Christmas Tree

We went to chop down our Christmas tree on a beautifully sunny, cold day at GoGo's.  Love that every tree is $25.  We bundled our kids in their snow suits and went on the search for the perfect tree.

We traipsed for quite a while, K fell down every few steps in all the brush but she was super padded with her snowsuit and the little bit of snow on the ground. 

her "flower"

We finally found our tree and Cole proceeded to saw it down and I tried to keep K from getting trapped under the falling tree.

Can't believe this is K's third time accompanying us to GoGo's and that we are now a family of four!

  

We all had a lot of fun and the girls did so good in the cold.  This was my favourite Christmas tradition growing up and I'm glad my girls are getting to experience it.

 On Sunday we decorated the tree.  We listened to Christmas music and ate some yummy food: quinoa chili with sour cream, cheese, lime, avocado and chips, devilled eggs, sausage rolls, and gingerbread muffins.

B had a small window where she stayed up to watch and then got too cranky and I put her to bed.

B's ornament from Grandma

  

 K wanted desperately to help but is still probably a year away from being able to put decorations on the tree without help.  She loved to pick them out but I had to help her hang them. 

   

Cole putting on his Oilers ornament:

 K helping with the star:

Family pictures:

 

The outtakes:

watch B in the background

ahah love it- faceplant!

K not looking

fail

fail

The next morning while I was in bed nursing B, I heard K break an ornament- and so it begins.  Every morning since we put up the tree she has woken up saying "it's a tree!"

B watching the lights this morning

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Swimming/Movie

B and K both had a first this month: B went swimming and K went to the movie theater.  With K, we had already taken her at 3 months to the pool but with kid #2 six months can fly by when you realize you still hadn't gone.  B loved it- she did really well.  K, on the other hand, has been going through a "scaredy-cat/baby" stage lately.  A lot of the things she usually does with no problem or fear (things she's been doing for over a year) she has suddenly stopped and clinging to us for everything.  So that was disappointing- but I'm sure she'll be back to her normal self soon.  The other day at the park we saw her back to mostly her normal self so hopefully next week when we go swimming again, we will see our water-loving, crazy-jumping daughter.  We miss her.

This weekend we went to see Frozen at the movie theater.  We took both girls and it was a lot of fun.  We brought treats and K sat on the booster seat and saw her first movie (in the theater).  I thought the movie was great.  B did excellent as well.  She watching part of it, nursed for part of it and hung out for the rest.  She even missed her morning nap but was a trooper.  K got restless for the last half hour or so but she was really good and stayed pretty quiet and didn't run away.  It was an 11am show so there wasn't a ton of people and they were all like us- little families with kids.  It was so cute to hear all the kids- none of them knew how to whisper yet so we got a bunch of commentary.  Really cute stuff, though.  I would recommend the movie. I also loved that the first movie our girls saw out at the theater was about sisters.

Room Change/Sleep Training

My sweet baby girl is six months now and a couple weeks ago went through a growth spurt and when that was over, a sleep regression.  Nursing had also made me lazy and whenever she cried I would bring her into bed, latch her on and go back to sleep.  But I was ready for that to be over.  I wanted her out of our room and in with her sister.  So we did it- we decided K could suffer along with us.  I didn't want to sleep train her in our room and then move her in with K and possibly need to sleep train all over again. 

First night getting her new crib all ready- she didn't know what she was in for...

I also decided to cut out the nighttime nursing.  She really only was eating once a night (the rest was soothing) so I turned that into a bottle feed (I do both so it wasn't a big deal for me to cut out a nursing session).  We also decided Cole would give that feeding for a while until she realized there was no more nursing at night.  For every other time she woke up we let her cry and would go into her room to try to soothe her standing beside the bed.  She had music as well.  Going in to soothe her didn't work- she screamed anyways.  But we held strong and by hour 2 (she had woken up at 11pm and screamed till 1am)  she gave up- she didn't fall sleep crying.  She just stopped crying and looked around her room and at the mobile and then drifted off.  (Note: K didn't even seem to notice there was a screaming baby in her room...) B woke up for her usual feed a couple hours later and then slept again till it was time to nurse with me after 6am.  Night two she woke up again at 11pm but only screamed for 20 mins.  Night three no screaming, just her usual feed.  We just had night five so we feel pretty in the clear.

I love having the girls share a room.  I go stand at their door several times after they've fallen asleep to watch them.  I know at some point they might not love sharing a room but for now- they like each others company.  They aren't alone and they are already used to each others noises.  They generally aren't waking each other up either.  B is even napping in the room while K has her quiet time in there.  And I am so much happier now that a nighttime routine is finally set and I don't have to tiptoe around in my room at night.

Nighttime story with daddy

all snuggled, ready for bed

new room set up

B peeking at her new neighbour

loves the mobile Aunty Tanya got for K when she was a baby

Big Girl Tantrum

At bedtime a couple nights ago we were all tidying up...or- we were all supposed to be tidying up.  K wasn't cleaning her toys even after numerous warnings of if she didn't clean, she would go to bed now.  So we put her to bed.  Tantrum ensued.  Now, she's two so she's had tantrums before but this one just looked and sounded different.  It didn't sound like a baby or a toddler tantrum that we had experienced.  It looked like a big kid tantrum that I remember from growing up.  It was dramatic, it was incessant, it was LONG. 

It made me tear up a bit- not because I was frustrated, but because it was a little sad to see her as not my baby.  She is growing up and here was evidence.  Cole went into her room to help her calm down and to talk to her but we didn't let her back out to clean like she kept asking.  Fast forward to last night before bed, she was much better about putting her toys away.  And thankfully, she's still baby enough to forget how mad she was at us.  It was the first night she didn't want to say I love you or give us a kiss- even the baby.  It happens so fast- the growing up.  After she had fallen asleep, Cole and I both said this felt significant enough to record.  It was unlike all her other freak outs.  This was big girl tantrum #1.

You would never know it though....