Update

So I have professed that this blog is my "baby book" for Dana and Alice, recording milestones and general happenings of their young lives. So this update is without pictures (as I can't seem to find a good moment to snap pics these days) and instead is more of a run down of the last several weeks. If you're not interested in sleep habits or stubborn toddler behavior, you can skip the rest of this post.

So, Dana... she is the best! But she really has us scratching our heads about her nightly sleep routine. We thought we had cleared the biggest hurdle of having a young baby - sleeping through the night! The night before she started at daycare, she slept through the night. We thought this was a fluke but she continued to do this for almost two weeks! But, of course, this was too good to be true and after a little sickness, she is back to getting up two, sometimes three times a night. The major bummer about this is that she is very difficult to get to go back down so the cumulative time she's up during the night ranges from 2-3 hours. ugh. With the season starting on Tuesday, I'm desperate for her to sleep through the night. So we are trying to "train" her to soothe herself. We are going to attempt to put her to bed while she's still awake and currently (as in right this second) I am putting her in her crib for a nap, letting her cry and going in every 5 minutes to reassure her that she's not experiencing total parental neglect. On that note, got to go up and rub her belly. Not sure this first attempt is going to result in a nap but hopefully it's a step in the right direction. ugh.

So on to Alice... she has been a handful in a different way. She is choosing when she wants to be a good listener and when she wants to ignore everything we say. Generally I would say the ignoring behavior outweighs the good listener behavior quite significantly. The difficult part is trying to address her acting out with her without totally affirming to her that she is a bad listener.

And lastly, we had a terrific weekend with lots of family for Alice and Dana's baptism. It was a VERY special day with Uncle Perry performing the service. Alice was a little surprised by the water on her head but seemed to like the excitement of the service and all the attention she received. She most liked the "birthday cake" that she wanted seconds of at both lunch and dinner. Dana was super smiley and only showed her really pathetic poutty face once or twice during the service. Overall, it was a fantastic day!

It's been a crazy weekend and we are just bracing ourselves for the crazy that awaits us when the season begins on Tuesday. We promise to try to post pictures next post. They are much more fun and interesting!

Dana's first day of school

Today is Dana's first full day at daycare. She had a great weekend - took naps in her crib and slept through the night last night! I think it's been since Christmas that she gave us a night without getting up. YAY, Dana! Here are a few pics of her on her big day!

Alice giving Dana a kiss

Trying to figure out if she's ok with this...

Oh good! Looks like she's going to like it here!

Christmas in VT!

Dad got some quality time with his little girls!

Dana in her party dress!Santa's little helper!

Princess Belle

Emma clearly is the trend setter for the little cousins!

Stockings!Where to put the car seats? That's a lot of babies!

Sledding is SO FUN!

Cooper showing the girls how it's done!

Love Eva's face here!

One of my favorite photos from the weekend - The big girls.

Little Jan Jan wanted in on the fun, too!

Elle is getting so big and SO CUTE!

Bubble bath party - Janet's first time with the big cousins!

Hand knit sweaters from Mom's friend Barb. Just need to photo shop Emma in on the right!

Elle was snuggling with Dana...so sweet.

The PJ twins!

And that's a wrap!

Baby Dana

So this is my last full week home with Dana. Next week is a short week and she has two visit days at daycare on Thursday and Friday. I've been trying to catch some good shots of this one before it's weeks between blog posts. Here are a few pics of the muffin.

Don't worry Trin Laxers - this was a gift and we wanted a picture of it before Dana out grew it. No Bowdoin gear during the season. (sorry GAs!)

Sunday Fun Day

At home with the girls on Sunday. Reeves is at an open house at school so we are playing on our own!! Dana is working on her rolling over and Alice painted a few Thomas pictures. She was especially happy to wear her 'doggie' shirt from Aunt Jenn.

More fun in the jumperoo!
Love those cheeks!
A little shout out to her Midd kids in VT. She showcased the shirt quite cleverly I thought!

Jingle Bells

Home with the girls!

Reeves had meetings today at school so it's been just Alice, Dana and me for the day! They are both now sleeping so in my few moments of quiet thought I would share a couple of pictures from the morning. Dana is amazing me with how much she can do! We tried out the jumperoo today and she totally loved it! It was so fun to see her face light up when I dropped her in! And Alice had a great time coloring in a mickey mouse poster close by. All in all it's been a great day!

Dana needed a little prop help from websters dictionary!

I just love this little muffin!

A nice, sunny day to play on the blue mat!

This is Alice's "smile" face. I don't get it.

Dana really loves her hands these days. She drools like a maniac so she's often shoving a bib in her mouth. Sometimes she gets it so she's covering her face with her bib when lying on the floor. She is a funny one. We are loving the three month stage.