Preschool

It's been about a month since Sydney started preschool. So far, so good. She's been enjoying class and adjusting well to being without mommy. One of my favorite parts of school is when she brings home artwork, which happens just about every time she goes to school. Recently, I opened Sydney's backpack to find this sun picture. I said, "Oh wow, Sydney! God made the sun!" Sydney didn't miss a beat and said, "No, mommy - God didn't make that sun; I did!" She must feel pretty strongly about this particular picture because she said the same thing to almost anyone who asked her about it. Anyway, needless to say, we're really enjoying her mini masterpieces!

Avocado Dill Pasta

Right now, I'm not eating any dairy, and this pasta dish was awesome because it was oh so creamy!

8 ounces bow tie pasta or 8 ounces wagon wheel macaroni
2 medium avocados, halved,seeded,peeled and coarsely chopped
6 slices bacon, crisp cooked,drained and crumbled
2/3 cup chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the avocados, bacon, dill, lemon juice,olive oil, garlic, pepper, and salt. Add the hot pasta and toss to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Sleep Training

When Sydney was born, I found myself really struggling to find some sort of schedule. I called my friend, Kate, who sent me a book called On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. I read the entire book in a couple hours and immediately started putting the principles to work. Anyway, long story short, I am a big believer in sleep training - teaching your children to put themselves to sleep. Everyone wakes up during their regular sleep schedule, but going back to sleep when you wake up is a skill that takes a while to learn - especially for children. Sleep training for babies is not easy! Mostly, it requires letting them "cry it out." The first night or two are usually the worst: they'll cry until they fall asleep. Then, the amount of time they cry significantly decreases until they're able to put themselves to sleep in a matter of minutes - most times without any tears at all! The entire process takes less than a week.

I wouldn't say that our week is totally finished (we started last Thursday night); however, we're very, very close. Cole is routinely going to sleep for naps and at night without crying. When he wakes up, he usually only cries for a couple minutes and then it's back to bed! Today was definitely a milestone: both kids took their naps in their own rooms and fell asleep on their own! I love this for several reasons: Cole is learning to be an independent sleeper - like Sydney - and Mommy will, eventually, be able to count on this time as child-free time to work, do chores, or prep dinner.

Hail sleep training - I'm a believer!

Pasta Stir Fry

This was a good one... will definitely add it to our regular rotation. I left out the scallions and used jarred ginger.

1 (16-ounce) package whole wheat linguine
Salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and diced
1/2 small eggplant, sliced into small chunks, about 2 cups
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 cup frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 chicken breast, cooked and sliced
2 scallions, sliced, for garnish

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water.

While pasta is cooking, heat canola oil in a large saute pan or wok over high heat. Add onion, red pepper, ginger, eggplant and cook for about 1 minute. Add garlic, broccoli, tomatoes, and soy sauce and cook for another 2 minutes. Drain pasta. Add it and the chicken to the vegetable mixture, toss and cook for another minute.

Transfer to serving bowls and garnish with scallions.

Cole's Had a Rough Week

I was so good with Sydney - I never let her sleep with us and I taught her to self soothe and put herself to sleep when she was 8 weeks old. With Cole, it's been a completely different story. Mostly, Cole's been sick, so I couldn't do any sleep training. However, lately, we've had a pretty good bedtime ritual going, and Cole seemed to have a good night schedule - so I was beginning to think about starting sleep training. Then came Monday. Monday night, Cole didn't feel well, and I made the mistake of letting him sleep with us. Before I knew it, he didn't feel well again on Tuesday, and by Wednesday, he made it clear he was not going to sleep in his crib.

Well, crap.

Along with his new-found fondness for our bed, Cole all-the-sudden became very attached to me. That's nice and all, but Mommy needs a break. I knew things were bad when Jodi - who has a masters in putting babies to sleep - couldn't get Cole to go to sleep for his nap. In addition, Cole has been on a bottle boycott. Wow... things were spiraling out of control!

I decided we needed to make some changes - and make them quick! First, we enrolled him in bottle boot camp. Grandma B came over on Thursday and helped me get him to take a bottle: it only took over an hour and multiple renditions of the Mickey Mouse theme song and Old MacDonald. Oye. Then, Thursday night, I made him sleep in his own crib. That was painful! Although he went to sleep pretty easily, he did not go back to sleep after his midnight feeding. I think my ears are still bleeding.

The good news is that Cole's doing much better with the bottles and sleep today. It's been two and a half days now, and he's taken nine bottles and actually fell asleep on his own this morning after waking up at 4:00 am.

It's just a matter of time. At this point, I think we're past the hardest part of bottles and sleep. Hopefully, Cole will be taking bottles and sleeping without assistance soon.

Cole's Biopsy Results

Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that Baby Cole's biopsy results came back negative. The bad news is that his results came back negative. So - we can rule out some things, but we haven't uncovered the reason why Cole has stopped gaining weight. He has an x-ray scheduled for next week. That should tell us whether his intestines are properly placed in his belly. After that, I don't know what we're going to do. The boy needs to stop puking and start gaining some weight! We'll keep you posted.

Happy Birthday Mustache Papa!

It was Mustache Papa's birthday, so we had - what else? - a mustache party! We had a mustache-shaped cake, and everyone got to try on their very own mustaches. Anyway, it was a load of fun - even Baby Cole enjoyed sporting his mustache. Happy Birthday Papa!