I think we made it

So sleep training might be crossed off our list. The last couple nights she has gone down cranky and restless and fussed for less than 5 minutes! Naps take about 10 minutes. Its amazing to be able to just kiss her goodnight and leave the room. She is fine. Feels good. Im hoping with the next kids that we can start earlier, it was just near impossible to try to cry-it-out living with family. I didnt want to disrupt their life any more than we already had by living there!

Ok, dirty diaper time...NASTY!

Sleep Training Day 3

So it was a pretty cranky day, Liss was super tired all day, she took a 4 hour nap and a 1.5 hour nap. So by 6 she was showing signs of being sleepy again, all though WAY too early for me to put her down. We did a bath at 5, dinner at 7, diaper and jammies at 730...and then she wouldn't calm down and wouldn't take a bottle, so at 810 I gave her kisses and put her to bed. Oh yea, 2 minutes of some fussy/whining and she was out for the count until 6 this morning. She went back down at 7, she fell asleep in my lap in the rocker but woke up when I put her in the crib (that always happens, I used to pick her up and try again in the rocker) this morning I left her there, turned out the light (cuz its actually still a bit dark at 7 now) and went back into our room. She fussed on and off for 15 minutes then went back to sleep until 1030! No screaming bloody murder, just some fussing. I'm a fan of this method!!

Sleep Training day 2

Well so far this hasn't been so bad. I'm glad babies don't remember the torture their moms bring to them by forcing them to learn how to fall asleep on their own!! We put Alyssa down at 8:04, she cried. I went in about every 5 minutes to put her back on her back (she stands up as soon as I put her down) and give her a few kisses and walk out. By 8:19 she was asleep :) She did wake up at 11 though and I went in, gave her some bottle and put her back to bed, I was crawling back into bed at 11:07. I guess I should have just let her cry but lets face it, I just didn't want to. She woke up at 630, which is NOT my favorite time of the day...by 8 she was ready to go back down for her morning nap. I put her in the crib at 8 and she played quietly for 10 minutes then cried for 10. I picked her up (bad mom!!) and gave her a bit more bottle. Put her back in the crib at 824 and she was out by 827. I may not be doing this like 'they' say to but its a learning game and so far I'm impressed with us all (mom, dad and Liss). I guess its time to get on my bike and see if I can get my workout in while she is napping...damn. I hate working out this early!

Sleep Training Day 1

I figured I would keep track of things here so I can look back instead of saying "Oh I think it took 4 months to get her to sleep on her own" . Last night was our first try. I was having a hard time deciding on a 'routine' and all that so I said F it. We don't live our live by a set in stone routine so we are gonna continue what we are doing and just go with it. So we did. Yesterday we drove home from Vacaville and Liss had a bit of an upset tummy so who knows how valid of a try that will be. Anyways, she was getting sleepy at about 830, I gave her a bit more bottle until she had enough then I picked her up and put her in the crib. Awake. SO not what she was expecting. Now, I had some wine to follow through with this night but she cried bloody murder for 25 minutes and passed the heck out. So not too bad. She then woke up normal time at 530 for a bit of bottle and some play time. She fell asleep in my arms but woke up as I put her in the crib. I patted her butt and told her goodnight. She fussed for less than a minute and went to sleep. EASIEST morning so far! And the booger is still sleeping! So, we shall see how long this lasts...I know some nights are gonna be harder than others.

In other news. Gotta lose the baby weight. I can still cal it baby weight cuz she is still a baby, I think you lose that excuse when the kid gets into school. Just saying. So. Day 1. 175.5lbs. Want to be in my normal clothes by my birthday. Would LOVE to be back to 152 (Think Aces game 2009) And i was pretty hot at Tristans wedding too...that was about 157. Ok. I'm done. Carry on.

Happy New Year :)
Well shit...just for fun...how about some resolutions?

1. Lose 20 lbs
2. Put sod in the front yard
3. Get knocked up
4. STAY IN SCHOOL
5. Drink more water
6. Drink less wine
7. Walk the dogs more


That's about it for now. I'm sure Ill think of more to blow off later...

I miss you when youre napping

Babies First Christmas!! Alyssa has became VERY mobile. She likes to crawl into places that she cant get out of haha, like under our bench.

 We had a visit from the in-laws the weekend before Christmas, they brought down Alyssas new Cadilac car seat cuz her chubby butt is about to outgrow her infant bucket. The carseat is super super nice and we are very happy with it. They also brought us my favorite gift! A stationary bike! I have been so upset with my weight and body since baby (who am I kidding, Ive always struggled with it) and it was begining to be very impossible to get any kind of workout in...either too hot for the baby, too cold for the baby, too snowy, baby doesnt nap long enough a workout video...it was getting bad. So now I have no excuses! Last week I did 20-25 minutes at a time and dropped 4lbs! (Gained it all back thanks to Uncle Pats artichoke cheese dip though lol) So Im excited to get this bod back in shape...just in time to get knocked up again ;)

 Alyssa and her best freind Bentley, this is right after she was reaching up to grab the tree skirt and I say "No No!" Thats the look I get right before she bursts out in a big grin.

 Such concentration when crawling :)

 This is how I find her after naps now, I lowered the crib to the 2nd lowest level but Im thinking its gotta go down to the bottom one...such a booger. And so pround of herself!

 Christmas!!

 My dad is such a sucker for his grandbabies, I love seeing them with her and Matty and cant wait to meet the newest cousin in April

 Christmas Eve tuckered Liss out.

 She doesnt quite know what to do with presents though, but watching Keegan and Matty and Lily, I know next year she will be all into it...

