i should be doing other things...

i have several things i really should be doing instead of this (finishing the blanket i started making for Lexi, straightening my hair, baking 3 pies, making cranberry sauce, and preparing snacks for tomorrow) especially since Lexi's taking a nap right now! but here i sit, blogging. so i guess i'll dig right in and try to get this over with as quickly as possible.
sleep training- something we NEVER had to do with Lincoln. he was always so easy and such a great sleeper. Lexi, however, has been quite difficult. she slept through the night until about a month ago and has been a real pain since then. even when she was "asleep", i would have to hop up several times and stick her pacifier back in her mouth so she wouldn't completely wake up. so this past sunday night, we started using the ferber method. so far it's working reeeeally well.
the first night, we put her to bed at 10pm and she cried for 2 hours (i went in about every 10 minutes to reassure her and let her know she hadn't been abandoned) and then she woke up twice (maybe three times- i was sleeping so i don't remember) and took about 20-30 minutes to go back to sleep each time. the second night, we put her in her bed at 10:30pm and she cried for 30 minutes. she woke up once during the middle of the night and only cried for about 10 minutes. she then didn't wake up till 7am. LAST night, she went to bed at 9:30pm. she cried for about 20 minutes and then fell asleep. she fell asleep on her belly, so i had to go m ove her to her side. usually that would wake her up (she's such a light sleeper but is getting better thanks to this!) and she slept through it. she didn't wake up until 6am! i was SOOO HAPPY! at 6, we got up, i fed her (didn't talk to her, of course- wouldn't want her thinking it was time to get up), put her back in bed, and she slept until 9am. it was the best sleep i've gotten in almost 4 1/2 months. anyway, i'm pretty encouraged about how well it's going. it's really great cause we're not having to swaddle her anymore or worry about a pacifier at night. she only has one during the day, and usually when we're out in public and she's reeeally grumpy.
Lincoln watched Tarzan for the first time the other day. he was in the living room watching it and i was in the dining room talking on the phone. the next thing i knew, i looked to my left and there was Link, stripped down to just his undies. "why are you naked??" i asked. "i'm not naked! i'm Tarzan!" ...i thought that was pretty hilarious.
i've got all my Christmas shopping done for Scott and our kids. i've got a lot of shopping done for Scott's family as well. and we're not doing presents this year for my family (which i'm really excited about, actually) except we ARE buying for Lincoln and my nephew Layton...
until this week, my brain had totally skipped over Thanksgiving and was in Christmas mode. the tree's up, our stockings are up, lots of my shopping is done. yesss.
this is the first Christmas that i really don't want anything. i never understood when my mom would tell us "don't get me anything! save your money!" and now i totally understand. i don't need anything. i would really people rather spend their money on things that they need. does that mean i'm getting old? i just want to make sure my kids (well- mostly Lincoln, since he's old enough to enoy it) to have a great Christmas.
the musical is almost over. i'm sooo glad. we've done 2 of our 3 shows and won't be able to do the next one till Dec 7th. we can't do it this weekend since it's a holiday weekend, and we can't do it the 6th because i will be out of town for my sister's lingerie shower (which i am hostessing, so i really can't miss it). so i'll have to wake up bright and early on Dec 7th, drive home from Austin, get myself ready, and have a show at 3pm. that day is going to SUUUUUCK!!!
it's really weird that Scott and i are the only "kids" who live here now. his siblings have both moved away, and now both of mine are gone. of course, Mitsi's been gone since i was in 7th grade, so that's no biggie. i'm used to her being gone. but now that Matt's gone- well- it's weird. and Scott and i are still here. i think we'll stay here forever. i know people hate this place, but we really love it. ...maybe we're crazy.
ok, ok... i really have to go take advantage of the fact that Lexi's napping. i'm making 2 caramel apple pecan streussel pies and one coconut cream (NOT coconut meringue) pie. yummmmmm....
happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Family Pictures 2008

Stan West took our pictures yesterday and they turned out great! I posted my favorites on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=70833&l=ec8d9&id=500533383

Lexi's newest tricks.

Lexi has so many new tricks!
She really likes to blow bubbles and "talk" so she can hear the spit blowing between her lips. If there's no drool already on her lips, she will force some spit onto them and blow bubbles and then make noises. it's pretty cute!
She's been laughing more, and it's reeeeally cute. It is a totally girly sounding squeal. LOVE IT!
She's also learned to grab things (though it takes a lot of concentration and doesn't go very quickly) and get them to her mouth (which is even more challenging!) it makes her reallly angry when she can't get something into her mouth like she wants it! It's also hard to figure out how to let go of things once she's managed to grab them.


She has gotten really good at holding her head up for several minutes. She's even rolled over a few times. The first time she did it was at 14 weeks (which was about 3 weeks ago). Lincoln did it when he was only 10 weeks, but we were on the go a whole lot less with him and he spent more time playing as a result. She has now rolled over about 5 times. I've seen two, Scott's seen two, and Lincoln claimed to have seen one.


She'd been holding her head up for probably 5 or 6 minutes and I had been taking pictures of her the whole time. ...This look lets you know that she'd had enough!!!


This picture has nothing to do with a new trick, but it's just funny to me. She has to be swaddled to sleep, but she HATES it when Daddy is in the process of swaddling her! This is her sad/angry face as he was just beginning the "hog tie".

There is a lot more going on in our lives right now... my father-in-law is home, so hopefully Scott's work load will lighten a bit. Scott took Lincoln on his first deer hunt yesterday (during which they saw NO DEER! how bad does that suck!?). The holidays are rapidly approaching and I am itching to shop.... a lot.

There is even more than all of this, but it's almost midnight. Lexi's finally gone to sleep. I'm the only one awake and right now i'm wondering why i'm doing this instead of sleeping. NO MORE!