sophie was beins so silly the other day... we just had to take some pictures

Look out behind you

tickle tickle tickle

Hey daddy.

Boots

Cheese

More Sleep!

This post is genius! got it from here :

http://delightfulmomstuff.blogspot.com/2012/01/rock-bye-baby-naptime.html

It seems like everyone I talk to is frustrated with their children's naps- or lack there of. When I tell people that my 5-year-old takes a 2 hour nap, at the same time that my 3-year-old takes a 2 hour nap and now my 8-week-old takes a 1.5 hour nap at the same time as well- they seem to comment how "lucky" I am. Yes, I am blessed with good sleepers (I prayed a lot for good sleepers!) however, I have worked REALLY hard to get them to abide by this schedule and with a little effort you can have napping angels as well! I read the article at the bottom of this post and have seen enough studies to know that kids need naps- and to be honest, moms need kids to nap too! I don't know what I would do without my "break"- I can sleep, do bible study, read, prepare dinner, laundry- you name it- it happens between 2pm and 4pm. There are several nap phases with children, I believe. Here is my synopsis:
Phase 1: (0-13 weeks) I follow Baby Wise and with that plan they eat then are awake for 1.5 hours, asleep for 1.5 hours; therefore there are several naps throughout the day and usually they are happy to be napping! (side note, with this plan all of my kids have slept 8 hours through the night between 6 and 8 weeks and 12 hours from week 13 on- love or hate the plan: it works!)
Phase 2: (13 weeks-1 year) According to Baby Wise they move to a 4 hour schedule- so they are awake for 2 hours then asleep for 2 hours. This is where I start to manipulate their schedule according to what works for the family. I want my kids wake up time to be 8am, so I put them to bed at 8pm and then allow them to sleep until 8am when I feed them and start the 4 hour schedule: (NOTE: baby #3 might just have this schedule in the car between errands, I am prepared to be flexible!)
8am: wake
10am -12pm: nap #1
2pm-4pm: nap #2
8pm: bed
They are locked in a crib during this phase, so it is pretty easy to "train" them to sleep. I always love that Baby Wise says: nap time starts when the parent says it starts and ends when the parent says it ends. There is a time during each sleep period when the baby is active, maybe even crying- if you pick them up at the first movement it will train them that they are in charge of waking and sleeping. I think this plays a huge role in the future of napping!
Phase 3: (1-2ish years- or as long as they are in a crib) Maintenance- I believe this phase is all about "training" the child to nap when the parent says it is time to nap and wake when the parent says it is time to wake. Baby Wise points out that if your child wakes unhappy or crying, they have not received enough sleep and most of the time, they will fall back asleep if given the chance (i.e. leave them in there until you think they are ready- even if they cry a bit!) At some point in this phase, usually around 18 months, they drop the morning nap and are down to 1 nap a day= FREEDOM! You will love the one long nap a day, you can accomplish so much more outside the house! My girls were both sleepy in the mornings so it took a few weeks of keeping them up and pushing back the nap before they made in to 2pm (which is the time I chose for nap- you decide what time works for you).
Phase 4: (2ish-5 years) When they move into a "big kid bed" that is when the fun begins! Usually, if you have followed the above, they will stay in the bed whether it is a crib or not, until you say it is time to wake. However, when given the first taste of freedom it gets a touch challenging. This is where you have a choice- you can let them come out of the room and decide when nap time ends or you can train them to be obedient and stay in bed until their nap is complete. I will say, Ellie is one of the few kids who still naps in her pre-school class and she has been talking a lot about "skipping a nap" because she chats about it with her buddies at school. They all tell her they don't nap and she thinks that is a great idea- which means I need to "reinforce" the importance of nap time at our home. Here is what works for me; I give the child a generous amount of time to fall asleep- if I hear them on the monitor or check on them and they are not sleeping- there is a consequence. In my opinion, you can go a number of ways here- the key is consistency and (sadly) it has to "hurt", meaning if your child sleeps with 8 items (as mine do) and you take away the baby at the end of the bed that they don't really care about- you will probably be unsuccessful- take the prize item the first time- for example the blankie- yes they will throw a fit, but I bet the next time all you will have to say is- "if you do not sleep, I will take X and you will not be getting it back until you can obey mommy and take a nap." At bedtime that night, you will have to remind them why they are not sleeping with that item and that when they obey mommy or daddy you are excited to give it back. What I really care about with my 5-year-old is that she is resting in her room from 2-4 and not waking her sister- who shares a room. I do not necessarly require sleep anymore, but most of the time she falls asleep because she is required to be in her bed, quietly resting. My 3-year-old needs to sleep, so I make sure she is sleeping at nap time or she will get a consequence. I have had to give further consequence when this becomes an obedience issue vs a sleep issue.
Phase 5: (5+years) I am not here yet, but Ellie will go to Kindergarten in the fall and will probably not have a regular nap time. However, she will have a "rest time" every day because I believe they need to have a quiet time to recharge and rest. Stay tuned! (NOTE: we have dropped the nap for 1/2 day kindergarten)