 Watching the kids play, I like how much time we all spend on the floor now

 These pictures are so freaking cute!! Gonna need a bigger couch next year!

 Liss helping pick out pirate gifts

 Christmas morning...we were more into it than she was, so much fun now with Alyssa. This holiday season was just amazing! Being home from school and in our own house. It was jus the perfect end to a pretty amazing year.

 The brat found the water dish and helped mom mop the floor with her butt! She just splashed around not caring that she was soaking wet!

 Trying to get Matty to share his new bike!

 Cutest grin all day :) My pumkin butt :)

 ALOT of people in our litle house, we agree that 12 is our max. But it was fun to cook the quiche and prepare for a party at our home. Everyone had a blast watching the kids and Im pretty sure we all needed a nap afterwords.

 Her christmas dress!! This picture was taken about 4 seconds before her meltdown and her 3.5 hour nap!

This last year was simply amazing. I remember back to last year, just finding out we were having a girl, working on new years eve until after midnight. Working until bursting out crying on Superbowl Sunday. Baby shower, moving in with Tristan and Michele, quitting working for 'maternity leave' that never really ended, emergency c section, bringing home baby, no sleep, a hot summer, trying to figure out the whole sleep thing, pool time at Debs, lots and lots of firsts, 1 year anniversary with a 4 month old in Tahoe, New house, sleeping through the night, 2 teeth, crawling, and lots of attitude :) I hate when people get all 'my life is amazing' but I seriously couldnt have asked for a better year. Our family and friends are so supportive and happy. All the kids growing up together, new babies born about every 6 months (which cannot continue!! Im just saying) the similarities in all the babes, I see Lily do things that Alyssa does and its so shocking- Like how do they learn that? Im a lucky mom and wife. My husband is great and is such a good provider, he is my second half and I couldnt imagine having this family with anyone else. My kid is awesome. I know Im gonna screw her up somehow but she is the light of my life. Now if only she doesnt turn into a teenager...

7 Months

My little monster has learned to move forward. She started army crawling the other day and it just stops me in my tracks when I watch her do it. Im amazed at how fast she is learning and growing!She can hold her own bottle but is having some issues with the sippy cup. The flow is so damn fast! She wears more formula than she drinks. She also figured out how to sit up from laying down about 6 minutes after she started moving forward. So thats fun to watch also.

This video is her 'scooting' on her butt, she learned how to do it in the bath and finally figured out that she can do it on carpet too!

Liss helped mom search the ads for black friday shopping!

My little green shopper!

Such trouble already!!

One more thing...little bugger is now miss chompers!! She got her first tooth yesterday. She was cranky and kept waking up with super red cheeks and wouldnt let me feel her gums at all (normally she doesnt care whats in her mouth haha) So I ask all the women in my life for some advice and put it to use. So far the ibuprofen works the best and she slept pretty well last night :)

(Also Im trying to figure out my videos...damn thing)

Catching Up

It has been quite a while since I have written. I thought that maybe I would quit the whole blogging thing but then I was looking back at it and really enjoyed it. So Ill try to play catch up! Alyssa is 7 months old today. She is honestly the light of my life. I have 2 weeks left of school in my 1st semester back at UNR in the Business/Accounting major. I actually LOVE my Economics class and am excited that I have like 8 more in that field. I will take my first accounting course starting in January so I guess I will get to decide if I actually like that field next haha!

All my life I know people heard me mention how I didn't want kids, I was never the maternal type. I still don't like other peoples kids (except family of course!!) but I am in love with being a mom. I am lucky enough to be able to stay home with the little bugger and not have to work so that just makes me so happy. I have never been so content with where I am in life than I am now.

Jason got a promotion at work that has enabled us to live 'comfortably'. No new cars or vacations any time soon, but he keeps us in diapers, formula and wine on the weekends ;)

We are also going to have a new cousin for Alyssa in April!! So amazed at how fast our family is growing and so happy that all the kids will get to grow up together and so close in age!

Miss Alyssa is no longer the baby of the family either, Chelsea and Bryce and Keegan introduced Kylee on November 1st :) Such a little sweetie, and I'm sure all of us women are watching Chel handle 2 kids and taking notes so we can succeed like she is :)

 We are officially homeowners as well!! Everyone says the 1st year of marriage is the hardest, so we decided to have a baby and buy a house, just to make things interesting haha! We celebrated our anniversary with  Stacie in Lake Tahoe in a gorgeous house overlooking the lake. That weekend Stacie and Jason ran in a marathon and did AMAZING. The next weekend we got the keys to our first place. It happened so damn fast. I remember talking to Chel about Patrick and Danae putting in offers and that would free up the condo that Patrick lives in, I started to think about living in the condo and then hey, why not see if we qualify?? Well, we did. But hey, why live in a condo when we can get into a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1200sq ft house with a yard and garage and SPACE! So we found a great neighborhood, in Cold Springs. Its a 'lifestyle' development so there is 1 or 2 main roads in but all the houses are on courts, so no thru traffic. So our 2nd time looking at houses, we put in an offer, get accepted and 30 days later move into our own home.

Ill never be able to thank Tristan and Michele enough for letting us share their home for the months that we did. It enabled us to bring our baby into a loving environment and allowed me to stay home for much longer than if we still lived in the rental. The friendships and fun times we shared will always be in my heart :) And luckily we moved when we did so they can paint the new nursery!!

And Alyssa FINALLY sleeps thru the night! (She goes down about 8-830, is up for about an hour at 4-5ish and then up for the day about 730-8) I think its cuz she has her own room and doesn't have to hear the damn dogs all night :) Ok, the little missy is telling me its time for her bottle! Thanks for reading lol!