that dave and i will go out on our own. brynna's going to dave's parent's house and caleb will stay home with my mom while we go to our friend's yakudoshi dinner. that will be nice...

mother's day

yum...ate shoyu pork, spinach salad w/mushrooms, red onions, boiled eggs, bean sprouts, and yummy dressing, bacon-wrapped shrimp, crab legs, steamed broccoli, and brownies with ice cream for dessert.

besides eating, the best part of my day was lying in bed, reading my book and taking a nap. lol.

caleb spent the day with his grandparents again, which is a nice sunday break for us.

brynna slept like a champ last night...gave us a good 6 hour sleep, ate, and then slept for 3 more. she's sleeping right now and has been a sleepy girl all day today, so we'll see how tonight goes. she's learning how to suck her fingers, which is kind of cool cuz she's able to soothe herself back to sleep. it sounds like she's gonna suck her fingers off, though, cuz she sucks so vigorously.

you know that whiny, impatient, grunting nonsense that kids do when they can't communicate...that's killing me with caleb! he gets a daily "shutup" from me...which i know isn't good...but his freakin' incessant grumbles are so grating on the ears. i especially hate it when he does it when he knows it's the last bite of his breakfast yogurt...like what the hell??? you're getting another bite, just eat it...instead, he refuses to eat it and gets all pissed off cuz he knows it's the end. grrrrr. he's also starting to get picky and when there's only little bit milk left in his cup, he doesn't want that one anymore...he wants a full one. goodness gracious. you know what it reminds me of...when dave gets me water and he makes like there's an ice shortage and doesn't put more ice in the cup...lol...i don't want to drink it until there's more ice. guess caleb gets that crap from me...cuz dave is not discriminating when it comes to food at all.

picnic...outdoors...yay...lol

today we had a bbbs picnic to go to...at kualoa beach park. goodness gracious, after driving from home to manoa to kualoa and then back again, my butt is actually freakin sore from all that sitting and driving. i never realized how far away kualoa actually is!

anyways, we got there about 1015ish and lunch was supposed to be at around 1130. we planned to leave there no later than 1230 to get tash back home since she had something to do this afternoon. took caleb down to the beach just to get his feet wet, which he didn't like at all. brynna, luckily, slept most of the time, woke up to eat, and then just chilled. luckily we weren't there for too long :-). caleb, like me, doesn't seem to be a nature boy...he didn't like the sand sticking to his feet and would pick up the rubbish (leaves, grass) that blew onto the sheet we were sitting on.

i can remember when tash and i used to go to the bbbs camp...from friday through sunday at kualoa, which has no real shower facilities and no hot water. i'm sooooo
not a happy camper...thank goodness it's no longer allowed for insurance reasons...lol.

smile with your eyes...

besides the five-head that brynna has in common with tyra banks, she also is an eye-smiler. if you watch antm, you know that tyra always tries to teach the girls to smile with their eyes...brynna has this down. in fact, she smiles with her eyes more than her mouth, i think. lol.

right now she's sitting contentedly in her bouncer chair, looking around at her surroundings. i'm thinking she's going to start fussing in a little bit, though, cuz she's been there for a while...

it's cute to hear her "talk" cuz she definitely sounds like a girl...lol...i can't remember what caleb sounded like at this age...

okay i think she wants some attention...

i'm a biter, not a fighter....

caleb bit brynna on the arm today...don't know what provoked it other than maybe it was because my mom was carrying her. he occasionally bites my mom's knee, but other than that biting hasn't been a problem...yet. tonight he bit my arm unexpectedly as i was playing around with him. i hope biting doesn't become a problem for him. after he bit brynna he knew he did something wrong because my mom yelled, then i pinched his cheek and bit his arm back. he cried, but at this age i don't think he truly understands yet. we'll see if this continues...brynna has a couple red dots on his arm where he bit her, but she didn't really cry much when it happened.

sleeps and dentist

holy smokes, brynna slept for six hours last night, then ate and went back for another 4!!! i'm anticipating a torturous night tonight, though, to make up for the wonderful night last night. i think we should have my mom put her to bed since last night my mom did her last feeding and then put her down...i seriously woke up and put my hand on her back to make sure she was still breathing!

tomorrow my mom has dentist and it's supposed to take two hours. since it's in kaimuki, coming home with the kids is not an option so i'm going to tackle kahala mall. i'm figuring i'll put brynna in the carrier and caleb in the stroller and walk around. now, brynna will probably need to eat during that time frame so i'm going to have to figure that one out without caleb getting all nutts sitting in the stroller and waiting. just hoping kahala mall is pretty dead in case of any meltdowns. lol.

blackout and no caleb

whew, good thing our little blackout was short...that would have sucked if it lasted any longer. was only our complex, though, so they fixed it quick.

caleb is spending the night at his grandparent's house...this is the first time since last summer when i came down with the flu and dave was in sacramento. i must admit, i was kind of sad...wanted to cry but didn't wanna be silly...lol. it's going to be interesting leaving the two of them for a week...i think i'll cry every night. dave said he's not going to sit by me on the plane if i'm going to be crying the whole time. lol.

last night brynna slept suckily. the night before, though, she gave us a good 6 hour sleep.

oh, i think she's hungry...