All of that being said, of course there are days when we skip naps or take naps at a different time to fit in our schedule. I believe you can start at any phase- it takes a full week or two to establish a new routine and the key is sticking to it. If you are firm and consistent at the start and the nap is "parent directed" not "child directed"you will have napping children! In my experience, the minute a child thinks they have decision making power and you give them that power- it is all over or at least will be painful to break whatever it is you are working on. These are just my opinions, I am not a doctor or expert at all- we have issues just like everyone else! I realize I have only been doing this for 5 years and I have SO much to learn. This is simply what had worked for my family. Sleep is extremely important around here, so I have worked hard to maintain this wonderful daily routine! If it is not important to you- do whatever works for your home. That is the beauty of our "job" as parents- we get to decide what is important to us and how we want to enforce those important things in our home. God called YOU to raise your family, no one else has been called to parent your children, so do whatever you feel is best for your family! Hope this was helpful for those of you frustrated by naps- please feel free to email me or comment below if you have any questions about what I said above.

nap time

FYI -

BabyCenter News

Missed naps could put children at risk for mood disorders

Thu, Jan 5, 2012 (HealthDay News) — Children who miss daytime naps may be at increased risk for mood disorders later in life, a new study indicates.

Researchers looked at children aged 30 months to 36 months and found that depriving them of a single daily nap resulted in more anxiety, lower levels of joy and interest, and reduced problem-solving abilities.

"Many young children today are not getting enough sleep, and for toddlers, daytime naps are one way of making sure their 'sleep tanks' are set to full each day," study leader Monique LeBourgeois, an assistant professor in the integrative physiology department at the University of Colorado, Boulder, said in a university news release.

"This study shows insufficient sleep in the form of missing a nap taxes the way toddlers express different feelings, and, over time, may shape their developing emotional brains and put them at risk for lifelong, mood-related problems," she explained.

The researchers videotaped the emotional expressions of toddlers while they worked on solvable and unsolvable picture puzzles on two different days. One day, the test was conducted an hour after the toddlers had their normal 90-minute daytime nap. On another day, the toddlers were deprived of their naps and tested an hour after their normal nap time.

When they were nap-deprived, the toddlers had a 34 percent decrease in positive emotional responses after completing the solvable puzzles, a 31 percent increase in negative emotional responses when they were unable to complete the unsolvable puzzles, and a 39 percent decrease in the expression of confusion when they tried to complete the unsolvable puzzles.

"Confusion is not bad -- it's a complex emotion showing a child knows something does not add up," LeBourgeois noted. "When well-slept toddlers experience confusion, they are more likely to elicit help from others, which is a positive, adaptive response indicating they are cognitively engaged with their world."

Overall, according to the release, the study shows that missing a daytime nap may make it more difficult for toddlers to take full advantage of exciting and interesting experiences and to adapt to new frustrations.

"Just like good nutrition, adequate sleep is a basic need that gives children the best chance of getting what is most important from the people and things they experience each day," LeBourgeois said.

The study appears online and in an upcoming print issue of the Journal of Sleep Research.

-- Robert Preidt

Bouncing

baby girl.

OWIE

Sophie, You're killing me!

One of Sophie's places to play is with Aunt Jill.



Or, just in her toy box.


This is such a great picture! I love how peacefully she sleeps!

Pumped up Kitch

Tired of your old boring dishwasher? me too... so I gave it a lift



And then my fridge was soooo jealous... I had to make them match.

County Fair 2012

She's ready.. and it looks like she's snapping her fingers


Cheese!


Goat


hey .. don't touch me.


Grandma helping her feed the animals





Hi friend with long legs...

camel!

She didn't like that this sheep was in the way... so she pushed it
but not with her hand... with her elbow.. hahaha. she kills me.
like, Hey- get outta my way!

LRP Arms

do you like the new ride ?

don't know if you can truly understand the size until you seen it in person
(that's what she said)
but really- the yellow truck next to it is a Hauling vehicle..
Check out those tires!

I think the digital Camo is pretty cool . The horn sounds like it's a Cruise liner!

But I wish it was Pink.
Just Sayin'

Family Pictures

So we are having some family pictures taken soon and I thought it would be nice if we all matched... well, coordinated. Thats totally different i guess..
so the theme is more "Nautical" with Navy, white, yellows etc... whaddaya think?
I love the dress for Sophie. It's like we just stepped off our Yacht.



I love this. I want it for our front room! it's a mirror and a shelf... and it's HUGE.
Dear Down East Outfitters- Please donate to my cause!


My sweet sophie has been so sick the last few days.. but that doesn't mean she won't tough it out and go shopping with me... I love this big red flower! She saw it and said... oww momma, pretty ! So we tried it on.. I 'm such a sucker (but not compared to her daddy).

Where's daddy ?

All gone... she was pretty mad that I was saying "I love you" at the end

Um, ya.

Christmas so soon ?

apparently it's true since on my last trip to Hobby Lobby I couldn't get passed the ornament isle. I really enjoy decorating Christmas trees for The Festival of Trees, I've done a few and I'm thinking I want to do another... alas, I'monna need a sponsor. These ornaments have really jumped in price (what hasn't - you say under your breath).

So for our front room tree I have a Hot pink and Lime green tree and I found these ornaments that I like... maybe I shouldn't buy any more though... The tree is pretty full already. It's pretty femenine so i'm pretty sure Jake couldn't handle any more pink.

So I've been wanting another tree this year but in Teals/Turquoise. I can't really say why except I really like the color. Simple enough answer I guess.

I've also been Toying with the idea of an "antique" tree in golds and soft pink...
kind of an old vintage feel... I've had this recurring thought since 2008 but who has 600.00 do drop on a new tree and all the ornaments. *sigh* When I win the lottery.